chipped tooth :( - (UPDATE: JAN. 03, 13 - vital pulp therapy)

thegelathegela
edited January 2013 in Food, Nutrition, & Health
http://postimage.org/image/fhf5a1n1j/

seems like i'm always posting something about Hana. :(

I just discovered she has a chipped tooth. I'm not sure when it's from, but she's been eating normally so it doesn't seem painful (to me) but I should still get it checked to see if the pulp is exposed right? :( gahhhh I'm so sad!!!

Comments

  • SayaSaya
    Ouch! Looks like it's a canine too!

    Saya never uses her canines to chew on anything.. Always the side teeth or front.

    I wonder how it happened.

    I'd have a vet check it as who knows it might be not too bad and just need to be a small fix or could be more. I dunno.

    I never dealt with teeth stuff yet. Well except our last three dogs they were old dogs though and their teeth had bad plaque so a tooth was pulled on one or two of the dogs I forgot.
  • aykayk
    edited December 2012
    My guess is that she chipped it during flight. If she was stressed enough to lose bowel control, she might have been stressed enough to try to bite at the wire door/bars.

    I used to have a dog that chipped his canine closer to the base than this pic. His canine was fine to the end of his life. The vet had said a dentine formed protecting the exposed pulp.
  • sjp051993sjp051993
    You can have it checked out, but when it is a canine tooth, they tend not to extract them. The canines have an impact on the stability of the jaw. One of the Shiba's my mom has broke off her canine tooth. My vets said unless it bothers her, there is no reason to remove it. Just have the vet take a look at it to determine how severe.
  • thegelathegela
    @sjp051993 @ayk @saya ugh! Thank you ~ Meanwhile, it's probably a good idea to avoid bully sticks and bones/antlers right? I was going to give her one for tomorrow when I go to work but.. maybe that's not a good idea.
    Is her canine now more fragile? Gahh...
  • CarabooACarabooA
    edited December 2012
    Our old dog Saydee had a chipped tooth from chewing a bone - even after a dental the vet couldn't see the problem, but Jason knew her well enough to know right where it was. Her's got so bad that her breath would STINK to high heaven!!! Still couldn't get the vet to remove it... (not our vet anymore)

    Anyway, yes, you should get it checked and keep an eye on it. They can remove a tooth for a dog if it becomes a problem, just like they can for people :o) -Yes, it could crack further - softer chews shouldn't be a real issue, if it's that cracked and bothering her I personally doubt that she would use it to do heavy chewing.... ???
  • thegelathegela
    @carabooA thanks~ I'll make an appointment for early next week. Oh, I know all about teeth removal on dogs :S My oldest dog (died at 16) had to have most of his teeth removed. It sucked because he was SOOOOOOO sensitive about teeth cleaning or being handled on his feet, it was near impossible to try to get anything done. He was a little dog (about Shiba size) but it was always a two person job for whatever handling needed to be done. (I miss him..)
    Never dealt with a cracked tooth before, and it seems painful... :S ugh. But you're right, if it bothers her, she wouldn't use it much to chew...
  • lindsaytlindsayt
    That looks like a metal bar or impact type injury, not something she would get from chewing bones. I know some vets will do root canals and put metal crowns, but I agree if the fracture doesn't go into the gum line and doesn't bother her, and isn't a risk of becoming an route for an abscess, than I would likely leave it. Hopefully your Vet gives you good news!
  • thegelathegela
    @lindsayt thank you! I will update everyone as soon as I find out! :)
  • cdenneycdenney
    My family dog had a chipped tooth for over 11 years and two cracked teeth for more than 7 and it never stopped her. The only reason they pulled them out is because she was going under for another procedure and we were like while she's there care to remove xyz and clean her teeth? If she is fine with it and it doesn't become a risk for infection I wouldn't worry too much about it.
  • thegelathegela
    So, bad news is Hana's tooth is pretty painful, and she needs either an extraction or root canal. We opted to try and save her tooth and do the root canal. Ugh. I feel so bad for her!! Why must they hide their pain so well!! I know.. It's probably their instinct for survival and not show any weakness. :( makes me so sad.

    Good news? Well, it's a maybe, but hopefully the specialist can do it before Christmas, and tomorrow is my last day at work before the holidays so I am able to give her my undivided attention.

    "All I want for Christmas is my canine tooth.."
  • CaliaCalia
    edited December 2012
    There was no way they could have capped it? I remember when Tikaani had base narrow canine (his canine was digging into his upper mouth) one of the options was to cut the tooth down and cap it. Luckily his tooth corrected itself with simple ball chewing, but you'd figure there would be a similar option here.
  • WrylyBrindleWrylyBrindle
    well, I guess the bright side is to think howmuch better she'll feel about everything once that is fixed! :)
  • BradA1878BradA1878
    That sucks. Poor Hana. :o(
  • thegelathegela
    @calia I'm not sure how simple the situation is. The specialist will see how bad it is and determine the least invasive method for her. If its just a cap, that's good, but if she needs to have her nerves removed because of infection, then root canal is probably what we will do. I really don't want to extract her canine :(

    She is on antibiotics and pain killer tho.

