My Yorkipoo has retained baby teeth & liver issues. How to prevent infection?

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Jolene. Unfortunately, the only way to tell for definitively if the tooth has been infected is to take an x-ray of her mouth. The area above her gumline does appear red. If it is possible to move her surgery sooner, that would be ideal. However, as long as she is eating, drinking and she does not experience a swelling of her muzzle, then you can likely wait. I hope this information helps!

Active chewing on a bone may well loosen and encourage it to fall out without resorting to anaesthesia and extraction. There are many oral tooth gels which help to improve hygiene and reduce the risks of infection for the remaining teeth but would be unlikely to help a loose, infected tooth

I recommend a veterinary exam to check how infected the tooth is. If they listen to her heart and it is fine and her blood work is stable they may be able to do light sedation only and remove the infected tooth. Bad teeth are very painful and also the dental infection can worsen the liver problem so extracting it if it can be done safely would be my recommendation. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Daisy.

It’s time for Nena to have her teeth professionally cleaned by her veterinarian. That is very heavy tartar on her teeth and over time, she will start to get a separation of her gums from the teeth. This will lead to infections, loose teeth, dental pain and can lead to endocarditis, kidney and liver problems. She also had a retained puppy tooth that needs to be extracted as it is causing problems and stretching the socket (there should only be one tooth there). Small breed dogs tend to be prone to dental disease. They need the teeth cleaned at least once a year by the veterinarian in order to maintain good oral health. At home, brushing the teeth with dog tooth paste every day can help. Special dog foods, treats and toys can help but they don’t help clean the front of the mouth as pets don’t use that to chew. Even with this action, she will still need her teeth professionally cleaned. Better to get this taken care of soon. Once the damage is done to the teeth, it’s permanent. I hope this is helpful and please feel free to post any additional questions.

Because Coco is two pounds, it is safe to do anesthesia on her. I would have her baby teeth pulled as soon as possible because they are preventing her adult teeth from being in the correct position. I hope this helps!

If there is any bleeding, this should be ideally stopped by applying gentle pressure on it with a wet swab. A check up would be ideal if unsure there is a piece of it still inside and make sure there is no infection on that site that would require an antibiotic treatment.

HI, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! A lot of smaller breed dogs don't lose their baby teeth. Retained baby teeth can affect the adult teeth coming in behind. Also tartar build up between the baby tooth and the adult tooth leading to periodontal disease. The most common retained baby teeth are the canines. If a decent amount of the adult canine tooth has erupted and the baby tooth is still there then the baby tooth is unlikely to come out on it's own. I usually recommend extracting the retained baby teeth when the dog is spayed or neutered. It appears Luca hasn't been neutered yet. If you are planning to neuter him ask the Vet to extract the baby teeth. If you are not planning to neuter him you can schedule anesthesia to just have the teeth removed. I hope this helps!