Base Narrow Canines

JennAB

I have a pup (Shiba) that has base narrow canines. Her baby teeth are coming out and I noticed her bottom canines are not coming in properly. The rest of her bite is fine. I know that in some cases the canines can dig in and make holes in the roof of the mouth, luckily hers are not doing this yet (they don't seem severe). I know that the jaw can change up to 11months of age .. and I am pretty sure the base narrow canines don't correct themselves. Any advise?

Calia - I was reading an older discussion you started about Tikaani having the same thing. How did it turn out for you? A Lacross ball? How did you keep it in his mouth? How are his teeth today?

lindsayt

I responded on the other side too, but it is not likely to correct itself. The time to intervene with the least amount of effort and expense is when the teeth are just starting to erupt.

Calia

The lacrosse ball helped put Tikaani's tooth back away from the gums, though it's still closer to the roof than his other canine. Basically, the dental vet said to keep the ball between his canines for 3-5 sessions for about 10-15 minutes. The size of the ball is adjusted to the size of the dog, so a lacrosse ball may be too big for a shiba. It all depends on the severity of the angle whether a ball is good enough or if they need corrective surgery or braces.

This sort of thing is partly the reason why my vets push for smaller dogs to be spayed/neutered at 6 months. One vet said that when the adult canines are halfway in that's when you get it done. That way, any remaining puppy teeth can be extracted while they are knocked out and before they can do much harm to the adult teeth.

There was another thread, may be just on the shiba side, of a more extreme case of base narrow in both canines. Not sure if you saw that one yet, gonna ave to find it.