My dog broke a front tooth. What's the treatment and other issues?

I'm sorry to hear about this. The biggest concern with broken teeth is if the tooth root is exposed. This is not an emergency, but is painful and makes the teeth and roots susceptible to infection. In some cases the teeth can be repaired by a veterinary dentistry specialist, but in most cases they would have to be extracted. Considering this happened at the veterinary office, they should take some responsibility. I also understand that this would have been a difficult situation to control for the vet clinic and there may have been some broken teeth or dental disease prior to this incident. In these cases, I recommend talking with the veterinary practice owner and expressing your concerns and how you would like to be compensated. I understand that you must be very upset with them, but these matters can get much worse if you involve other people rather than communicating directly with the people in charge. It's best to talk with them directly as best as you can. I can tell you from experience that the clients that approach these issues calmly and reasonably with their concerns have more favorable outcomes. Give them a chance to explain their perspective and allow them to do the right thing (apologize and offer treatment for the teeth) on their own. Also, please understand that these are people too...who will occasionally make mistakes. I'm sure they did not want this to happen and I'm sure they feel bad about it. If talking with them does not work, or you feel that they did not give you a satisfactory response after giving them the opportunity, then the next step would be to take Mouch to another veterinarian for an outside opinion. They can give a non-biased evaluation of the problem and help you pursue compensation (if needed). You may also consider talking with the local veterinary council/board if you feel that the vet clinic is being unreasonable about the situation. I hope that helps and Mouch gets better soon.

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!

Hello and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! It does look as though the pulp cavity is exposed, which commonly happens with fractures like this. If the pulp cavity is open, the root is exposed, which is very painful and increases the risk that the tooth will get infected. I would recommend taking Sky to your veterinarian to confirm if the pulp cavity is exposed and extract the tooth if it is.

I'm sorry to hear that! If its a large cheek tooth, or a canine tooth, try to get her in sooner than Saturday if at all possible. If its an incisor (one of the small teeth in the front) its probably fine to wait that long. In the meantime, offer her soft food, or moisten her dry food with water or chicken broth. You can use a dog oral rinse if you want to be proactive about it, but I don't think its entirely necessary. Whether or not specific treatment will be needed depends on what tooth it was and the extent of damage at the gumline. If there is a concern that the root fractured, or if the defect is quite large, surgery may be needed. If she seems to be painful or isn't eating anything, take her in as soon as you can. Good luck with her! Thanks for asking Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Pharah. Yes, she will need to see her veterinarian. With the tooth broken in that manner, the root canal sounds exposed. This will be very painful for her. It will also allow an infection to develop within that tooth. She may need to have the tooth extracted. Most dogs do not shows signs of oral pain, so it may be difficult to tell based on her behavior at home. I suspect it is very painful though. I hope this information helps!

Hello, thank you for your question about Fly. If the pulp (or sensitive nerve portion) of the tooth is exposed having the tooth extracted is the best treatment option. Pulp exposure can lead to pain and also serve as a source of infection leading to further complications down the line. Dental surgery is a fairly routine procedure that most veterinarians are very comfortable with. In most cases a pre-operative workup is performed to ensure that Fly is a good candidate for general anesthesia. During the procedure the canine would be extracted and all of his other teeth could be cleaned of tartar. If he is otherwise healthy with no prior medical history there is no reason to think that he would not tolerate this procedure. Hope this helps, good luck!

Thank you for providing such good pictures. It looks like Lars has broken part of his tooth and what you are seeing is the pulp cavity. The pulp cavity is the center of the tooth where the nerves and blood supply run. The problem with having the pulp cavity exposed is that the area will be painful, and bacteria can now get into the tooth. In order to prevent infection, either the tooth needs to be extracted or a root canal needs to be performed. If your vet doesn't perform these procedures, they can refer you to a veterinary dentist who does. But have your vet evaluate Lars and give you their recommendation. I would also recommend discussing Lars' chewing habits, so you can try to figure out what caused this, so he doesn't break any other teeth. Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.