Broken Upper Canine Question

[fastboxers]

My 2 year old BC recently broke his two upper canine teeth. We are taking him to a dental specialist tomorrow out of town for further review. I am pretty sure the tooth on the left will require surgery and I am looking for the pro's and con's of each. He is crated daily and I suspect this is how the break occured. If we remove the tooth (cheaper option) what are the risks involved with this? I am sure we will get more details tomorrow but did a quick search on here for some others that have experienced the same. The second option was to do a root canal and to have it cemented or something of the sort. He is a strong tugger and loves agility and I worry that if we do the root canal could it not still break off? I would be worried of this after spending a much higher amount but want the best option. What have others done? I know it cannot be left as it is cracked to the gum line and does expose the pulp etc.

 

Any info is appreciated!

[TheStacks]

My girl has LOTS of wear on her canines and I have had to research this extensively. Luckily we have not had to do anything yet, but it is probable that we will need 4 root canals in the future.

 

Removing canine teeth can be risky. I believe the roots are very long and they are close to the sinus cavity. There is a high risk of infection and it can be difficult and painful to treat.

 

If I were in your shoes, I would opt for the root canal and modify activities accordingly. I am under the impression that the fill material is pretty durable, but you can ask the specialist tomorrow.

 

IMO the risk of pulling a canine tooth is not worth it.

 

Lauren

[Alaska]

My broken upper canine story, along with a lot of the consolidated board expertise on this subject, is in this thread .

 

If that isn't enough, you can find more if you search Health and Genetics for "tooth".

[jrid]

My youngest Border Collie has a very severe overbite. To keep his lower canines from growing towards the roof of his mouth, my vet removed his upper canines which had been pushing his lower canines inward. Granted his he was only about 8-9 months onld when this was done, but he had no problems.

[Painted1]

My older BC, Shep, has filed canines, upper and lower. Filing canines is a practice that used to be believed in that would "calm" a dog, especially male, and would make them less aggressive. I don't really believe in this practice, don't know much about it, and I didn't know it was still done. I read about it some where...... Shep's canines have been filed and his original owner was a vet, who must have done this...

 

I know, I know.... This has nothing to do with broken teeth...

 

It's just my only experience with anything done with canines!

[katendarby]

Both of my dogs broke off all 4 canines when they were about a year old. Kate's aren't so bad, buy Darby's are broken down to nearly the gum line. I don't know why or how this happened - maybe a weakness in their breeding - but that was 7 years ago. Neither one has had any problems with their teeth and when I take them in to be cleaned, the vet hasn't mentioned it as an issue. I don't know if Darby is in pain on some occassions, because he's a "whiner" about other things, but I haven't connected it to tooth pain. He still eagerly accepts hard biscuits and eats kibble mixed with wet food with no problems. He's really such a beautiful dog, except for his teeth. Even his regular teeth are gound down flat and square. I told him that if he were ever to go into show business (this IS LA after all), I would have to get him some veneers!

[Sue R]

From a non-very-educated viewpoint, I understand the long, strong roots of the upper and lower canines (but especially the lower ones) are critical for jaw strength. I've had dogs with broken canines live for many years without absesses or pain, but the breaks didn't go down into the roots.

 

I expect your doggie-dentist should be able to give you good advice.

 

Best wishes!