My dog's face swelled overnight. What could it be and what to do?

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Based on the swelling's location, this is possibly due to a tooth root abscess. This is something your veterinarian could check for on an examination and treat if confirmed. This is something that is treated with local therapy including drainage, debridement and antibiotics. Good luck and have a great day!

Hi. That is definitely some severe swelling. Due to its location and presentation, I would be very concerned about a tooth root abscess. These can occur even if the crown of the tooth appears normal. It takes an x-ray to fully diagnose it. Other possible causes of swelling like this in a young dog could include a bite from insect or spider, injury, trauma, or infection. I recommend getting him to your veterinarian to be checked out tomorrow.

Swelling can be caused by trauma or infection. If she hasn't been hit or hurt herself on that side, it could be an abscess/infection. She will need to be physically examined by your veterinarian to diagnose the exact cause. Trauma may be managed with anti-inflammatory and pain medication. If it is infection, the underlying cause will need to be determined and treated for resolution.

Hi there and thank you for using pet coach to address your concern. I would recommend having this examined by a veterinarian. This type of swelling we can see with severe tooth root abscesses. It is likely reksio will need a course of oral antibiotics and an anti inflammatory. I would get this seen sooner rather than later as this type of infection will conti i.e. to grow bigger until the infection is treated and the tooth removed that is causing the problem otherwise, this can rupture through the skin and he will be left with a large wound on the face. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns.

In a small dog, my first suspicion would be a tooth-root abscess. Small dogs tend to get rather diseased teeth as they age and are prone to infections like this. The other possibility is that he bumped his face on something. This is over a bony area that can swell with fluid when it hits something hard (i.e. door, chair, etc.). In this case, the swelling will eventually go down within two weeks or so. In order to tell exactly what it is, you'll have to take Teddy to a vet. They can take a sample of the fluid and help to narrow-down the possibilities. I hope that helps and Teddy gets better soon.

He’s a handsome boy! I recommend a vet visit for Oliver. The swelling could be due to a dental abscess or infection, cancer, infected salivary gland or even a foreign body in his mouth. Though that last maybe less likely if he doesn’t appear bothered by it. But the vet can do a thorough physical and oral exam to try to characterize the lump a little better. Depending on what they see they may Recommend a fine needle aspirate, a dental cleaning and assessment, or biopsy if it appears to be a mass. But given Olive’s age I would recommend you get it checked out sooner rather than later I hope it all works out well. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

This is definitely suspicious of an abscess. I've also seen trauma (hit their face on something hard) cause fluid swelling that looks the same, so hopefully this is the case rather than an abscess. Either way, it's not an emergency and he is safe to wait until morning to see the vet. I hope that helps and Ace gets better soon.