My dog broke a tooth. What should I do? Can I monitor before a vet?

Hi there. This is a very good question. Based on the photo, this type of tooth fracture is usually referred to as a "slab fracture". Dogs often get these from chewing on hard objects like bones or rocks. Although I can't see too well on the picture, I would be concerned about the pulp cavity being exposed. This is the area that runs throughout the length of the tooth carrying blood supply and nutrients to the tooth. If exposed, there is a greater likelihood that the tooth can become infected and decay quite rapidly. It can also cause pain in the mouth. Freddie's veterinarian can check with a dental probe to see if the pulp cavity is exposed. Sometimes this can be done while the dog is awake, but sometimes it has to be done under sedation or anesthesia. If Freddie has a bit of tartar, you can just schedule a teeth cleaning and his vet can check it out then. If the pulp cavity is exposed, extracting the tooth is recommended to avoid infection and pain. Once Freddie's tooth is removed, he probably won't miss it. A soften diet and no chew toys for a couple of weeks and he'd be good to go. I hope you find this answer helpful. Best of luck!

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!

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.

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.

The gold standard of treatment would be to have it extracted (removed). In the real world though it probably won't cause him much discomfort or harm if you left it in. Just monitor the tooth regularly. If it turns purple, that means there is damage to the root/pulp and then it will definitely need to come out. If it stays white I would say it can wait until he needs an anesthetic procedure at some other point in time and then it can be removed then.

Hello, and thank you for your question. I would recommend getting Archi seen by a vet within the next few days, to assess the severity of the broken tooth. If the fracture is deep enough to expose the nerve, it can cause pain and infection, and can affect eruption of the adult tooth. In this case, they may recommend extraction of the tooth. If the fracture is shallow, the vet may just recommend monitoring it until it falls out (usually by 6 months of age). In the meantime, offer Archi the option of softer food (canned food, watered down dry food) in case the broken tooth is causing him pain. Monitor for any discolouration of the tooth which would warrant immediate attention by a vet. I hope this helps, and that Archi does okay!

Hi there! I'm sorry to hear about Mars' troubles. It's a bit hard to see from the pictures but the tooth definitely looks a little bit discolored. And it almost looks like what we call a "slab fracture" where a flat, wide piece of the tooth breaks off. Dogs can do this by biting onto something hard, like a bone. This can expose the inside of the tooth to infection, and also be very uncomfortable. I would definitely have a veterinarian take a look at the tooth, to see if it should be extracted under anesthesia as this is the best way to treat a tooth like this. By removing the tooth, one removes the source, or potential source, of pain and discomfort. The veterinarian can also clean the rest of the teeth too, which would be great for Mars' overall health. Best of luck!