Worn Teeth - Again/worse

[Guest RosieFT]

sigh, just noticed that not only have Rosie's 4 canine teeth worn flat on the tips, but there are definite grooves forming on the backside of the top teeth.

This can't be 'normal' for a dog not yet 2 can it?!?!?!

As I said in my last post, she is fed raw chicken wings/necks and fed Royal Canin kibble. She is a ball lover but we do not leave her with a ball - remove it after play time. hmmm she does occasionally have sticks thrown - into water for her to retrieve and she seems to love chewing them. But is not carrying sticks around for hours or anything...

I was hoping to ask the vet the next time we had to be there.. but am thinking it might have to be sooner than her annual vaccination.

any thoughts???

** she also gets itchy each year around spring, and this goes autumn.. so she does nibble on herself a fair bit.. not excessive, but is often having a chomp. I have read this can wear teeth.....

Edited February 14, 2010 by RosieFT

[Rappie]

Symmetrical wear of the canines like you describe is often due to playing or carrying with balls, due to the position the ball sits in when they carry it around. Wear from chewing at things often involves the incisors instead.

There's not much you can do except prevent access to whatever is causing the problem. For the most part, it is a cosmetic problem. As the wearing away is a slow process the points of the teeth are 'sealed' off to outside world, compared to a fracture of the same tooth where the pulp cavity would be exposed to oral bacteria etc. Watch the teeth for any signs of pain (difficulty eating or picking things up, chewing on one side of the mouth) or discolouration of the tooth (anything from pink through brown to yellow).

[dancinbcs]

Some dogs just have chalky teeth that wear down very easily. I have seen two over the years in my breed that have worn the points off their teeth by about the age of four, leaving all the teeth with flat tops, including the back molars. I have no idea why it happens or how it can be prevented. Litter mates and even progeny do not seem have the same problem, so it is a bit of a mystery. It can happen in people as well. Some people look after their teeth but they wear out very quickly, others get away with slack dental care because they have been blessed with very hard teeth. Sometimes it is just luck of the draw. A dog with chalky teeth needs to have games and chew toys regulated to avoid making the problem worse.

Normal strong teeth do not get worn down unless the dog chews on very hard objects, like very hard weight bearing beef bones or odd things like metal and rocks. I have had several toy and ball obsessed dogs that had hardly any tooth wear even as old dogs. One of my early dogs chewed everything she came in contact with in her younger years, including metal dog bowls, hardwood doorframes, garden tools, etc but her teeth were still good at 15.

[Guest RosieFT]

Thankyou so much, both of you, for your responses. She does love to 'tug' too and has rope tugs.. perhaps I should invest in softer tugs? Being a terrier she loves to get pretty rough with the tug.

It makes sense re the variation in teeth. My son has chalky teeth and 'weak enamel" but my daughter does not and their environment is the same.

:-) thankyou again!

[Daxilly]

Hi,

We have two ball loving dogs. Their teeth were starting to wear down.

I read in DOL that the tennis balls, with the fuzzy outer cover, acted like sand paper and had the potential to wear down the teeth.

I switched to Planet Dog balls and they have not got any worse since.

If you are using tennis balls look for something softer and less abrasive.

Good Luck