The objective of this study was to assess piglet welfare following either clipping or grinding of their needle teeth, or leaving the teeth intact. Thus, at birth litters were assigned to treatments of either clipped (C), ground (G), or intact (I) teeth. Grinding the teeth was the longest procedure to perform, which may have increased piglet stress due to being restrained. I piglets had the highest facial lesion scores, but the lowest mouth lesion scores. It was C piglets that had the highest mouth lesion scores due to leftover tooth splinters, and C piglets spent more time chewing when their mouth was empty during the 5 minutes after the teeth clipping procedure. I piglets were more active during many of the observation periods, while G piglets were more inactive (standing/sitting with eyes open or sleeping) during those times and C piglets were sleeping more during those times. A larger number of I piglets than C piglets died due to overlying (being crushed by the sow). In conclusion, findings indicated that all procedures were associated with some welfare problems, but grinding was recommended in preference to clipping or leaving the needle teeth intact.