# Broken canine, leave it or yank it?



## Ashley Campbell (Jun 21, 2009)

By yank it, I mean have the vet yank it out, I'm not brave enough for pliers 

But my female has a broken (lower) canine. It's been broken for awhile, it snapped off playing around. It's kind of discolored but doesn't seem painful, about half of it is still there. Would you, personally, have it yanked out or would you leave it alone unless it got worse?


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## Tammy St. Louis (Feb 17, 2010)

can you get a pic ? ususally they say if you can see the root pull it out , 
is it bothering her?


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## Ashley Campbell (Jun 21, 2009)

It doesn't seem to bother her, she still enjoys chasing down tennis balls so she can pop them.
There's about half a tooth so none of the root is exposed, I tried to get a pick but she won't sit still so they come out blurry.

I guess I'm kind of more curious if it's better to pull it out before it gets nasty, or just leave it and worry about it when and if it ever gets gross.


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## Kadi Thingvall (Jan 22, 2007)

Unless it's bothering her, I'd leave it alone. I've had multiple dogs snap a canine, we just kept an eye on it (my vet and/or a dentist friend). In each case the root receded and the tooth filled itself in. No dental work needed, and the tooth never bothered the dog. You need to keep an eye on it for infection, but even that isn't a "must pull" situation since it won't get infected unless there is a hole in the middle of it allowing bacteria and stuff in, and if there is, there is somewhere for the pressure to escape so it's not painful and can be treated with antibiotics. 

On the flip side a friend had a dog snap a canine, and did have it removed because it didn't snap off clean, but had a vertical fracture that went down the middle of the tooth below the gumline. 4 surgeries later, 1 to remove the tooth and 3 to try to get the hole it created to heal up, and a year off of work, the dog is finally healed up.


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## Ashley Campbell (Jun 21, 2009)

Thanks. I don't see any signs of infection, and her breath isn't terrible offensive, well, no more than any other dogs breath is. Sounds like there can be quite a pain in the ass if you pull it and it doesn't heal up good though.


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## will fernandez (May 17, 2006)

If you get a root canal you might be able to save whats left of the tooth. If you wait, it will eventually have to get pulled.


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## Kadi Thingvall (Jan 22, 2007)

A number of years ago Cali was doing a courage test on a Sch hard arm. Decoy caught her funny, she shattered her jaw and tore out the entire top left canine (still bit though ) That was actually a MUCH shorter/easier healing. The emergency vet just removed the loose bone fragments, stitched up all the torn tissue, and a few weeks later she was back to normal. With my friends dog the hole they made carefully removing the tooth surgically didn't heal right, and it was LONG drawn out process. 

Go figure.


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## Ashley Campbell (Jun 21, 2009)

A root canal, seriously? I just had one of those done on one of my teeth a few months ago, and if the price for that from the vet is anything like the dentist ($1400)...the tooth gets the pliers first. I don't mind paying vet bills when they're necessary, but I'd think a root canal would be more expensive than pulling it out?


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## Adam Rawlings (Feb 27, 2009)

Hey Ashley,

Your bang on, that's how much I paid to have a root canal on my males upper canine. It snapped off a little above half way and started turning light purple. The vet told me the tooth was dead and needed to be pulled or worked on, he was 14 months old and chose the latter.


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## Catalina Valencia (Feb 20, 2008)

You can take an X-ray of her tooth to see how far is the fracture from the root. It is a small investment who could save you money on the long run and will give you peace of mind. The root recedes as the dog ages so usually the older the dog is, less problems arise.


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## will fernandez (May 17, 2006)

being that its the lower canine you might be better off with the extraction. Had a dog here that we waited on with a cracked upper canine. It became infected and he had a golf ball of puss trying to burst out of his muzzle. Ended up having to extract two teeth. These are PSD's so we try to save their teeth.


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## Martine Loots (Dec 28, 2009)

We always do a root canal and have the tooth filled. Risk for infection if you don't. If there still is a piece left of the damaged tooth then titanium capsules are a solution. Not cheap, but buying a new good dog will cost you more.


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## Nancy Jocoy (Apr 19, 2006)

Not sure how correct but I was told that lower canine root is part of the structural support of the jaw and it is important to leave it in there. For the upper canine, pulling it CAN result in an oronasal fistula if done improperly. At least these were from my discussions with a canine dentist. 

I found the one that took care of the teeth for the local police K9 units when we bit hte bullet and did our root canal. I did not do a crown. But was told that tugging was not a good idea anymore for this dog. She said the only way to do the crown properly was titanium as anything else would fail (if you did it)

But in our case the root had died and the tooth turned yellow before I even went in.


