My dog's tooth is loose and gums are separating. Is it periodontal disease?

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.

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.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. If Benji has a loose tooth, it may indicate infection. It sounds as though he may have dental disease already from last year's cleaning. I would recommend having his teeth cleaned again and have this tooth that is loose addressed. If the tooth is left in the mouth and is infected, it is likely that the infection could spread to the surrounding teeth and cause issues with those teeth as well. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

It appears in the picture that Twila has severe dental disease, and that is why her teeth are that color and loose. It is not normal to have loose teeth, and her mouth is likely very painful to her. She needs to see a veterinary asap to have a dental cleaning and scaling, and extractions to remove the loose teeth. Have your cousin take her into a vet first thing in the morning, that is the only option in this case. Best of luck.

Akilla appears to have severe dental disease from these photos. She needs to see a veterinarian for assessment and probable dental cleaning and and extractions under anesthesia. The loose teeth are usually painful and she is at risk for dental abscess or systemic infection from her mouth. Here's some more info. https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/dental-disease-in-dogs https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/dogs-nutrition-and-periodontal-disease https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/dog-care/promoting-wellness/common-dog-dental-problems https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/dental-cleaning-in-dogs Best of luck. Thank you for using PetCoach.

Unfortunately, in many dogs it comes down to genetics and breeds. While brushing your dog's teeth on a daily / semi daily basis is great and something that I wish all my clients (and myself) would do, often in small breed dogs they are a ticking time bomb in terms of when a dental extraction will be required. I would not beat yourself up about this since you obviously have been doing all you can to avoid this. If you are seeing gumline recession and are feeling loose teeth, I would strongly recommend having his anesthetized for a full dental cleaning plus dental radiographs, to determine which teeth may require extraction. While the ones that are loose are obvious, there can sometimes be tooth root abscesses brewing beneath the surface that ultimately result in the tooth requiring extraction. Hopefully this will not be the case, but x-rays are the only way to know for sure. The radiographs will also help in the event an additional dental is ever needed later in life, in order to compare / contrast earlier findings. Hope this makes sense. Best of luck on whatever happens / whatever you decide regarding Oscar.

It sounds like the tooth you are referring to is the lower left canine when I look at your picture, rather than an incisor. Because it is a canine tooth that is affected, I would recommend that you make an appointment and have your vet take a look. The canine teeth have very large, strong roots and leave large holes when they come out. I am glad that she is still eating, but it sounds like you do need to get her in. Even if she needs to have it extracted under anesthesia, this is a better option than opening her up to a potential infection, which could be very serious if it were to involve the bone of the lower jaw (mandible). There are also other changes your vet can look for that may have caused the tooth to become loose in the first place, such as a tumor of some kind in her mouth. Good luck with her, I hope this information is helpful for you!