Broken teeth?

[BritneyP]

I didn't want to post this in the Health & Wellness section, as I thought it might be more applicable here.


My young female (2 years) is an absolute nut case. She goes bananas on her crate door in the car if something sets her off, she can't have a bowl left in her crate with her or she'll go mental on it, and she is just generally very reckless in everything she does.

She broke one of her top canines right before Christmas and I stopped doing bitework with her immediately after and she had a root canal on that tooth about a week and a half ago. I brought her out to training yesterday with the intention of doing bitework with her for the first time in about 6 weeks, and while I was playing tug with her in OB, I noticed one of her bottom canine's was a little bloody. Sure enough, it was broken and bleeding from the pulp hole.

I'm going to bring her to my vet on Monday to look at it, but this is literally breaking my heart. I'd really love to hear from folks who've dealt with broken teeth, root canals, no root canals, how many root canals to do, how all of these things affected (or didn't affect) their bitework, etc.


Thanks in advance!

[hunterisgreat]

Do root canals, and titanium crowns. I respectable veterinary dentist will guarantee them for life, even if they come off and you can't find them.

Was she a kennel biter? Are the backside of her canines "cupped" or worn into? of so, thats the weak point, and the remaining ones will snap there. Get 3/4 crowns on those to both stop the wear from kennel biting/etc, and preserve most of the tooth. Full crowns don't allow for future X-rays and so you don't know whats happening in that tooth after a TI crown.

A root canal-ed tooth, especially that young, is weaker than a healthy tooth, and if you plan on doing bite work you need/should to crown it. A 5 year old dog has much stronger teeth than a 2 year old, as the pulp thins as the dog ages. A 2 year olds canine is comparatively hollow.

[lhczth]

I have only had to deal with one broken tooth. Nike sheered her canine off right down below the gum line. The dentist blunted it, did a root canal and it had no affect on her bitework. If there is blood I would have the tooth looked at by a specialist since it probably needs a root canal.

I would be more concerned about finding a way to stop the crate behaviors that are causing the broken teeth.

[hunterisgreat]

Just noticed you are in central north carolina. Dr Katherine Queck practices in Charlotte I believe, and Charleston, and is one of the most skilled out there. She is also very well aware of the particulars of dogs doing protection work.

[jocoyn]

Catherine Queck is in Charlotte
She does teeth for police departments and did a root canal for me
Board Certified Veterinary Dentist.

There ya go. Cross Post. I highly recommend her.

[hunterisgreat]

Originally Posted by lhczth

I have only had to deal with one broken tooth. Nike sheered her canine off right down below the gum line. The dentist blunted it, did a root canal and it had no affect on her bitework. If there is blood I would have the tooth looked at by a specialist since it probably needs a root canal.

I would be more concerned about finding a way to stop the crate behaviors that are causing the broken teeth.

If there is blood then pulp is exposed, and 100% of exposed pulp fractures get infected.

[hunterisgreat]

Originally Posted by jocoyn

Catherine Queck is in Charlotte
She does teeth for police departments and did a root canal for me
Board Certified Veterinary Dentist.

Beat you :-P

[FG167]

Originally Posted by lhczth

I would be more concerned about finding a way to stop the crate behaviors that are causing the broken teeth.

I am going through the same issues with Kastle. He's chipped a couple of his adult teeth with this bad behavior. What would you suggest we (meaning Britney and I) do? I've tried quite a few different things and are onto a new plan but am definitely open to suggestions! I am assuming that Britney is too! (We've already discussed our issues)

[jocoyn]

Originally Posted by hunterisgreat

Beat you :-P

Yeah and ya probably spelled it right too.

She did braces for another dog of mine who had misalinged teeth due to a retained puppy tooth (this was NOT cosmetic!)

She is very good.

[hunterisgreat]

I'm gonna guess that if she is 2 years and snapping canines, then she is a heavy kennel biter. Probably the damage is done unless there was some significant event that caused the breaks, but really gotta stop the kennel biting somehow... my female was a kennel biter. Never saw her do it, but saw the aftermath on the kennel. The ultimate solution was... I stopped crating her. My older female doesn't bite the kennel, but clearly did when she was a puppy (I got her last year, but she's 7). My male was screwing up his teeth from tennis balls... totally different pattern of wear (flat on top as opposed to wear on the lower backside). Basically, keep the lesson with you moving forward, and for all future dogs