My 4-month-old puppy has a brown tooth and red gum bump. Should I worry?

Ghost is of the age when he is getting his adult teeth in. As the adult teeth come in, they should push the baby teeth out. However, sometimes we can see infection or inflammation at the tooth root of the baby tooth as the adult tooth tries to push out the baby tooth. That may be what is going on with Ghost. I would recommend having your veterinarian examine it just to make sure that there isn't any evidence of infection that would benefit from antibiotics. Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Trusty is listed as 4 months old, and in the photo that tooth does look like a baby tooth. These baby teeth often fracture like that then fall out; the root will resorb and the adult toot will grow in. As long as he is eating normally and doesn't seem painful, you don't need to be concerned at this point. It will probably fall out on its own without complication in the next few days. Thanks for asking Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

Thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach with your question about Luna. It looks like it could be her baby tooth, and if the tooth is turning brown, I'm worried about the viability of the tooth. If the pulp is exposed, this will also cause her pain. Have her seen by her vet in the morning to discuss removing this tooth as needed. I hope this helps!

Hello! If the baby canine tooth came all the way out and the piece of tooth coming out is his new adult tooth- then no worries! If the baby tooth is broken and partially inside the gums, then I would recommend a vet check. Unfortunately, broken baby teeth are a known risk factor for puppies getting tetanus because of all the crazy things they put in their mouths. In this case, we recommend extracting the remaining piece of tooth to prevent this. If you were planning on having him neutered, you may be able to schedule the tooth removal and neutering during the same anesthetic event. I hope this is helpful. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! From your picture it appears to be a baby canine tooth. In small breed dogs sometimes the baby teeth can become retained and the puppy doesn’t lose them at all. I recommend removing the baby teeth that haven’t shed on their own when the puppy is spayed or neutered. My thoughts are that at least one Chacha’s baby canine teeth didn’t shed when it was supposed to. It was likely delayed. And it’s a GOOD thing it’s out now. If you are worried have your Vet take a look to see if any more baby teeth are present and discuss removing them at her spay. I hope this helps and have a great day!

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.

The tooth that is cracked looks like a baby canine tooth. The adult canine tooth will not come in until closer to 6 months of age. The problem is if the pulp cavity of the tooth is open, the broken tooth can be painful and can get infected. I would recommend having your veterinarian examine Ella and determine if anything needs to be done about the tooth now or if we can just wait for her adult tooth to come in and push the baby tooth out. Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.