Have a 5 year old who's molar suffered what the vet thinks was a slab fracture. I was brushing her teeth today and a third of her molar fell out. This girl is not given bones-just a rawhide every now and again.
Vet will see her in a few days but the option will be to go to a canine dentist to try and save the tooth or have the vet extract it.
Has anyone else ever had this happen and is so what was your experience. What is the best treatment?
Why would this happen in a young dog who has never been a chewer-I'm stumped.
Thank you
my veteran bitch Maggie had a slab fracture at 10 years of age back molar.
we had it pulled., and she is doing fine no issues coming up 14 years of age
i showed her in vets for years, no one said anything about her molar missing, LeeAnne
I had a dog that broke one of his large side teeth. After it was pulled at 8 years it did not seem like he ever noticed it was gone. If it's gone then at least there is no chance of it getting infected. If it has a root canal and cap or filling, it could get knocked out since it is a chewing tooth, what the vet dentist I talked to said anyway.
Maybe she broke it playing with another dog, perhaps a collision or tugging on a stick. One of my dogs just broke her incisor when another dog ran into her face.
A dog I bred cracked his molar. I advised his owner to just pull it, but the owner wanted to try to save it and spent an obscene amount of money at a canine dentist for a root canal. Lasted about a year or two and became abcessed, back to the dentist and the tooth ended up being pulled anyway.
thank you for sharing your experiences-as of now I'm thinking the extraction would be the best way to go for her so she doesn't need repeat procedures.
I am assuming that you are no longer showing her in conformation? If that is the case, pull the tooth, it will be easier on her and cheaper for you. I did do a root canal to save a tooth on a dog years ago with a canine veterinary dentist...it ran me almost $3,000 but it held for years. The only reason I did it was that it was a canine tooth that was pulled out when the dog was playing with another through a fence and it got caught on the fence.
Most likely you are all referring to the upper 4th premolar (the really large tooth. The molars are really small and way way back). Upper PM4 is the most common tooth to suffer a slab fracture. Appropriate treatment really depends on how much of the tooth has broken and if the root is infected. I have seen dogs that have gone years without problems when we have left the tooth alone (checked for any pain associated with the tooth) but other dogs either have nerve pain or the if the roots are infected (they suddenly get a large swelling just below the eye) and then I recommend removing. I will always offer referral to a veterinary dental specialist for folks who want to explore root canal, etc but in most cases folks elect more conservative care.
