Canine dentistry?

[Alchemist]

Has anyone ever subjected their dog to canine dentistry - with either positive or negative results to report?

 

Duncan seems to have chipped a lower incisor (the one right next to his canine tooth), and there's a slight discolored patch on it. He's seeing the vet next week to check it out, but I suspect the vet is going to recommend it get pulled - or else refer me to a canine dentist. (Maybe I'll finally get some use out of the pet insurance...).

 

Anyone out there ever send their dog to a canine dentist for this sort of thing?

[Liz P]

Every single BC I've ever owned has broken teeth. If the root is not exposed I leave them be. If the root is exposed I pull them (depending on which tooth). Only certain teeth, like the lower canines, really need the expert care of a board certified dentist if you want to save them. If you want to go with a dentist it's your choice. They can do root canals and crowns that most GP vets won't attempt.

[Alchemist]

Thanks. I know (from personal experience) that root canals weaken a tooth, so it seems like you'd have to make some future compromises if it were a molar. As this is an incisor, it strikes me that it probably isn't as much a problem if it's a bit weakened.

 

Mostly I feel sad that he's wrecked a tooth after only having had it a year. But then again my older son chipped his front permanent tooth pretty badly when he'd only had it a year, and he lived.

[MaggieDog]

Maggie fractured her carnassial molar (slab fracture). Since it was a major molar we tried to seal it with the help of a vet who specializes in dental work. The $500 repair lasted exactly a year and the vet said not to let her chew on anything harder than a biscuit afterward (wish I had known that before the procedure or I wouldn't have done it - Maggie was a big chewer). We pulled the molar and she was much happier - only cost about $300, too.

[mbc1963]

My dog stopped being able to break hard biscuits about 18 months ago. THe vet could see nothing wrong except maybe a largish chip out of one lower tooth - didn't seem to go through to the root. Anyway, after 4 or 5 months, I opted to have the tooth pulled (and the other teeth cleaned) and he's much more competent at chewing again.

 

Though, I have to say - the anesthesia was very difficult for him. Poor guy came home and got in bed and lay there whining. He was just so disconcerted and out of balance. Pathetic.

 

Mary

[in2adventure]

I had grady's teeth cleaned when he went for sugery last week (cut his paw almost in half between the toes ). I figured since he was already knocked out, might as well do the teeth. He has terrible tarter build up. He's not a huge chewer and it's hard to keep it off him. He's the only dog I've ever had it done to and he's only 2.5 y/o

 

He seems to have faired well through the teeth cleaning and his breath is soooooo much better He looked like a drunken sailor most of the night from being knocked out

[Jack & Co.]

Yes, we started down the road with the canine dentist:

 

http://www.bordercollie.org/boards/index.p...mp;#entry277397

 

From my first post: The dentist suggested a root canal and titanium crown to the tune of $3000. I knew it would be expensive but I still almost passed out! She would also clean his teeth and put sealants on. I paid for the consultation ($137, just talked, no x-rays) and left with an antibiotic to the tune of $85.

 

When I got home, I called my regular vet and discussed it with her. After I hung up, she called me back later in the afternoon and said she had been reading up on crowns and a red flag that popped out was dogs with separation anxiety have a high probability of popping the crowns off ($600/crown; $300 to adhere). She also wondered if this happened would he have enough tooth left to put one back on (they etch the tooth down so the crown fits against the gum like a regular tooth) or would he end up with an extraction after all. I had told the dentist that this happened as a result of SA but she didn't mention that that could pose a problem. The canine dentist also said that when you extract a large tooth, the dog switches to chewing on the other side and that can cause problems for the other teeth. My vet just didn't think that an extraction was that life-altering.

 

By the way, the $85 antibiotic has been generic for years and my regular vet says she charges $17 for it. So I found the canine dentist extremely expensive and I never felt that she considered all of Jack's issues namely his separation anxiety. My regular vet and I decided to just watch the bad tooth and if it becomes a problem, out it comes. It's been 2 years now and so far, so good. That tooth is always the first thing my vet looks at when we go in for an appointment so I feel confident that if it takes a turn for the worse, we will be able to act quickly.

[Alchemist]

Jack & Co. - many thanks for the link! In reading through that thread (and some others), my gut response is "the more I learn, the less I know" (now who said that?). Lots of diverse opinions.

 

This, thankfully, isn't a canine tooth, merely an incisor. It isn't broken off badly, just chipped - still, I can see a dark patch, and I'd hate to have it get infected. He's got a vet appointment for later this week, and I'm interested to hear what they will say.

 

Never realized that young dog's teeth were weaker than, say, a 3-year-old dog's teeth.

[MrSnappy]

We had a foster dog several years ago with an overbite that was causing his lower canines to protrude into the roof his mouth and therefore, he wouldn't eat food as it hurt to close his mouth, obviously. We ended up having a dental specialist file down those teeth and cap them to the tune of something like $1800.00 only to have the cap fall off of one of them within weeks of him getting adopted. The adopter paid another $500.00 to have it recapped. I'll never do that again!

 

For all other teeth, I just have them pulled if they are broken down low enough to see the pulpy bit of the the tooth (if not, and if the dog shows no pain, I leave it alone). Briggs shattered one of his upper teeth into a million pieces under the gumline and that cost me quite a lot of money as they had to dig out every last shard. Piper had a tooth split in half vertically which necessitated having the whole tooth removed. They missed a significant piece of the root and 6 weeks later she had to go under AGAIN to have the rest of it taken out as her gums got all infected trying to push out that remaining shard. Those latter surgeries were done by regular vets. So my summary is that both regular vets and the dental kinds can both suck at what they do, but the dental specialist cost more to suck at it.

 

We call Piper"Hillbilly Smiles" (it's her Blues Rock name) because she is missing so many teeth and/or has a bunch of broken ones form various accidents. When she does Mad Teeth she looks positively ridiculous. She's 8 years old and it doesn't seem to bother her - the most annoying aspect of it all is that she sometimes slices open my finger when taking a cookie. Even though she is gentle, her teeth are just sharp where they are sheared and act like razors. I just bring bandaids wherever I go.

 

RDM

[Jack & Co.]

Jack & Co. - many thanks for the link! In reading through that thread (and some others), my gut response is "the more I learn, the less I know" (now who said that?). Lots of diverse opinions.

 

This, thankfully, isn't a canine tooth, merely an incisor. It isn't broken off badly, just chipped - still, I can see a dark patch, and I'd hate to have it get infected. He's got a vet appointment for later this week, and I'm interested to hear what they will say.

 

Never realized that young dog's teeth were weaker than, say, a 3-year-old dog's teeth.

 

I had the same problem with all of the information that I read too! I am satisfied with the decision I made two years ago. However, I will say that I am glad to know that if Jack needs dental care above what my regular vet can provide, that I have a canine dentist within an hour of me.

 

We call Piper"Hillbilly Smiles"

RDM,

[rushdoggie]

Ross fractured an upper canine on a ?? and we looked into and considered a root canal and crown because of the risks associated with extracting an upper canine. We decided that almost 11 the best course for him was the least time consuming and invasive, and extraction was that. He had no problems with it at all.

 

My smallest Papillon has had 1/2 of her teeth pulled because for some reason, her jaw was too small for her teeth and several came loose when she was about 3. We extracted every loose tooth and 2 more preemptively because they seemed crowded and she does just fine, shredding her chicken wings and chewing bullies with abandon.