My dog has severe gum disease. Are there alternatives to tooth removal?

If dental cleaning is no option then ask your vet to prescribe antibiotics for the gingivitis, and pain medicine such as carprofen. The antibiotics will kill the bacteria that cause the painful gingivitis and the carprofen will take pain away from the dental condition as well as some of her musculoskeletal problems. However, if there is a tooth root abscess, then the tooth needs to come out right away, as this is seriously painful and can cause sepsis with can actually be life-threatening.

Unfortunately, Jojo's gums and teeth are past the point of at-home remedies in many of the areas. The picture of the front teeth however, do not look nearly as compromised as the third picture. If the teeth all looked like those in the first picture, at home brushing, special dental diets, and potentially remedies like those in the second picture could be useful. Also potentially still useful in pulse dose would be certain antibiotics. These might help keep the negative bacterial population, as well as the foul odor that goes along with this, to a minimum.

Tartar buildup on a dog’s teeth is very common. The best way to prevent it is by brushing their teeth daily, usually in the evenings after their last meal. In most cases, unless the pulp cavity (the inner, live part of the tooth) or the crown (the whitish part of the tooth you can see) is damaged there is no need to remove the tooth. With a good dental cleaning (that must be done under general anesthesia) the tartar can be removed and the tooth polished so that the tooth can remain with the dog. If you are going to have a dental performed on your dog ask the veterinarian about performing dental x-rays. This will help determine the viability of the tooth. Once the x-rays are performed the veterinarian can make a better decision on whether or not the tooth needs to be removed. If tartar on the tooth is the only issue, there is no discoloration, cracks or fractures, or anything abnormal about the tooth, your dog will likely be able to keep the tooth. Pricing of dental cleanings very from clinic to clinic. Once you have your initial consultation with your veterinarian they should be able to provide you with an estimate. In the States a typical dental cleaning, depending on the size of dog and the problems present, can be anywhere from $300-$1000. I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Please let us know if you have any further questions. Best of luck.

The canine tooth looks like it might have a little evidence of gingivitis but it can be difficult to tell from a picture. I also would not prescribe antibiotics for dental disease in most situations - if the tooth is infected removing it is the best treatment option. Even though the tooth probably will fall out there may be other diseased teeth since it can be difficult to evaluate the extent of disease without sedation - you may want to ask your vet about a dental cleaning or if your vet does not do this procedure see another vet.

It really depends on the severity of the damage. Some can be managed with good cleaning, but others may need to be extracted. There are also dentistry specialists who can do more advanced procedures like root canals and implants. The first step would be to have a veterinarian examine Hank. They will be able to advise more. For more information, I recommend you read the articles at the links below. https://www.petcoach.co/article/5-signs-that-your-dog-needs-dental-work/ https://www.petcoach.co/article/6-things-every-dog-owner-should-know-about-dental-care/ I hope that helps and all is well with Hank.

That is a good question. Some dogs have pain and infection but lose the infected teeth and then the mouth heals. Others have pain and the infection can spread to the heart valves, liver and other organs and they can get ill and sometimes die from the complications. With improvements in anesthesia safety it would be best the have a blood panel done and an EKG to make sure the heart is ok, then have the teeth cleaned and any loose ones extracted. If a dental isn't done another treatment is called pulsed antibiotics. With this you give 5-7 days of antibiotics monthly. This keeps the infection under control so the side effects of periodontal disease are checked. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Cocoa.

Truly your dog needs to have dental cleaning under anesthesia to evaluate these teeth and clean up all the tartar and around the gumline. Unfortunately most of the time loose teeth need to be removed and it also sounds like your dog could have some gingival recession that needs to be evaluated. I would make an appointment with your vet for an oral exam and most likely they will want you to schedule a dental procedure. Brushing teeth at home is great and will slow buildup of tartar, but it isn't going to fix the problems that Tiger has right now.