Is dog tooth extraction routine, or should I get a second opinion?

Hello and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! As with any medical procedure, complications can occur but when the appropriate precautions and techniques are used complications become much less likely. To make things as safe as possible your veterinarian may do pre-op blood work prior to anesthesia. An IV catheter should be placed and the dental is performed under full anesthesia with an endotracheal tube in place. Dental X-rays are recommended to ensure teeth can be extracted as safely as possible. Post operative pain medications should be used after an extraction. If Benji needs any tooth extractions, it is likely if proper steps are taken everything will go smoothly. And Benji will be much happier when any broken or infected teeth are removed.

Dental x-rays are a really good tool at doing the best possible job we can during this procedure. They are what allow us to look beneath the gumline to diagnose diseased tooth roots and help to make sure that we are extracting all the teeth that need to go. A good job can also be done without them, we are just a little more limited in our ability to determine which is a healthy tooth. There are still LOTS of vet practices that don't have dental x-ray capability, and they can all serve their patients well.

Those teeth are not fusing together. They are just in tight proximity. The back, skinnier tooth is the baby canine tooth that never fell out. The one in front of that is the adult canine tooth. The baby tooth does need to be extracted (not the adult tooth) as it will cause problems of crowding and it allows a lot of food, hair, etc to get stuck between the teeth and cause infection. The pain injection and the antibiotic injections are done while she is having the procedure done. The clavamox and tramadol are antibiotic and pain medication for her to take at home after the procedure. This is normal.

Hi there and thank you for using pet coach to address your concern. Judging from the pictures you provided, the tooth looks as though it was quite infected especially if it fell out on its own. A lot of times, teeth that are this infected that Fall out have also lost some of the root characteristics. By this I mean the roots will sometimes appear as though they are missing or very rounded and short as opposed to their healthier appearance. A lot of times these teeth will have a black discoloration if the tooth is dead or may appear black due to the Tartar and plaque that has grown on the surface of the tooth. Flushing with saline is fine and the hole where the tooth previously was should heal on its own now that the problematic tooth is out of the tooth socket. I would definitely consider keeping him on antibiotics and also do what we call Pulse antibiotic therapy. I did this with my own dog and would Place him on a course of antibiotics every other month at a high dose using clindamycin as my primary choice as it is very good for bone and dental infections. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please feel free to contact me if you have any other questions or concerns. I am also available by phone or text based consultation if needed.

Hi there and thank you for using pet coach to address your concern. This is an unfortunate situation. The recommendation would be to remove the tooth but with the concurrent heart disease it makes the decision difficult to put him under anesthesia. I will say, I have placed numerous pets with heart failure under anesthesia that did just fine. This just required an adjustment of the medications and careful attention to the heart monitor to catch any changes early. I would not suggest pulling the tooth at home. I would recommend continuing antibiotics every other month to prevent infection in the mouth. I might also consider speaking with a dental specialist about removing the tooth. Need Dental Specialists deal with many high-risk cases. I would also make sure that you are addressing the discomfort with some kind of anti-inflammatory. If Chico likes playing with toys, I would provide Chico with hard treats or toys to chew on. These Carter objects may help dislodge the already loose tooth. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any other questions. I am also available by phone or text based consultation.

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.

Hello. That is a lot of money to do a dentistry & remove a small tumor, but prices are extremely variable in different parts of the country. I assume that your dog is an older one, otherwise, we do not recommend removing teeth just for the fun of it. If there is quite a bit of peridontal disease, then dentistry can actually extend a pets life. The small tumor looks pretty irritated, also your dog has been licking it quite a bit. I have no problem removing it now rather than waiting or doing an aspirate mainly because if it grows much bigger, regardless of whether it is malignant or benign, your veterinarian will have trouble finding enough skin to close the site. The best thing to do is to get a second opinion & see if there is agreement as to how to proceed. If so, consider having both procedures done. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.