Why are my 1-year-old dog's gums purple around a loose baby tooth?

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! The purple tooth did not happen from damage yesterday but it does need to be addressed. A purple tooth means the root is dead and that can lead to an infection. I would take Rufus to a vet (not an emergency) and discuss removal of the tooth. It isn’t a tooth he needs to eat or chew and he will be happier to have the bad tooth removed. Good luck and kisses to Rufus!

Having a lesion in the mouth with such inflamed gums and possibly a broken off tooth root is very painful and prone to damage the permanent tooth that will come up and also can cause serious general infection. You will need to have this examined by your vet who will need to remove the tooth. If thee tooth is "just hanging by a thread" the vet may be able to just lift it out without too much pain or he may have to sedate your dog to remove it and check for any root remnants. It is possible that the pain and insufficient processing of the food due to pain can cause diarrhea. Until you get to take her to the vet you can feed her some wet /canned food and make it soupy so she does not have to use her teeth.

I would not be too concerned about the tooth at this time. It is difficult to tell from the picture, but the tooth in question looks as if it is a baby tooth that has broken off. If this is the case, the tooth will fall out sometime between 12-16 weeks of age. If this is an adult tooth, then I would recommend you continue to monitor it for now. If the tooth is still looking abnormal at the time of your dog’s spay (around 6 months of age) then your vet can remove it while she is already under anesthesia. This way it will not cause any future problems. I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Best of luck.

It's definitely a tooth, at 6 months of age I would expect Bella to have already lost her deciduous ("baby") canine teeth and for the adult ones to be nearly fully erupted. From the looks of things, this is definitely a deciduous tooth, as opposed to an adult one, as adult canine teeth have very long roots. Purely on speculation, I would wonder if Bella could have been playing with another puppy "friend" and some rough play could have caused the other puppy to lose the deciduous canine and have it become lodged in Bella's muzzle. Another explanation would be that it's Bella's deciduous canine tooth, and she somehow managed to get it wedged in her muzzle, again through playing. The important take-away here is that this is only part of a deciduous canine tooth, so to be absolutely sure that there isn't a piece of a root retained in her gumline (which can serve as a focus for chronic infection), I would recommend having your vet shoot a quick x-ray, maybe even while she's asleep for her spaying surgery, in order to be sure there's not a fragment of the tooth left behind. If there is, it should be a pretty simple matter to remove it at that time.

Thanks for visiting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I do see a baby tooth there (the really pointy sharp tooth) and that is likely the tooth you are saying is really loose. Usually pets lose their baby teeth by the age of 6 months, so Vader is a bit of a late bloomer. I would recommend having your vet take a look at the tooth in person to see if it can be manipulated to come out. It may just come out on its own, but again, usually by this age the baby teeth are already gone. No need to worry too much however. If it does not come out on its own, then it can always be extracted at a later date. It is best to extract them to avoid overcrowding of the teeth and advanced dental disease. I would recommend brushing Vaders teeth often (3 times a week) to help remove foodstuffs that might get stuck there. Otherwise, plan on seeing your vet soon for further care if it doesn't happen to fall out soon. Best wishes with Vader and good luck with his stubborn baby tooth. Take care.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This does warrant a visit to your veterinarian as that color of the tooth suggests that the tooth may be dead and needs to be removed. I recommend that you have Luna evaluated by your veterinarian for further assessment and treatment. They would be able to look at this closely and decide what would be best. Good luck and have a great day!

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.