My rescue dog has worn teeth from crate chewing. What should I do?

Hello. The teeth are quite worn down, but without a thorough oral exam, it is difficult to evaluate exactly what is going on. I can tell you that some dogs, out of anxiety, boredom, even an obsessive compulsive condition, will chew on rocks or chain link fencing & can wear down & chip away at the teeth resulting in this. Perhaps being in a forever stable home is what this poor pup needs. Thank you so much for considering adoption & contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Rocko has signs of wear on all his incisors. This could be due to chewing on kennel walls or fencing or it could be due to misalignment of the teeth. These teeth may need to be removed at some point. I recommend to have Rocko examined by a veterinarian to examine the teeth., This will give you a better idea of if there is any pain or other signs of dental disease indicating that they should be removed sooner. Stop him from chewing on crates/fencing as well if that is occurring. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.

Sometimes dogs wear their teeth down by chewing on things. Such as if he used to chew tennis balls all the time, or was in a cage and chewed and pulled on the doors. It would be very rare that they would have been filed down on purpose. I assume he probably wore them down doing something repetitively. Best of luck I’m glad he now has a great forever home! Thank you for using Pet Coach.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. So this is a “complicated” fracture of the canine- meaning the pulp cavity is exposed. Unfortunately, if Titus walked into my office, I’d recommend scheduling a dental and removing the tooth. Once the pulp cavity is exposed, bacteria can travel up it and cause a deep abscess in the bone. Then you have weeks of antibiotics and still have to do the procedure. This does not always happen, but there is no way to know which case it will happen to. The other option is seeing a dental specialist for a root canal and crown. That being said, it’s not very painful unless he is chewing with it (which he’ll probably avoid). And not much is going to happen in the next two days, or even in the next two months. Don’t put anything on there and just leave it alone. Schedule an appointment when it’s convenient and talk with your vet about your options. Also talk about why he is chewing his crate (often a sign of moderate to severe separation anxiety). And how to prevent future damage to other teeth. Best wishes to you and Titus!

Hi there and thank you for your post! From the pictures you provided, there is definitely some severe attrition (dental wearing) occurring throughout Judge's mouth. I see many dogs with worn teeth and most of the time, there are no issues with the worn teeth other than the fact that they typically accumulate tartar faster than non-worn teeth (this is because the enamel has been worn off). The only concern I would have would be that I can see the small dot in the center of the tooth. This structure is known as the pulp chamber, which houses the nerve and blood supply to the tooth. If this is exposed, the current recommendation is to either have a root canal performed or have the tooth removed. It does appear that Judge has tartar on his teeth. I would recommend a dental cleaning under anesthesia and have the teeth checked for any signs of pulp exposure. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns. I am also available by phone or text based consultation if needed. If Judge chews on hard bones or toys, I would stop this so that the wearing does not worsen.

She definitely has some wear on those teeth - often that particular pattern is caused by chewing tennis balls a lot or being really itchy and chewing at the skin a lot. The only way to know if the teeth are healthy is a dental x-ray and exam under anesthesia, so I can't say for sure if it's an issue or not. With a dental x-ray, her vet can look at the tooth roots and also make sure the gingiva is healthy. This is definitely not an emergency, but I would recommend bringing it up at her next appointment.

The missing teeth may indicate old age or could indicate severe dental disease that is common in smaller breed dogs. I would recommend to take him to your local veterinarians office to have him scanned for a microchip just in case he is lost. It probably would not be a bad idea to have him checked out as well and to get an estimate of his age. Offer a mixture of dry and canned food as well as pick up some dewormer from the veterinarians office. Best of luck with your rescue!