broken tooth dillemma

[kasia]

i just discovered that my mooi has a chipped/broken tooth, the really big one at the top. a part of it seems loose from the rest of the tooth and it's darker. he's shown no signs of discomfort, so i just now discovered it - no idea how long ago this has happened. my best guess is that he broke it on a nylabone at some point in the last few weeks/months (no more nylabones!). i plan on making a vet appt tomorrow. till then, i would like to hear people's experiences of/thoughts about removing the tooth versus root canal.

i've read conflicting things about the root canal. my first instinct is to preserve the tooth if possible (although i shudder at the cost:eek:), but i wonder if it's the best option for my raw fed, very strong-jawed dog who loves to chew chew chew. even if i give him only soft toys to chew on, i worry that the weakened tooth may crack again just in the course of his regular eating. he eats lots of meat on bones, mostly soft things like pork necks, chicken backs and rabbit, but if there is a cap on the tooth wouldn't it break off eventually?

on the other hand, removing an important tooth like that may affect his ability to eat those meaty bones properly. i don't know what to do. i'm wary of consulting with my vet on this question specifically since i'm pretty sure he'd advise me not to raw feed anymore, or at least not to give him any bones. any advice or thoughts would be much appreciated.

kasia

[gmacleod]

By really big one at the top, do you mean a canine? The big pointy one? LOL - for a better explanation, see this pictorial: http://www.vivo.colostate.edu/hbooks/pathphys/digestion/pregastric/dogpage.html

I think your vet is probably best placed to determine whether or not the tooth should be removed. From a sheer eating perspective, I wouldn't be too concerned with the loss of an incisor really. These are your ripping teeth - the ones that help the dog to tear flesh from bones. It is the pre-molars and molars that are used for chewing up bones and other tough items. The loss of an incisor then, really shouldn't affect in the least his ability to consume bones like pork necks, etc.

[kasia]

based on one of the pictures, it's the premolar that's furthest inside the mouth. which as you say, is important for grinding and crushing. i have a vet appt tomorrow morning. still don't know which way to go if extraction or root canal are the only two options...

[kasia]

well, we saw the vet today and he recommends that the tooth be pulled. he just saw the same case last week. the vet said that a root canal may not be the best option, becuase it looks like a big chunk of the enamel has been chipped off. this means that bacteria can enter through the unprotected tooth surface. so the other option is covering the tooth with a crown or cap but it's likely to crack or loosen in the future, if the dog is a chewer (and since he eats RMBs, taking away nylabones will not mean he's not using that tooth for crushing food). pulling the tooth means end of problems.

the vet has assured me that pulling that tooth will cause no long term problems for mooi in terms of eating. that really was my main concern. the vet actually was pretty non-judgemental about the raw feeding (or at least did not show any judgement:)), and said mooi should have no problems getting through soft bones.

also, the vet said that dog's teeth don't shift in the way human teeth do when there is a gap. he said there should be no impact on the other teeth.

so - i think we're going to do it. we have an appt on tuesday. which means mooi is going under and i'm going to be totally stressed for the whole day:(

i have to say, i totally regret giving nylabones to mooi - he goes through all the other things so fast, so i thought this was the right toy for him. boy, was i wrong!

[gmacleod]

What a shame - but good that the vet doesn't think it will cause any problems. Good luck for Tuesday!

[kasia]

the extraction went well and mooi is now home sound asleep. fell asleep sitting up:)

[KarenTX]

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