Dental Blues - Possible Doggie Braces

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

Tomorrow Oscar sees 2 dental vet specialists for his malocclusion (narrow base canines). We had his lower baby canines extracted at 10 weeks old because they were growing straight up and hitting his hard palate. It was found at that time he had a severe overbite, with his lower jaw unable to grow properly (due to the lower baby canines holding it in place). Since the extractions we had hoped his lower jaw would 'catch up' in growth to his upper jaw. 13 weeks later, that doesn't appear to be the case. His lower adult canines are growing in at the proper angles, however, they still don't look to be clearing his upper jaw, with the tips hitting his upper gums . It may be that the canine teeth just aren't out far enough yet to tell for sure, but from my inexperienced eye, it doesn't look good. In addition, he has an upper baby canine that never fell out after the adult canine came in. I'm sure that will have to be taken out.

I'll know a lot more tomorrow. I'm suppose to bring Oscar in with an empty stomach in case they want to do some work on his mouth. He may end up with an appliance to help those lower canines clear the upper jaw. There may be other options as well. I'll post more tomorrow (and hopefully, with pics) to update.

 

UPDATE:

First of all, thank you everyone, for your kind thoughts. We just returned from the vet. The approach they're taking is to wait and see for the next 2 weeks. Even on that baby tooth. There's a chance that baby tooth will drop on it's own shortly. As for the lower canines, at this point they're only about 1/3 of the way out. While they're still in the growing-out stage, we're going to try ball therapy (15 minutes of fetch, 2x a day) with a smallish, hard ball, and see if that helps direct those teeth outward. Also, if I'm able, I'll try putting pressure on those lower canines with my fingers/thumbs whenever possible (Oscar isn't keen on having fingers in his mouth). If in 2 weeks there's not enough change, and those teeth are still hitting the gums, we have 2 options. One is to have the upper gums surgically altered to allow those teeth to pass, the other is to have prosthetic crowns put on the canines (at an angle) to direct the teeth into the proper position. They didn't think an appliance would be necessary. If the baby tooth isn't out by then, they'll remove it. So, there is a chance (if we're lucky) that no further dental vet visits will be necessary. Let's cross our fingers and hope for the best!

2ND UPDATE:

The Ball Therapy worked! We found 2 rubber balls at Petco (their own brand) the perfect size to rest against those bottom canines. They were just plain rubber balls, with a matte texture.They turned out to be Oscar's favorite balls. The first day we got them he always had one in his mouth and the other one nearby, guarding it from his big sis, Lucy. He even kept one in his mouth during potty breaks! His lower canines grew out at just enough of an angle to clear his upper gums. Its a bit of a tight fit, but he doesn't seem to mind (believe me, he'd let me know if he were in pain!). So we really dodged a bullet with Oscar's base narrow canines. Getting those baby canines out early helped as well.

[Cindy and Olive (Ollie)]

Hi Debb, my Ripley has lower base narrow canines and vet asked us to manually push em fwd w our fingers too. Any good tips? This is nearly impossible so far... Also i would like to try ball therapy but vet had choking concern. Any advice appreciated, thx!

[Bonnie and Kona]

Loved hearing the good news about Oscar's canines! Big hugs for you, Lucy and Oscar.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Debb, I'm so glad the ball therapy was successful! 

[Kyoko]

I never heard of anything like this! I am so glad that Ball therapy worked....So sorry that you and Oscar had to go through this...

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

2ND UPDATE:

The Ball Therapy worked! We found 2 rubber balls at Petco (their own brand) the perfect size to rest against those bottom canines. They were just plain rubber balls, with a matte texture.They turned out to be Oscar's favorite balls. The first day we got them he always had one in his mouth and the other one nearby, guarding it from his big sis, Lucy. He even kept one in his mouth during potty breaks! His lower canines grew out at just enough of an angle to clear his upper gums. Its a bit of a tight fit, but he doesn't seem to mind (believe me, he'd let me know if he were in pain!). So we really dodged a bullet with Oscar's base narrow canines. Getting those baby canines out early helped as well.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I know a couple of people who had good results with the ball therapy. I hope you do too!

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

Hi everyone, thank you all for your kind words and well wishes. I appreciate it! I've updated the dental blog post describing how today's events played out. I'm not sure updates to an existing blog gets sent out to those who respond, so I wanted to give you all a heads up. Thanks again!

[Nicky, Riley & Boris]

Thinking of you and hoping this is manageable. Good that you have a specialist that is able to help.  It sounds very complicated.  Wishing you and Oscar best of luck

[Jeanne, Tura and Dolly]

Hi Debb, I have been wondering if Oscar had had his appliance put on yet or what.  Sounds even more complicated than Tura's with the overbite.  The good news is the adult teeth are new enough that they are pliable and will move into place quickly (I hope).  Hopefully you received some $$ from the breeder to help pay.

[BG and Gavin]

Best thoughts on this.  Sounds expensive :(