My puppy chewed and has a hard spot on his gum. What should I do?

I'm glad that Brody did not ingest the bottle cap! Gum tissue in the mouth is very vascular and can bleed fairly profusely, but also tends to heal quickly. At this point, since Brody is eating, drinking and acting normally, there is no need to rush him to the vet. The chances of this type of injury becoming infected are relatively low, but certainly not impossible. If anything changes with his appetite, or if he begins to show signs of mouth pain (dropping food, pawing at the mouth, drooling), Brody should be examined by a vet. Otherwise, continue monitoring Brody for problems over the next few days. I hope that all goes well!

Thank you for providing such good pictures. It looks like Lars has broken part of his tooth and what you are seeing is the pulp cavity. The pulp cavity is the center of the tooth where the nerves and blood supply run. The problem with having the pulp cavity exposed is that the area will be painful, and bacteria can now get into the tooth. In order to prevent infection, either the tooth needs to be extracted or a root canal needs to be performed. If your vet doesn't perform these procedures, they can refer you to a veterinary dentist who does. But have your vet evaluate Lars and give you their recommendation. I would also recommend discussing Lars' chewing habits, so you can try to figure out what caused this, so he doesn't break any other teeth. Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

It may just be a little boil that formed due to a mild infection or even trauma from his tooth. If it isn't bothering him then I would just keep an eye on it for the next 2-7 days to see if it resolves on its own. Most of the time these do. If it doesn't then have your vet take a look to see if treatment is needed.

This may be an abscess, a cyst or a tumor. You should have it examined by your veterinarian, as it is not possible to distinguish these by just looking at a photo. An abscess can usually be treated with antibiotics and/or be lanced, and a cyst can be evacuated. To identify a tumor, your vet may want to do a fine needle aspirate (he takes some material from the bump with a needle and then looks at it under the microscope) to determine whether the mass is concerning.

This does look a little gingival ulcer and it could be associated with teething. However I would observe this until Monday. If it is from teething it should heal by itself until then. If it increased in size, looks angry, starts to smell bad or is bothering her or did not heal by Monday, have it examined by your veterinarian as there could be some other cause involved that needs treatment.

Yikes! I'm so glad you were there to stop this from becoming a much worse situation! His mouth should heal just fine. Offer some soft food as hard food may be a bit painful for the next couple of days, other than that you don't need to change anything. If it hasn't healed well within 4-5 days, take him to the vet. Keep an eye on the other dog as well; while you were able to get them untangled quickly when he was choking, sometimes dogs can develop whats called "non-cardiogenic pulmonary edema" after a choking incident, even a brief one. If he starts to cough, seems to be breathing faster than normally or is labored at all in his breathing, take him to the vet. Oxygen therapy may be needed, these guys usually recover but they do often need to spend some time in an oxygen cage. He very well may be fine and not develop these symptoms at all, but it is something you need to watch out for over the next 12-24 hours. Thank you for asking Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

Hello! This looks like gingival hyperplasia and it can be due to inflammation under the gums. When you use a scraper on the tooth you are not getting under the gumline so there is still bacteria under there which is causing inflammation. I would not be overly worried about it at this stage. It is not that harmful but go easy with the scraping and only use that once every month or two. Instead, brush his teeth once a day and you can use the water additive linked below to help get under the gumline. https://www.petsworld.in/trixie-dental-care-set-dog-toothbrush-and-mint-toothpaste-100g.html https://www.petsworld.in/petkin-liquid-oral-care-for-dogs-and-cats-240-ml.html