    @wrylybrindle oh I know! I can't wait to make her feel better! :) I wish someone would make my wallet feel better too! Hahaha

    @brada1878 I know :( poor Hana.. She's such a trooper though. We will keep you posted on her treatment and recovery. :)
  • ttddinhttddinh
    Oh no! Feel better soon hana
  • cdenneycdenney
    @thegela I think that that she will be more open to things once she is in no more pain.
  • CarabooACarabooA
    Aw, bummer! I bet once that is fixed she'll feel like a new dog. Poor girl to have to go thru that - and you too for the worry and $$$ :o( Get well soon!
  • shibamistressshibamistress
    I'm sorry--that really sucks! Poor Hana!
  • Kuma123Kuma123
    :( Poor little Hana!
  • thegelathegela
    ahh~~ thank you all for your concern and support :) I'm hoping to get the procedure done soon!
  • tjbart17tjbart17
    Maybe the good news is, when she feels better she will perk up attitude wise. Being out in a new environment in pain must bother her.
  • ceziegcezieg
    Aww that sucks :( Definitely talk out options though. Personally I'm not a fan of root canals for either people or animals, even if it's a major tooth. Having a hollowed out, dead tooth in place is a great way for future infections to fester. She's definitely going to feel better either way though!
  • thegelathegela
    edited January 2013
    The procedure went well (last, last sunday) and she is in the final few days of her recovery! They actually did a vital pulp therapy on her instead of root canal. The dentist explained that since she was young, it was possible to save her tooth, and that it was preferred. She drew me a picture to explain why, and I will try my best to explain with words.

    A 1 year old dog has all their adult tooth, but they're not fully developed. The pulp inside the tooth is larger and takes up most of the space within it, which means that the tooth itself is thin. If we did a root canal on such a young tooth, there's greater risk of it being damaged again because the walls of the tooth are so thin. As they age and their teeth develop further, something happens between the tooth and the pulp where the pulp will shrink as the tooth hardens.

    So it was a no brainer that we would try to do the pulp therapy instead of a root canal. There was risk of it not working of course, but we're crossing our fingers. What they do for a vital pulp therapy is they take a small piece of the pulp, and add some kind of healing medicine, and do a makeshift cap. Her chipped canine is now shorter and rounder compared to the other side which is kind of cute. :)

    While she was under they discovered 2 molars that were cracked all the way down and a cavity, so they had to fix that and do 2 extractions. She didn't really eat much the first few days and it was really hard to get her to eat her meds, but now she takes all 6 of her medication with eagerness (because we hide it in peanut butter and cheese - PB is awesome because it's impossible for her to separate the PB and meds - which she does when we hide it in meat. haha) and she's eating her wet food well (she's on Wilderness, which is grain free with lots of protein. I think it's the wet food equivalent of Orijen/Acana?). She will also see our regular vet again next week for a follow-up.

    She already seems much more cheerful and we even had a second doggy date with the yorkie (female) and started to play with her. (Some humping was also involved - lesbian love, haha)

    PS: HAPPY NEW YEAR! :)
  • aykayk
    Wowzers. Two cracked molars as well? Poor Hana.

  • Kuma123Kuma123
    Poor Hana. I am so glad she is recovering well. Please give her lots of love from me :) She has an admirer all the way in Alabama :) She seems like such a great pup. Good luck and thank you for keeping us posted!
  • BradA1878BradA1878
    I dunno how she could have cracked her molars like that. I've been racking my brain (and Jen's) to figure out how it could have happened. She never really chewed bones (probably because of her cracked teeth)... Maybe she broke them chewing ice in the yard? She did really like to chew on ice.

    @thegela - Did the vet have any thoughts on how it might of happened?

    I feel really bad about this. :(

    ----
  • ttddinhttddinh
    waw hope hana feels better
  • thegelathegela
    edited January 2013
    @brada1878 Well, she said the cracked molars also had cavities, so she thinks it was a mix of chewing on something hard, and the cavities weakening the molars causing them to crack.

    While we were having a consultation with the dentist, before Hana was under anesthesia for the procedure, she had a quick look in Hana's mouth and noticed there was "crowding" going on. The dentist advised us that cavities were something that were likely to happen if we didn't brush well back there because Hana has a small mouth with lots of teeth. So I guess removing the cracked molars were a blessing in disguise in some way because now she has a little more room on one side. Haha.

    Don't feel bad Brad~ It's a series of unfortunate events because Hana was born small and cute. :)
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