Taipan Posted January 2, 2009 Share Posted January 2, 2009 Hi all, my 2 year old staffy broke his canine (large bottom) tooth playing with his staffy ball about 6-8 weeks ago . He did not seem to be in pain so my vet said to monitor it. I have noticed that the pulp is showing and so am now worried he will get an infection or that the broken tooth is causing him pain (although he does not seem to be showing any signs of pain). I understand that I can have the canine extracted if I want or can go to Sydney and get root canal work done. Since the canine is such a big tooth with deep roots - will he look funny in the jaw if I take it out - will he still be able to play and eat ok? Anyone got any experience on removal or root canal on canine teeth? Appreicate some advice... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aj88 Posted January 2, 2009 Share Posted January 2, 2009 Aw poor boy My old old Ridgeback girl was always licking her lips and i went to work to have her check up and found out she had a horrible infection in her top two canines. After talking to my boss about it we decided it was best for her to remove both her canines. About two days afterwards after the pain had settled down, no more lip licking. She was on soft food until her sutures had disolved and no bones until they were disolved (much to her dismay but i didnt give the other girls bones just to be fair) Once all healed she is eating fine, all her normal food and playing just as rough with her sisters as she always did! As far as eating and playing go its fine. If you notice when your dogs chews at toys and bones they tilt their head to the side and use their pre molars, the canine teeth are for holding onto objects and also to defend themselves (he still has three good canines left!) In the wild they use the canines to grab and rip at their prey but hopefully your boy doesnt need them for that! hehe The bottom canines though keep the tongue from falling out, if you remove them the tongue will hang out all the time. I havent seen it happen myself so im not sure how far it hangs out. you may want to ask your vet about that one We generally anly remove the bottom canines if it HAS to be done, otherwise we leave them alone. i hope i helped you a teensy bit! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwynwen Posted January 2, 2009 Share Posted January 2, 2009 My old boy (rip) broke an upper canine and I took him to Sydney Uni - they were planning to do a root canal but found it was too far gone when they got in there and ended up removing it. He was just fine - ate bones etc as he always had. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taipan Posted January 2, 2009 Author Share Posted January 2, 2009 Thanks for the responses. I am going to take him to visit the vet again on Monday. I thought it was better to extract the tooth before it got infected and caused him pain but perhaps it is just better for me to wait and see how it goes.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mum to Emma Posted January 2, 2009 Share Posted January 2, 2009 Thanks for the responses. I am going to take him to visit the vet again on Monday. I thought it was better to extract the tooth before it got infected and caused him pain but perhaps it is just better for me to wait and see how it goes.... Emma broke several of her teeth after being left unsupervised in a cage at the vet. Broken teeth (particuarly with the pulp exposed) is considered an emergency if you want to retain the teeth. Fortunately she was already on antibiotics when it happened so the veterinary dental specialist was happy to wait 48 hours before filling the broken teeth and checking that there were no roots retained in the jaw for those that were missing. If possible, ask for a referral to a dental specialist. They will give you lots of options including an implant. The average vet doesn't have the skill to perform anything more than polishings and extractions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baifra Posted January 2, 2009 Share Posted January 2, 2009 (edited) My Stafford snapped her upper canine right up to the gum line. If the nerve is exposed it would be excrcuiatingly painful I would assume. And being a Stafford with generally very high tolerance for pain, he may not be showing any signs so I would get it fixed or removed ASAP. Did the vet prescribe any pain relief? Edited January 2, 2009 by baifra Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greytmate Posted January 3, 2009 Share Posted January 3, 2009 We have had to have canine teeth removed from a few of our foster dogs. They do fine without them. Healing can take some time, and I imagine it would be painful for a little while. When it is healed the dog eats and plays normally. Root canal would be an option if you are happy to spend more than a couple of hundred dollars. Get a cost estimate and it may help you decide. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taipan Posted January 3, 2009 Author Share Posted January 3, 2009 Well the pulp is definately showing but there is still a good half a tooth remaining in tack. I phoned my vet as soon as it happened and they did not seem to worried as long as it was not infected - that was a few weeks ago now. I only started worrying about it once I googled broken dog tooth. He does not seem to be in any pain - he still plays, chews bones, plays tug of war etc fine. He chews on both sides too. I wish I knew if he was in pain a human would be I think? If I take him to a specialist it would be a 300km trip - apparently there are no specialist in Canberra for dog teeth - all they can do here is remove the tooth. I am also worried that, given he is a staffy, if I get an implant or root canal it will only work short term. My dog loves to chew and tug at things... