My feral cat has a broken canine tooth, no pain. Is vet care needed?

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.

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.

I just had a case like this last week! The broken tooth likely has root exposure. This is an open pipeline to the blood supply. I recommend having Johnnie seen by a vet tomorrow or Tuesday. The only way to fix it is to see a specialist in dental work (root canal). Otherwise it needs to be extracted (what I did for the cat last week). Johnnie does not need the tooth for eating but I do recommend having it addressed to prevent further problems. Good luck and kisses to Johnnie!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. So this is a “complicated” fracture of the canine- meaning the pulp cavity is exposed. Unfortunately, if Titus walked into my office, I’d recommend scheduling a dental and removing the tooth. Once the pulp cavity is exposed, bacteria can travel up it and cause a deep abscess in the bone. Then you have weeks of antibiotics and still have to do the procedure. This does not always happen, but there is no way to know which case it will happen to. The other option is seeing a dental specialist for a root canal and crown. That being said, it’s not very painful unless he is chewing with it (which he’ll probably avoid). And not much is going to happen in the next two days, or even in the next two months. Don’t put anything on there and just leave it alone. Schedule an appointment when it’s convenient and talk with your vet about your options. Also talk about why he is chewing his crate (often a sign of moderate to severe separation anxiety). And how to prevent future damage to other teeth. Best wishes to you and Titus!

There is no need to take him in to your veterinarian at this time if the area where he lost the tooth is not hurting. Since you obviously have scheduled a dental cleaning for Milo, your vet can inspect the area during the dental cleaning while he is under sedation. The vet will also do dental radiographs to check for retained roots and neck lesions. These will need to be removed.

As Dr Fernandez recommended, taking him in to the vet would be highly recommended. Regarding being worried about him swallowing the tooth should it fall out on its own--the answer there is that you do not need to worry about it. If he were to swallow a tooth, it would be digested enough by the acid in the stomach to pass without a problem.

There is really no home dental treatment, only home preventive care. If there is an abscessed tooth that infection can cause the jaw to get infected too if left untreated. There may be a tooth root exposed from a broken tooth. Really, he needs to see a vet and should be neutered too. Now, I realize that may not be possible where you are so if you absolutely cannot get him to a vet all you can do is try an oral antibiotic to hopefully correct any infection. Clindamycin is the best antibiotic to use for dental issues. I am only able to find it in tablet form. He may or may not eat it. If not, you will have to mix it with some canned cat food to see if he will eat it that way. I would give it for 14 days total. ( https://www.marshallspetzone.com/health-care/5511-7762-savavet-bioclan-25mg.html#/145-pack-3 ) Once you receive the medication, if you need help with dosing information you are welcome to post again.