# Broken Tooth! Any experience with this?



## OnyxDog (Jun 15, 2011)

I make it a point to check Treasure's teeth at least a few times a month because she gets tartar built up on her canines. Well, last night I noticed that her breath was smelling kind of stinky, so I looked in her mouth and one of her back teeth is broken, and there's some built up tarter on the surrounding teeth. I assume it is because she is not using that side to chew her food. I can see a little bit of red showing through the tooth. Here are pictures of both sides to compare.





















I have no idea what broke the tooth. In addition to her regular raw meals, she sometimes chews on deer antlers and Himalayan dog chews. I do not give any sort of weight bearing bones. Does anybody have any experience with this? Anything I should watch out for? I noticed that she can still use the bad side of her mouth to chew on her antlers, so I don't think she is in a lot of pain. I am taking her to the vet this afternoon to get it checked out.

Also, can somebody who is more knowledgeable about teeth let me know what that tooth is called? Thank you!


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## brandypup (Jan 23, 2012)

WOW i never seen that. One side so pearly white the the other so much build up. Is it broken or maybe worn down? Just grabbing at straws here.  Sorry no answer. My cat's tooth broke but she has a geneticly bad mouth.


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

That tooth will definitely have to come out. The pulp cavity where the nerve ending is exposed (The spot where the red stuff is coming out). With that hole being there it sets that tooth up to be easily prone to infection as bacteria will travel up that pulp cavity. 

Unfortunately a lot of dogs will break this upper fourth premolar tooth. I'd say it's due to the antlers, yak chews or possibly a rock or something. 

Let us know how it goes!


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## KittyKat (Feb 11, 2011)

Ah yes.... that will have to come out. Good luck!


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## flippedstars (May 22, 2010)

DaneMama said:


> That tooth will definitely have to come out. The pulp cavity where the nerve ending is exposed (The spot where the red stuff is coming out). With that hole being there it sets that tooth up to be easily prone to infection as bacteria will travel up that pulp cavity.
> 
> Unfortunately a lot of dogs will break this upper fourth premolar tooth. I'd say it's due to the antlers, yak chews or possibly a rock or something.
> 
> Let us know how it goes!


Ditto this. Our older chihuahua doxie mix broke that same tooth on both sides...cost us over $1000 to have them both removed (2 separate surgeries) thanks to greedy vets...but once that type of tooth is broken the sooner it is out the better.


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## Kat (Jul 12, 2011)

Danemama, deer antlers can break teeth also? I thought those would be the safe chews, I give them to Ruby all the time.


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## OnyxDog (Jun 15, 2011)

Thank you everybody for your input. We just got home from the vet and he said that it is a slab fracture, and we can either choose a root canal (expensive), or pull the tooth. He said that it doesn't have to be done immediately, but it would be a good idea to take care of it soon. We will probably have it pulled, but in the meantime we will keep a close eye on it, and try to keep it clean.


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## Kat (Jul 12, 2011)

Do you have any ideas as to what may have caused the tooth to break? I have a feeling after this thread, im going to be checking Rubys teeth a lot more lol.


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

Honestly I can't tell you one way or another IF it really WAS the antler or the yak chew. But it is ALWAYS a good idea to check teeth on a regular basis.


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## Love my lab (Dec 9, 2010)

Interesting....thanks for sharing the pic. same thing happened to my dog. She is eating on the same side so I didn't think it was causing pain. I recently noticed this on my girl and thought I would watch it to see how she acts. I have no idea how this happened. I feel like it is my fault because I let her have a deer leg. I also gave a deer antler for a chew because I thought those were ok for dogs. She chews like crazy on them. I think I have come to the conclusion that a raw fed dog is different then a kibble fed when it comes to hard chews and such because they think anything like that is food so of course they try to eat it. That may not be the case w/ all raw fed dogs, but for my dog I kinda am thinking that is what went on. She loves to chew for recreation,but I am afraid at this point to give her anything hard


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## wolfsnaps88 (Jan 2, 2012)

My dachshund poodle mix broke the exact same tooth while chewing on what was supposed to be a 'safe' dog chew. Yeah right. 

Everyone tells me he is going to break his tooth on a raw bone and that has yet to happen. 

Please remove it as soon as you can because it will get infected. Does it smell bad? 

Now Sargeant primarily chews everything on the other side of his mouth. 
Good luck. Maybe take away those chews? I once said antlers are very hard and someone corrected me saying they soften up. They just might soften up but until then they are very hard and not pliable.


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## malluver1005 (Nov 15, 2009)

Kat said:


> Danemama, deer antlers can break teeth also? I thought those would be the safe chews, I give them to Ruby all the time.


They can definitely break teeth if you've got a powerful chewer. Exactly how Aspen broke his...but we were lucky because no pulp was exposed and I opted for a root canal on him.


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## Kat (Jul 12, 2011)

*gulp* now Im nervous lol. I have been giving her deer antlers since she was a puppy because I didnt trust the plastic ones. She is a powerful chewer and always ate some of the plastic off the nylabones so I switched to the antlers. Now I dont feel comfortable giving them to her. She does get rmbs every 3-4 meals, guess that should be enough chew work for her. I always check her ears and teeth cause Im crazy like that lol


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## Chocx2 (Nov 16, 2009)

I was giving weight bearing bones and my Aussie also had a slab fracture, his tooth was pulled and it hasn't stopped him. I just learned my lesson. I also check my dogs teeth regular.


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