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## Ashley Campbell (Jun 21, 2009)

Well I can honestly say with that kind of price, if it needs work it's coming out vs. having an expensive procedure done. Unlike my dog, I had dental insurance to cover half of mine and I still cringed paying that much for a tooth that was broken. But I'm 25 and have a lot longer to live than a dog, so it will pay off over the years.
I wonder if they can do like they did my wisdom tooth that was impacted. Instead of removing the whole thing since it was wrapped around the nerve and grown into the jaw, they cut it down below the gum-line and left the roots intact, if part of it needs to remain intact for jaw integrity. 
I don't know, but I don't feel that wisdom tooth at all, so maybe that's something to ask about.

I've seen the titanium crowns...I could buy a new dog for the price of those.


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## Christopher Jones (Feb 17, 2009)

I have just had a similar situation, except with it being an upper k9. About half the tooth is left. I had the option of getting it pulled (this is no good as it would put more pressure on the existing upper k9 which normaly leads to that one snapping), a root canal done or just leave it. My vet was saying to see how it goes without any root work. As there is no infection, no pain I decided to see how that goes. If it requires a root canal then I will do it. One thing I was told is that once you do a root canal the tooth becomes more brittle quicker and can break away anyway.


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## Nancy Jocoy (Apr 19, 2006)

YOu know that is true and I am not sure why our dog dentist would not just take that tooth down to the gum; we were still doing the root canal and it has worn down to a nubbin now anyway.


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## Ashley Campbell (Jun 21, 2009)

Yeah that'd be my concern, with a root canal and no crown, there's nothing to keep it protected and I'd think it's probably going to break again. 

I'm headed to the vets office on Saturday for unrelated things (microchipping and rabies shots for our overseas travel) I'll ask the vet while I"m there why sawing the tooth below the gum line isn't feasible, or if it actually is and have them take a look at hers. I have an extra pair of adult hands tonight so I'll see if I can get a picture.


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## Ashley Campbell (Jun 21, 2009)

Catalina Valencia said:


> You can take an X-ray of her tooth to see how far is the fracture from the root. It is a small investment who could save you money on the long run and will give you peace of mind. The root recedes as the dog ages so usually the older the dog is, less problems arise.


I don't know how I missed your post before, that's a good idea! It's sheared, at least what looks to be, straight across. It's even worn down a bit from use so it's not sharp anymore. How come I didn't think of an xray??? ](*,)


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## Maren Bell Jones (Jun 7, 2006)

Ashley Campbell said:


> I don't know how I missed your post before, that's a good idea! It's sheared, at least what looks to be, straight across. It's even worn down a bit from use so it's not sharp anymore. How come I didn't think of an xray??? ](*,)


Double check with your vet that they have a dental x-ray machine. They'll be cheaper (since the film and cartridge is much smaller, just like the kind at human dentists) and especially if they have digital, they can enlarge it. I think at our teaching hospital, a digital dental radiograph is like $35 for a tooth with the root versus the usual $100 for the whole head.


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## Bob Scott (Mar 30, 2006)

Being a lower canine it's not as much a problem. If the upper canine teeth break at or below the gum line it can create a serious infection into the sinus cavity. One hard to clear up if not attended to in time.


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## Ashley Campbell (Jun 21, 2009)

Ok, back from the vet. Other than being told what a nice looking Shep. my female is and how great her temperament was...the offending tooth is dead.

She said I should have it extracted, or I could still have a root canal and titanium crown done, but that an extraction was more cost effective and wouldn't damage her jaw or compromise it's integrity.


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## Adam Rawlings (Feb 27, 2009)

Ashley Campbell said:


> Ok, back from the vet. Other than being told what a nice looking Shep. my female is and how great her temperament was...the offending tooth is dead.
> 
> She said I should have it extracted, or I could still have a root canal and titanium crown done, but that an extraction was more cost effective and wouldn't damage her jaw or compromise it's integrity.


I did the root cannal with out the crown and it's been 2 years doing bite work fairly regularly with out issue. Just a thought.


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## Martine Loots (Dec 28, 2009)

Ashley Campbell said:


> Ok, back from the vet. Other than being told what a nice looking Shep. my female is and how great her temperament was...the offending tooth is dead.
> 
> She said I should have it extracted, or I could still have a root canal and titanium crown done, but that an extraction was more cost effective and wouldn't damage her jaw or compromise it's integrity.


I don't know if you do bitework with your dog, but if you do and you decide to have the toothe extracted, then you have to have the other canine made smaller too, or it will snap off sooner or later too.
And you have to take into account that it will have a big effect on the grip.


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