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10-YEAR-OLD GERMAN SHEPHERD NEEDS 9 TEETH REMOVED
WHERE DID THIS YORKIE’S TOOTH GO?
10-YEAR OLD GERMAN SHEPHERD NEEDS 9 TEETH REMOVED
By National WordPress
Abigail’s mouth smelled like a toilet from across the examination room. The 10-year-old German Shepherd Dog looked normal. She acted normal. She even walked normally. But, if she licked your hand in greeting, you could not get that smell off your hand for 48 hours, no matter how many times you washed! This Shepherd’s sewer mouth made professional nurses faint!
Abigail suffered horrible, horrible dental disease. This dog had one of the top ten worst mouths we had ever seen. Luckily, Abigail’s mom suspected there was a problem and came ready for dental surgery. “I know her mouth is bad…” said mom. (That’s worlds better than the usual shocked response we get from pet parents, “How can it be that bad, he’s eating just fine.”)
Our hospital hosts clinical technician students from the local veterinary technician college. ”Wow! My teacher would love to have those teeth so we can use them in class!” said theThursday student. “For what?” asked Doc. “Our teacher mounts the teeth in a fake plastic dog jaw and we clean the teeth in the dental lab for practice,” said the student. “Okay, I’ll ask Abigail’s mom if she wants to donate the teeth for teaching purposes after we get the mouth cleaned up,” promised Doc. Veterinarians see many strange and disgusting things. Abigail’s mouth is one of those foul things we vow to fix.
That brown stuff where teeth should be?That’s thick, slimy, smelly tartar! The tartar is so thick and crusted and caked onto the tooth surfaces that it looks like one big continuous shiny brown glop of muddy cement dentures. Underneath this filth and decay are delicate mucous membranes and tooth roots. A horizontal ridge across the “middle” of the tooth structure demarcates the crown from the roots. Just as much root is showing as crown.
When the upper lip is lifted, you can see the tartar covering the upper carnassial tooth – the largest tooth in the dog mouth. The ridge across the tooth midway through the brown tartar is actually where the gingival margin should be. The gingiva, or gumline, has receded so much, the tartar covers the roots of the tooth, not just the crown enamel! The x-ray of this molar revealed massive loss of the bone structure under the tooth and tooth root abscess in Grade 4 Periodontal Disease.
The second of the 2 roots on the 2-root molar is sitting in a pocket of pus. This is an area with no bone holding the tooth in place. Over 50% bone attachment loss is Grade 4 out of 4 Periodontal disease.This tooth had 100% attachment loss. Only the second molar root was holding the tooth in place. There is absolutely no saving a Stage 4Tooth like this one; it must be removed from the body.
After some tartar cracking, a little enamel starts to show! After some more cleaning, the roots are visble.The gums also bleed easily. Extraction of the Upper Fourth Premolar Using Extraction Forceps in an Already LooseTooth is necessary. Post-extraction sulcus. Abigail needed nine Stage 4 Periodontal DiseasedTeeth extracted. Doc removed the diseased, loose, infected teeth.
The tooth sockets were lavaged (cleaned with a clean water spray), and packed with Consil bone packing powder, pH balanced to be so alkaline no bacteria will grow in it, the Consil forms a matrix to speed new bone formation in the jaw. “Research shows that sulci treated with the Consil powder regrow bone and the bone is just as thick as the normal bone at one-year radiographic follow-up examinations. What this means is, your dog’s jawbone will be stronger with the powder than without the powder,” says Doc.
Abigail woke up uneventfully from her anesthesia. She asked for, and ate, a bowl of food 40 minutes after surgery! She continues to do well at home and her arthritis seems less painful now that DocTruli removed the chronic dental irritation and inflammation.
Where DidThis Yorkie’sTooth Go?
Another Good Example of Why You Need Full Mouth X-Rays Every Patient, EveryTime
GiGi was a five-year-old female spayed black and tan YorkshireTerrier. Her parents could see the tartar build-up on her teeth, so they scheduled an anesthetic dental exam the same day as her annual check up. Good thing they did!
It does not matter how many times I advise people to brush their dogs’ teeth. Most people can’t be bothered. People love the idea of their dog much more than the reality of another living being. A little accommodation and learning on your part will keep your dog’s teeth healthier and can add Years – YEARS – to your dog’s too short lifespan. Years!
GiGi’s x-rays showed a retained incisor root overlapping an incisor that was loose and sitting in an infected tooth socket. Probably, the crown, or top enamel part, of the broken tooth snapped off, the gums healed over, and then the festering root caused the early demise of the neighboring tooth. Imagine your tooth snapping off and you never tell anyone or complain. Doesn’t seem possible, does it? Dogs suffer silently exactly like this all the time.
The offending root and the loose incisor were removed and GiGi made 100% recovery by the following day! Absorbable Stitches Didn’t StopThis Little Girl from Playing Ball When She Went Home! What a cutie!
If you’ve found a good veterinarian, do not be afraid of anesthesia and tooth surgery! Your dog will live years longer and be happier and healthier if you take decisive and fast action! Dogs have six lower incisor teeth.These are the little lower teeth in the front in between the big canine or eye teeth on the four corners of the front of the mouth. If your dog is missing one for no reason, get it checked out!