Tikaani's teeth are better, but what is he missing now
Tikaani has finally lost his last puppy tooth, broke off while playing with Tetsu. Freaked me out with all the blood on Tetsu's neck, but it's all from Tikaani's mouth.
Any ways, his adult canine was growing more toward the inside of his mouth, I've attached an image that I found that was like Tikaani's mouth. Cause his last puppy tooth to so long to fall out, his bottom, adult canine tooth is growing into his upper mouth and cutting a hole into it. We scheduled a vet appointment for Saturday to get this checked out as well as get him a Lyme shot.
I just want to know what everyone else's opinion may be about this. Do you think it might fix itself, or is there a possibility that he'll need dental correction? Has anyone experienced anything similar?
Any ways, his adult canine was growing more toward the inside of his mouth, I've attached an image that I found that was like Tikaani's mouth. Cause his last puppy tooth to so long to fall out, his bottom, adult canine tooth is growing into his upper mouth and cutting a hole into it. We scheduled a vet appointment for Saturday to get this checked out as well as get him a Lyme shot.
I just want to know what everyone else's opinion may be about this. Do you think it might fix itself, or is there a possibility that he'll need dental correction? Has anyone experienced anything similar?
Comments
Jesse
Do they make doggy braces for situations like this?
Definitely see your veterinarian about this. Base narrow canines can be very problematic. Sometimes the cause is retention of the deciduous canines and other times, the mandible is just narrow. If the appropriate interlock is not achieved with the canines on the upper arcade, then the lower canines will puncture the palate just as you describe. Not only is this uncomfortable for Tikaani, but it can result in an oronasal fistula (a hole that connects the oral cavity with the nasal passages.) Infection and aspiration of food material is then possible. The best option would probably be a slant plate that could guide the lower canines into proper position. It's very important to get that done ASAP while the teeth are still erupting and the pup's jaw is developing. The plate is later removed. See if your veterinarian can recommend a veterinary dental specialist in the area. Another option would be crown shortening so the lower canines aren't as long. Extraction of the lower canines would be a salvage procedure only (but better than an oronasal fistula). He's a young dog and dogs use their lower canines to carry things often. Their tongues tend to protrude too without lower canines.
Check out Dr. Jan Bellow's website. Here is a section on canine orthodontics. http://www.dentalvet.com/patients/orthodontics/pet_orthodontics.htm
Near the bottom is a picture of base narrow canines which I believe you are describing.
Good luck.
I'm just so frustrated at everything that has happened with him. We gt him from what we thought was a reputable breeder, but he got sick two days after we got him home. The vet said his illness had been in his system for a couple of days, not something he got overnight. He had a 106F fever, that's like 104F for us, stopped eating and drinking, his breathing was weird and he wouldn't stop panting. His blood test showed that everything was low, both white and red blood cells as well as the platelettes.
He wound up being on IV during the day for two days, while at night we brought him home since no one at the hospital would be there to supervise him. The breeder told us that he'd be better off being on IV overnight and she would pay for it only if he was brought to her vet, but that was a 6 hour drive we couldn't afford to take with a sick puppy. He slept next to me and Tom those nights so we can feel if something bad were to happen where we would have to rush him to the ER. After 3 days, his fever finally dropped, leaving blisters on his belly. Eventually they popped, but the vet said that he's pumped with enough anti-biotics that all we had to worry about is keeping dirt from getting in there.
After the IV, lots of anti-biotics and about 5 blood tests over the course of two months. He had anemia for quite awhile, we spoiled him. as well as Tetsu, with red meats thinking maybe that would help. At 4.5 months, he eventually got a clean bill of health and his shots. Being sick, couldn't risk putting more germs in his system, even though they were harmless.
We noticed his puppy teeth had brown banding, and the vet thinks it's from an anti-biotic that shouldn't be used on puppies. Everyone said not to worry, his adult teeth should come out fine. His adult teeth are also developing brown spots. Every since he was little, you can only feel one 'nad, so god knows what's gonna happen when we get him fixed. And I have a feeling that he has something wrong with something in his body, since the whites in his eyes have never been very white and he drinks like a fish. Or am I being too negative about his health because of what has happened?
It's just getting so frustrating and I feel so sorry for everything Tikaani has been through. 5.5 months old and his chart is bigger than most dogs get in a lifetime.
Sorry, just needed to vent some, didn't mean go off like that, but sure makes a person feel better.
Anyways, I've included some pics of his mouth, very hard to get since he won't hold still. Definitely beginning to think it's the base narrow canine that Sarah mentioned:
We asked the vet about complications with getting him fixed, and she said that he has a great likelihood of it being a major procedure instead of just the normal incision. She says that he would have a greater chance of getting testicular cancer than a normal unaltered dog. The clinic where the dental specialist is doesn't do any form of fixing, even if it would be a major surgery, so there's no way to kill two birds with one stone.
At least, since he'll be fixed by his regular vet, we'll have a multi-pet discount. This vet gives a 10% discount for families with 3 or more patients, doesn't sound like much but it definitely saved us a couple $100 when he was sick. Plus they offer a payment plan, so we don't have to pay in full for his fixing right away. I don't the specialist clinic offers that, but I'm going to ask.
He'll be going on Tuesday the 27th, hopefully everything goes well.
He has one undescended testicle also? Whenever he goes under for surg again to remove it or have his teeth fixed (the vet probably already offered or asked, but you could get some follow-up bloodwork to check on his liver/kidneys). Do you notice a yellow hue to the whites of his eyes or gums?
I'm both glad and disappointed about the whole thing. Glad because Tikaani won't need braces, and disapointed cause we spent $140 to be told that he needs to chew on a ball. Oh well, it is what it is.
crazy.
Best of luck to your little guy. And keep us updated on how things are going!
I'm just so glad that he's not going to have some major expensive surgery.
Luckily, they didn't have to search through his abdomen, so it was cheaper (by about $200) than they quoted us and there will be a normal heal time. They found the hidden ball under the fatty pad, and an incision was made about an inch to the right of his "little member".
So now he has two incisions and four stitches to worry about, plus his vet given e-collar only lasted two days. Over the first and second night, Tikaani chewed his e-collar enough to make it useless. Luckily, he hasn't been too persistent in chewing off the stitches. We picked him up another, this time something not made of plastic, so hopefully that can last till the stitches are removed on monday.
Plus we also got him chipped and gave him his Lyme shot
And now for a bit of spam:
E-collar after one day:
And then the next day:
Best of luck.
I found these collars online after someone suggested it for Cody for his occassional hot spots. They have the added benefit of being soft and you can fold them back for them to eat....
http://www.healthypets.com/elizacollars.html