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Chipped Tooth….”It’ll be fine”
or Will It?
by
Dr. Brett Beckman
June, 2005
Punta Gorda Life
Dogs and cats are very oral
creatures. From the time that they
are young most pets have access to
 a
variety of chew toys and bones. The surprising
thing is that some of the classics are the ones that
cause the most harm. Rawhide bones, hard
plastic resin bones, cow hooves and meat bones are
among the top of the list for causes of fractured
teeth. |
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In this issue....
Feature: |
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Chipped Tooth...
"It'll be fine" or Will it?
by:
Dr. Brett Beckman
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What is that you say? “My dog
has had a fractured tooth for years
and it has never caused him
problems.”
If you have a fractured tooth, if
the dentin and especially if the
pulp is exposed that tooth will
either be uncomfortable or down
right painful. Pets experience the
same; however they cannot display it
as we can. Pets hide their
discomfort for a variety of
reasons. In the wild the weak
perish. Evolution has taught them
to continue to eat despite even
significant pain. This is a
survival response that is deeply
seated even in our domestic pets
today. Pets will also chew away
from the injured tooth.
Figure 1 |
Figure 2 |
Figure 3 |
This owner of this 12 year old
border collie recalled that she
liked to catch a Frisbee while
young. She noticed a swelling of
the gum over the fractured
incisors.
(Figure 1)
X-rays revealed
a large cyst that destroyed a large
portion of the upper jaw that
developed from the fracture years
ago.
(Figure
2)
Cats don’t commonly chew bones but
have a tendency to fracture their
long fragile canine teeth. This
generally results from blunt trauma
from a fall or missed jump. This
cat had just a bit of the tip
missing.
(Figure
3)
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However you can
see by the x-ray that the outline of
the tooth is non existent to the
left of the picture compared to the
normal tooth structure on the right
of the picture.
(Figure
4). This
particular owner noticed that she
was “slowing down a bit” and
attributed it to age. Once this
tooth and the jaw abcess were
removed the owner commented that she
was “back to her old self again.” |
As a rule of thumb if you would not
hit your kneecap with the chew toy
or bone it likely will be hard
enough to fracture teeth. Commonly
dogs fracture their upper fourth
premolar tooth, the large shearing
tooth in the back of the mouth.
Tartar may grow over the fracture
and obscure it. A thorough
veterinary examination will help pet
owners detect fractured teeth and
other dental problems in their pets
before they get to be a problem.
You may save your pet from
unnecessary discomfort or pain that
might otherwise go unnoticed.
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Please
click here for additional information or
if you would like to contact the author of this
article, Dr.
Brett Beckman
. Thank you!
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"If you are really living... you are enjoying the Punta Gorda
Life"
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