Puppy Has Broken Tooth
Broken (fractured) teeth are a very common occurrence in dogs and cats. Pet teeth can break due to trauma (hit by a car, ball, or rock) or due to chewing on hard objects. Any pet tooth can break, however some teeth are more commonly fractured than others, such as the canine (fang) teeth in the dog and the cat, and the.
(March-April 2007) Primary (deciduous) teeth are long, thin walled, and relatively fragile compared to their permanent counterparts. Puppy behavior can cause wear or fracture that could expose the pulp.
The pulp is the soft tissue found inside the tooth and consists of blood vessels and nerves. An open pulp chamber is exposed to oral bacteria, mulch, dirt, and a variety of elements that puppies will chew on.
This is initially painful but over time the pulp dies and the pain subsides. Next, the infection will extend through the root tip to the surrounding periodontal tissue. Therefore, a fractured deciduous tooth with pulp exposure requires extraction therapy as soon as possible.
The wait and see approach in the 3-5 month old puppy may result in a draining fistula, osteomyelitis, or damage to the developing permanent teeth. A dental radiograph is helpful to determine the position of the permanent tooth as well as the extent of the fracture (longitudinal root fractures do occur).
The goal is to extract the tooth and entire root without causing damage to the developing permanent tooth. This maybe accomplished by a closed or open technique. The photos to the left demonstrate an open technique. A full thickness mucoperiosteal flap is made to allow access to the buccal bone overlying the primary tooth.
Removal of buccal bone aids in the extraction of teeth fractured near the gum line or with root fractures. A # 2 or #4 round bur is used to gently remove bone.
A dental luxator (Cislak Manufactuing- LT/2S) is inserted into the periodontal ligament space in multiple locations to apply pressure for 20-30 seconds. Once the tooth is quite mobile delicate extraction forceps maybe used to remove the tooth. This procedure may be performed on retained primary teeth when the permanent tooth is present and one is concerned over the risk of primary tooth fracture.
My Puppy Has Broken His Tooth
© 2006. Veterinary Dental Center — Oswego, Illinois — Pet Dentist.