My cat's broken tooth gum is red and swollen. What should I do now?

Hello and thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. If Nemo is not showing any signs of pain or discomfort he does not have to be seen by a vet immediately. Mild bleeding should stop within the next 30-60 min. However, broken canine tooth should be extracted as there is an increased risk of infection and chronic pain through the exposed tooth pulp.

Oreo could have in addition to the broken tooth a jar fracture. I recommend he be checked out by a veterinarian as soon as possible. This is because the broken tooth can lead to a tooth root abscess as well as if the jaw is broken it will need some sort of stabilization procedure. In the meantime try feeding Oreo a very liquid diet such as a gruel of his normal food and plenty of water and keep it indoors at all times. Do not give any human pain medication as it can be very toxic to cats.

I would say from your pictures that Jax's gum is quite swollen and I imagine it's very painful to him. It could be that his tooth has broken off and is rotten causing the swelling and bad breath. It could also be he has a tooth root abscess. This is definitely something that needs to be treated sooner rather than later, so please call your vet to get him an appointment asap to have this treated. I would soak his dry food in warm water or gently warmed chicken broth to make his food softer to eat, or you can give him canned food for now. Best of luck, I hope this helps.

I would be concerned this could be due to Ollie's broken tooth or another dental problem. There are no home remedies for this, he needs to see a vet. Please take him into one first thing in the morning.

I would definitely recommend leaving it alone because you could cause some pain and injury by wiggling on it. However I would consider having your vet take a look at it because safe extraction if the canine tooth may be recommended to avoid having a huge hole left behind for foodstuffs to then get clogged into. If your vet extracts the tooth instead of just letting it fall out, the vet can then close the hole with suture. This is the best approach when dealing with diseases canine teeth especially, because this is the only tooth that can leave a hole that directly communicates with the nasal passages (oronasal fistula), so we take extra precautions with this tooth in particular. Schedule an appt with your local vet soon and I hope everything turns out well for your cat Zoe.

Hello. At some point in time, Picole could still develop an abscess that could travel down into her jaw. The recommendation of all veterinary dental specialists is to either have the tooth removed or perform a root canal, even on an older fractured tooth. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Yes! I would take him to the vet for an exam. The swelling you are seeing is due to infection. Over time the infection will loosen the dental ligaments and the teeth will fall out. This is a painful condition and should be addressed with a dental cleaning, some antibiotics and maybe a long term antimicrobial rinse for the mouth that you can do at home. Hope this answers your question. If you have more questions you are welcome to post again.