My 5-month puppy has a retained baby tooth. Does she need a vet?

It is not uncommon for smaller breeds to have retained deciduous (baby) teeth. Have Peanut examined by your veterinarian. If the teeth are not loose, they will need to be manually extracted. This can be done when she is under anesthesia for her spay. Left in, the baby teeth can cause adult teeth to become misaligned causing bite issues. As you're seeing, the space between can collect food which will promote bacterial growth, infection and bad breath.

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!

This can be a common issue in young dogs, especially of small breeds. If the canine tooth doesn't fall out by the time the adult tooth has grown in, we normally recommend removal of this tooth at the pet's spay or neuter. The tooth can be a site that easily gets infected or is easily broken, and this is the reason we recommend removal,though we do see dogs who live with the baby tooth and don't have problems with them. They are also an area where tartar quickly accumulates as they age.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Labs very rarely have retained by teeth so give it another few weeks and they are likely to fall right out. If there are still baby teeth at about a year of age, they can be removed. Best wishes to you and Shiner!

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.

If you are planning on having Samuel neutered your vet may recommend having any remaining baby teeth extracted at that time. If not, your vet will likely want to remove them at the time of Samuel’s first yearly dental cleaning, as retained baby teeth can lead to increased gum and dental disease. It is a good idea to start brushing his teeth daily with an enzymatic pet toothpaste to help prevent /reduce gum disease. Small breed or toy dogs are prone to retained teeth and dental disease and should be treated with daily tooth brushing at home and at least yearly dental cleanings at the vet to help prevent pain from dental disease.

If the deciduous (baby) teeth are still in after the adult teeth have fully erupted, then they will need to be extracted by your veterinarian. Left in, they can push the adult teeth out of alignment, catch food and debris and promote infection. The teeth can be extracted while Turbo is anesthetized if he is to be neutered soon. This is common in smaller breeds but eaisly remedied and should cause no further issues once the baby teeth are out.