Canine Teeth Question

[ruthless]

Chopper has 2 broken canines which the vet suggested either crowning or extracting. Personally I'd love to get gold crowns for them as I think he could really carry them off

Stick in the mud hubby doesn't see the humour and wonders if we should leave them and see what happens or extract them and leave the poor bugger with gappy teeth. He's not even 2 yet! Talk about old before his time!!!

Does he need them both to function normally? Chew, defend himself, etc.

Anyone know why they both broke in the first place? Vitamin deficiency?

[SoL]

Both my boys have broken canines - upper and lower. The cause? Chewing rocks (sneaky!) and freaking out in their runs. Yes we could have them crowned but really, they'd only break off again, leaving you with a big bill for nothing. Both are fine with half canines, as long as you keep your eyes on them that they don't go bad and infect the rest of the mouth. Trust me, they can still eat perfectly well!

I've also seen show dogs with broken teeth - in fact one dog I know who was titled recently has the messiest mouth I've seen with teeth broken everywhere - and he titled with that mouth!

[Garloch]

Hi Ruthless,

My puppy broke a couple of canines as well, chewing on unused buried sprinkler heads! But, as a puppy, the adult teeth eventually grew into the gaps. I do know that there is one canine specialist dentist, in Melbourne somewhere. And he is apparently quite reasonably priced too - nice surprise that!

As well as keeping an eye on the health of the mouth, as emmark suggests, I'd like to also suggest that you keep a close eye on the other teeth - any over-yellowing or brown spots signify a problem. The jagged bits could rub the enamel off the opposing teeth, and therefore cause decay. Yes, I know its a long shot - but I've known it to happen. The reason the breaks happened in this case, was a low grade infection when she was a pup. I suggest if you are worried, get your vet to sedate your dog, clean and carefully examine the teeth (including taking digital close-up photo's) so you can compare the problem with the photo's in the future, to make sure it isn't getting any worse.

Good luck with it all.

[Rappie]

They don't need canines to function normally

Whether or not they need to be removed depends on what state they are in. Teeth that have been worn down through chewing (usually tennis balls / rocks / concrete) are a different story to broken teeth with rough surfaces (that can cause ulceration etc). If the tooth is worn, but otherwise healthy then it may well be fine to leave so long as you monitor it closely and get it checked if you ever notice pain or discolouration in the tooth.