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Common Dentistry Problems in Pets

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Tooth Diagram

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* Cavity: The tooth has been fractured or worn down so that the pulp cavity is exposed. This allows bacteria to enter the tooth and travel into the bloodstream.

* How did it happen: Chewing on hard objects (rocks, fences, etc), trauma, or chewing on tennis balls.

* How to fix it: The tooth will either need a root canal (specialist) or needs to be removed. When bacteria enter the tooth they will travel to the bloodstream and to the rest of the body. Bacteria can cause infection elsewhere in the body.

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* Slab Fracture: Part of the crown is fractured exposing dentin and possibly the pulp cavity. The most common tooth fractured is the upper 4th premolars or the chewing teeth.

* How did it happen: Chewing on hard objects, trauma, fight wound

* How to fix it: If the tooth is infected or dead it will be removed. If the tooth is still healthy it can be sealed. Sealant may or may not last very long time depending on your pet's chewing habits.

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* Tooth abscess: a tooth root has become infected and a pocket of infection has formed. The tooth root is very long and ends under the eye and on the top of the muzzle.

* How did it happen: Broken teeth allow bacteria in, which travel up the pulp cavity and start an infection. More than one tooth may be involved.

* How to fix it: Antibiotics to help kill off bacteria, pain medications and anti-inflammatories. The tooth that is the source of the infection may need be removed or have a root canal done.

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* Tooth discoloration or pulpitis: the tooth may be brown, black, pink, or gray. These are signs of dead teeth.

* How did it happen: trauma or infection has caused the pulp cavity to burst in turn causing the tooth to die.

* How to fix it: Remove the tooth. If dead teeth are left they have the potential to become infected and develop an abscess.

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* Resorptive Lesion: The immune system sees the tooth or teeth as a foreign body and starts to eat away the tooth.

* How did it happen: The animal's immune system is not working properly. When the immune system eats away at something in the body it is known as autoimmune. No one knows for sure what causes this.

* How to fix it: The tooth where resorption is occurring needs to be removed. Often times pets do better if all teeth are removed.

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* Retained teeth: Baby teeth have not fallen out and the adult tooth has grown in right beside it. This is most commonly seen in small/toy breeds.

* How did it happen: Normally the adult tooth grows in on top of the baby tooth, pushing that tooth out. Due to the dog's genetics. the adult tooth does not grow in correctly and will grow in next to the baby tooth. The retained tooth may affect the root of the adult tooth.

* How to fix it: The retained tooth needs to be removed. If the tooth is not removed it could cause problems with the dog's bite. It may also collect foreign objects and bacteria due to the little crevice that is formed between the two teeth.

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Normal Dental Radiograph.

* The pulp cavity in the teeth are all the same size. If the pulp cavity is larger in one tooth vs another then that tooth is most likely dead.

* The peridontal ligament holds the tooth in the jaw bone. This is what makes tooth extraction difficult. The ligament is strong and hard to break. During extraction we stretch the ligament until it is pliable and too stretched out to hold the tooth in.

* The bone surrounding the teeth is of equal density and sits right at the crown line of the tooth.

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Abnormal Dental Radiograph

* There is major bone loss surrounding the teeth.

* The periodontal ligament has been eaten away making the teeth loose.

* Most likely there is infection and odor present.

* The only way to fix the teeth is to extract them. Extraction would be difficult in this case because the root of the large molar sits at the end of the jaw bone. Extraction of the tooth may cause jaw fracture.

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This is what a dental radiograph will show. On a physical exam the molar (large tooth) has minimal tartar present and is slightly loose. Upon taking an xray it shows that there is bone loss between the first and second molar. Both teeth should be removed due to the bone loss and infection starting to those teeth. If the teeth are not removed the infection could spread to the jaw bone increasing the risk of a broken jaw.

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