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t-time Posted January 4, 2009 Share Posted January 4, 2009 Honestly, if he's definitely not in pain, leave it alone and keep an eye on it for infection. I have a bitch here with a snapped canine and she's had it for over a year without issues. She does not appear to be poorly or in pain of any kind, eats on that side of mouth, chews on her bones etc. The tooth is snapped off at the gumline. No problems so far. If you haven't been to the vet, go and have a consult about it but don't operate unless it's necessary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taipan Posted January 5, 2009 Author Share Posted January 5, 2009 Well, took the pooch to the vet today. Apparently the tooth is not hurting him (still cant work out why, cause it should be) - my vet gave it a good going over - and so he recommended keeping it in but monitoring it regulary as it will most defineatly have to come out as some stage during his life . Capping or root canal was ruled out as it was unlikely it would last and then I would most likely have to take the tooth out anyway. Thanks for all the comments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
puggy_puggy Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 Apparently the tooth is not hurting him (still cant work out why, cause it should be Dogs have less pain receptors then humans. He will cope fine if it ever has to come out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andisa Posted January 6, 2009 Share Posted January 6, 2009 The night before Maddy left for her new home she broke a lower canine. I check their teeth often and had checked her the night before so I knew when it broke. I was mucking around with her before her new owners came to see her and got a hell of a shock when I saw it - I could not believe that she had done it. She was given a lamb neck for dinner - that is how she broke her tooth. Had she been an aggressive biter or hard on her mouth I would have expected it, but she was always a delicate eater - not like her mum. I explained what she had done and reduced her price allowing for the tooth to be pulled when she was to be desexed in 2 months time. They took her to their vet the following day and rang me to say "guess where we are going Tuesday next week". They booked her in for the tooth to be capped with the Dental vet in Hallam. So I met them there. I was going to try to talk them out of doing that as I always believed that it would not last. But after hearing his side I let them make their own decision. They went along with it and she had the tooth capped - $800 later and she was ready to go home. She was not allowed any bones except chicken for 3 months and all soft foods. She was taken back for her 3 month appt in Sept. She was given the ok and is now allowed to eat brisket bones twice a week. Nothing harder than that. Will be interesting to see how the tooth goes, he reassured us that the tooth would last longer than she does. She was only 10 months old when it broke and was capped within 2 weeks of breaking. It does look good, they could imagine her smile without the tooth. :D I told him that if he is that good he can do mine too. Mine only last 3 yrs and fell out - just sits in place as it still needs redoing. Promised him I won't be eating bones. ;) My advice would be to keep an eye on it, maybe talk to a vet who specializes in Dental and go from there. A friends dog also broke a tooth last year - it too was on a staffy ball. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erny Posted January 6, 2009 Share Posted January 6, 2009 I'd be a bit dubious as to how well a root canal to a canine would stand up with all the rigour it receives in day to day chewing/biting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andisa Posted January 6, 2009 Share Posted January 6, 2009 I'd be a bit dubious as to how well a root canal to a canine would stand up with all the rigour it receives in day to day chewing/biting. That is what worries me too Erny, which is why I went with them. They are an older couple in their late 50's (lost their Rottie the previous yr) and they are not likely to do anything rough with her. She is their office meet and greet girl in their marine business. At most she steals their work rags from pockets and plays games with everyone. I should find a photo that they sent me, she wakes up every morning looking at boats on the water, Pelican wandering in the park just out side her gate way. She is not hard on her mouth with biting, the vet gave them a list of what bones she can eat - he knew she is raw fed and worked out a diet to suit her. If her tooth does not hold out I will be telling them to go back and he will be doing it again. However my own tooth was supposed to last 10 yrs - it only lasted 3yrs - without bones. ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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