Chipped Canine, what to do?

[Bear GSD]

I just now noticed that Bear's lower canine is chipped. It's the tip plus a little from the inside part. You can see a little red dot (nerve?).
It's kind of sharp to the touch. I've never had this happen before,
What do I do and what kind of treatment should I expect?

[Sunflowers]

Didn't someone here get titanium canines for that?

....
OK just found it.

Katya's "bling bling" titanium tooth picture!

[Bear GSD]

Originally Posted by Sunflowers

Didn't someone here get titanium canines for that?

Yeah, I think it was Hunterisgreat. I just need to know if I need to get him in ASAP or if I have some time and what my other options might be.
It doesn't seem to bother him.

[Sunflowers]

I would go to dog dentist. If you can see the red, bacteria can get in there and result in a nasty infection.

[jocoyn]

You should get him to a vet dentist ASAP - like call today if he just did it because they can possibly save the tooth and NOT have to do a root canal. It is definitely something you don't want to wait on because the root can get infected.

[Bear GSD]

I just got back from the vet. They said it was a chip fracture but with a pulp exposure. All they said they could do was give him meds for inflammation and pain and referred me to a canine dentist.
The dentist is not there over the weekend, I'm wondering how bad this is going to be, I don't want him to loose the canine!
Bear is not in any pain so far and is acting completely normal, I guess I'll have to wait until Monday. Good thing I got pet insurance a few months ago!

[jocoyn]

Yes, this is exactly why I have pet insurance. Depending on why you have it with your coverage will vary. I doubt he will loose the canine.

I found an article on this. Glad they referred you to a canine dentist. I will let the regular vet pull a cracked molar or deal with non-canine teeth but those canines are very important with massive roots and the lower canine root is part of the jaw structure. They are very long!

http://www.toothvet.ca/PDFfiles/Pulpotomy.pdf

[Bear GSD]

Originally Posted by jocoyn

Yes, this is exactly why I have pet insurance. Depending on why you have it with your coverage will vary. I doubt he will loose the canine.

I found an article on this. Glad they referred you to a canine dentist. I will let the regular vet pull a cracked molar or deal with non-canine teeth but those canines are very important with massive roots and the lower canine root is part of the jaw structure. They are very long!

http://www.toothvet.ca/PDFfiles/Pulpotomy.pdf

Thanks Nancy for the article! I'll have to see what they have to say, hopefully we can get him in on Monday!

[Anubis_Star]

If there's pulp exposure, you'll have to do a root canal. They can't do a bonded sealant over a chipped tip. No need to extract the tooth, it's VERY difficult to pull canines because of their long roots and would honestly cost just about as much. You CAN put a crown over the tooth, but that would just double your cost because they would still have to do the root canal either way.The dental specialist I work with once a week also feels that crowns might even weaken a tooth, as he has seen them snap where the bottom of the crown meets the gumline.

Expect a bill about 1000-1500$

[Caledon]

Originally Posted by jocoyn

Yes, this is exactly why I have pet insurance. Depending on why you have it with your coverage will vary. I doubt he will loose the canine.

I found an article on this. Glad they referred you to a canine dentist. I will let the regular vet pull a cracked molar or deal with non-canine teeth but those canines are very important with massive roots and the lower canine root is part of the jaw structure. They are very long!

http://www.toothvet.ca/PDFfiles/Pulpotomy.pdf

The vet that wrote that article is the vet we went to when Dakota s[lit her back molar. the nerve was exposed as well. The vet always recommends doing something and never leaving it. Eventually there will be infection, and pain for the dog.

Since Dakota had developed root resorption (uncommon in dogs) we opted to have the tooth removed instead of root canal. Root canal was slightly more and was our preferred way to go.

this vet highly recommends that you do not give your dog antlers as chews, or even nyla bones.