My senior dog has painful teeth, but still enjoys life. What to do?

It sounds like there are some anesthetic concerns and that your vet does not feel comfortable removing the incisors. You may want to ask about referral to a veterinary dentist if available in your area. Ideally Frodo should also have an echocardiogram performed by a cardiologist first to determine the extent of his heart disease and assess his risk under anesthesia. This website lists board certified dentists but there may also be a veterinarian in your area who limits practice to dentistry. https://www.avdc.org

Bad teeth are common in older dogs. Loose teeth can cause problems with eating and chewing, but what is also very important they can cause chronic mouth pain. You should take BoBo to your vet for clinical examination and to assess what would be the best way to help your dog. In most of the cases, cleaning and scaling teeth under general anaesthesia is recommended. Also, extraction of loose teeth is often necessary.

I’m sorry to hear about the tooth loss. It sounds like you are trying hard to maintain good oral health and you should continue this. Definitely try to brush the teeth every day, even twice a day if possible. Pet tooth paste helps but the main benefit is the physical brushing. They also make dental diets which can improve oral health. Some pets also go on pulse therapy antibiotics to help control bacterial populations in the mouth. Unfortunately despite best efforts, dental disease can progress resulting in a he tooth loss. A fair amount of dental disease is found under the gumline and so it is hard to address without a proper dental cleaning. You may ask your veterinarian if there is an option to have you pup cared for by a specialist who may be able to preform a dental cleaning. If this is an option. Best of luck and please feel free to post any additional questions.

Ouch! Scrumpy probably had very diseased teeth that were already loose and they got knocked out of place in the scuffle. The other possibility is that she broke her jaw, although that is less likely She needs to go under anesthesia and have her teeth cleaned and any diseases teeth removed. I would recommend calling you veterinarian right away and seeing they can see Scrumpy today or tomorrow. She is probably in more pain that she is letting on and will be much more comfortable once those teeth (or her jaw) are taken care of. Best of luck!

Some medications might help. Antibiotics and pain killers (anti-inflammatories) can definitively improve his condition clearing up mouth infection. Symptomatic treatment for vomiting might help as well. I would recommend to have him on a bland diet based on boiled chicken and rice. Please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.

It sounds like the tooth you are referring to is the lower left canine when I look at your picture, rather than an incisor. Because it is a canine tooth that is affected, I would recommend that you make an appointment and have your vet take a look. The canine teeth have very large, strong roots and leave large holes when they come out. I am glad that she is still eating, but it sounds like you do need to get her in. Even if she needs to have it extracted under anesthesia, this is a better option than opening her up to a potential infection, which could be very serious if it were to involve the bone of the lower jaw (mandible). There are also other changes your vet can look for that may have caused the tooth to become loose in the first place, such as a tumor of some kind in her mouth. Good luck with her, I hope this information is helpful for you!

Getting Misty a dental with the vet is the best idea! The vet will determine what teeth need to be pulled, and which ones can stay. The vet will save as many teeth as they can. I would do what the vet recommends. I hope this helps!