Broken incisors

Earlier today, I examined a dog who had been adopted from a shelter. She was very sweet, albeit a little shy, and we could quickly see she’s a good snuggler. During my exam, I noticed some broken incisors and a broken canine tooth. Given her background, we’ll never know how she broke these teeth. Was she kicked? Hit by a car? Did she chew too hard on something?

What we do know is that 98% of broken teeth will eventually develop an abscess. Tooth abscesses, as any humans who’ve experienced this problem can attest, are extremely painful. Being the stoic creatures that they are, however, dogs may not show any signs of pain. The best treatment for this particular dog is extraction of the broken incisors and either extraction or root canal therapy of the broken canine tooth.

Lower left canine tooth is broken

Root canal therapy is a specialty procedure, and we can offer a referral to a qualified veterinarian if this is something you’re interested in for your pet. Remember, dental pain should not be ignored–the sooner it’s addressed, the sooner a dog can be on her way to healing and feeling better!

A prophy is often called a “teeth cleaning,” but I’m afraid that description doesn’t quite do justice to what is included in a routine prophy. A better description is “periodontal therapy”, but even that may still leave you asking, “What?”

During a prophy, the heavy layers of tartar and calculus are removed from the tooth using an ultrasonic scaler (what human oral hygenists use). Most importantly, the sub-gingival (“under” the gums) tooth is also cleaned, which you simply can’t achieve on an awake patient.

We then chart the teeth. This is a very important step. Charting measures any pockets between the tooth and gums and allows us to make note of any chipped enamel, mobile teeth, gingivitis, oral masses, or any other potential areas of concern. Because this step can be time-consuming, many vet clinics opt not to do this (or they don’t do a thorough job), but we feel it’s one of the most valuable parts of the process.

Lastly, we rinse the mouth with fluoride and apply Ora-Vet. The Ora-Vet binds to the tooth and prevents tartar and bacteria from binding to it, so we can keep the teeth pearly white for even longer. We recommend that you continue applying the Ora-Vet weekly to help keep the teeth clean. It’s easy to apply and takes less than a minute.