Can my dog's oronasal fistula cause bone erosion or jaw damage?

Hello. A fistula basically is an abnormal communication between 2 areas. In this case, the tissues surrounding the root of a bad tooth eroded into the nasal sinus. Until this tissue heals & fills in, drainage is possible. It should lesson day by day & Madison may need to be on antibiotics for a while, but the fistula should close up after a period of time ( depending on what tooth was involved & how big the fistula is. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Hello, I am sorry to hear about a Brookie. Based on what you are describing it sounds like she could have something called an oronasal fistula, which is an abnormal connection between the mouth and nasal cavity. Dog’s tooth roots are quite long and if there is abnormal or lack of healing after removal of a tooth a fistula can form. I would recommend having Brookie evaluated sooner than next week as fistulas can become infected. Depending on the severity and what the site looks like Brookie may need to have this area flushed and closed to prevent food material from lodging in there or reinfection. Hope this helps, good luck!

Missy appears to have several areas of bone loss and exposed tooth roots. I suspect she has several diseased teeth and significant infection. Sometimes severe bone loss can results in deep ulcers and even fistulas. I recommend to discuss having Missy sedated to remove the diseased teeth and clean out any ulcers. Then give her mouth time to heal. It’s unlikely that this problem and the odor will go away with out the full treatment. Ulcer and bad teeth can cause discomfort. Not to mention if can lead to other diseases as well. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.

Left nasal cavity seems full of discharge and bone seems affected as well (so whatever is inside is causing bone erosion as well). It is not possible to determine what it is specifically from the CT images and a further investigation is unfortunately needed. Was rhinoscopy performed? was a biopsy taken? Otherwise aggressive treatment for fungal infection is required (not only oral treatment but often ''flush'' of the nasal cavity is necessary to have substantial results. Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.

It is possible that it is associated with some type of cancer, especially if you can see a mass. It could also be caused by a tooth infection. Your vet could do a dental cleaning with x-rays to evaluate his teeth and see if any are infected teeth that need to be extracted. He may need to stay on an antibiotic for an extended period of time to clear the infection. Your vet could also culture the drainage to make sure he is on the correct antibiotic.

Dental disease can cause severe infection in the mouth and throat which could potentially be inhaled into the chest as well as affecting the kidneys and heart. You should have him examined by a vet, he may require urgent treatment if he has developed a pneumonia

Thanks for reaching out about Willy. An abscessed tooth or neoplasia are the most likely causes. Starting with dental radiographs would be a good idea. If infected tooth root, tooth needs to be extracted to properly treat, a culture should be submitted as Baytril (enrofloxacin) doesn't treat all infections. A tumor is much more concerning. You probably need to follow through with some diagnostics to properly identify and treat. Good luck.