UPDATE ON NED'S Slab Fracture on Back Molar

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

We took the dogs to the vet today for their annual checkups and immunizations.  The vet found that Ned has a slab fracture on his back molar.  He said it is quite a common occurance - NOT at my house! His suggestion is to watch it and when it starts to get infected, have it removed.  I did a search on dk and what I found seems to bear out that repair is not always successful as well as bring very costly.   Ned chews on bones, antlers, Nylabones. I have always worried that since we use larger and strong chewer ones because of the bigger dogs it might be bad for Ned's smaller jaw/teeth.  Maybe this is not a good idea or maybe his tooth would do this anyway? Does anyone have any updated information they can share? Opinions on waiting until it bothers him?  Having the vet do the procedure rather than seeking a doggy dentist?  We are still paying for Gordie's CCL surgery........ sigh.

UPDATE. NED GOT HIS TOOTH PULLED

We had a phone consultation with a specialist and were told that pulling Ned's tooth was a relatively simple procedure.  So we decided to have our regular vet do it.  Since we were concerned that if we waited until it was infected ( allowing him to keep the tooth longer), there might be more complications, so we had it pulled last week. 

Ned had nothing to eat or drink after midnight and was dropped off  at 8 a.m.  I  called periodically all day only to be told that they hadn't gotten to him yet.  We called at 4:00 and he still hadn't been worked on, so we decided that we would pick him up and bring him back. But when we got there they were just finishing him up and they said we would have to leave him overnight!  I was quite upset about that because Ned has never been away from  us at night,  he doesn't eat in public and doesn't pee or poo for others or on-leash very well at all.  I was there when they opened the next morning expecting a mad, pouty Ned.  However, a cheerful good-smelling, happy-to-see-me Ned pranced out to greet me the next morning. As soon as we got outside to the grass, he peed for about an hour! 

He is taking 50 mg of Rimadyl once a day and the antibiotic, Clindamycin, 75 mg twice a day.  He was starving for a couple of days and even ate as soon as I set the dish down, but now has settled back into his old habit of night eating - but with an improved appetite.  I was told I didn't need to, but I have been softening his kibble and will continue to do so until he runs out of meds.  He had a few disolving stitches to close the gum and my logic tells me that he shouldn't irritate it with hard kibble. Because he is eating more, I wonder if his tooth did hurt him... or.... maybe he just  likes softened kibble.

[Leslie and Halas]

Poor Ned.  Does he act like it's bothering him at all now?  Or does it seem like he favors one side over the other when he chews?  I don't know anything about it.  An infection sounds like it could be painful, but I'd probably try to wait it out for awhile.  And maybe get the opinion of a doggy dentist.  They can probably give you more detailed info than your vet can.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Thanks for responding, Leslie.  He doesn't favor it at all.  I worry about waiting, but I guess if they are going to pull it anyway, it would be better for him to have a tooth in that place for as long as he can.  The vet also said that it was a bad one to pull as they have to break it into pieces to pull it out - OUCH!  When I had my wisdom teeth out, the did something like that also.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I'm sorry to hear this, Nancy. I have never heard of this and will look it up. But I don't think it was caused by the bigger sized bones & chews. JD's new IMS told me you should always buy chews, Nylabones, etc. for a bigger dog, to be on the safe side. She told me she buys the ones for medium sized dogs for her 10 lb. Maltese.

If it isn't too costly, I agree with Leslie that getting the opinion of a veterinary dentist would be a good idea before making a decision. 

[Leslie and Halas]

I get the bigger Nylabones and Himalayan chews for Halas, and little 9 lb Barley chews on them, too.  We've bought some smaller ones for him, but he has no problems with the bigger ones.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Nancy, I looked this up, and apparently in some cases they can do a bonding process on the tooth rather than removing it.

It depends on the depth of the fracture and if the dentin is exposed. Here's an article explaining the bonding process:

http://www.petcarevb.com/wordpress/dental-cases-of-the-month/odonto...

[F, Calla & Luca]

That looked interesting and costly. I suppose it depends which molar is involved too, as to the importance of the tooth itself. I wonder if pet insurance is like our health insurance, that it doesn't cover dental problems I mean. As to the size of chews, I don't think that would be too important unless we're talking about swallowing them. But I have read that all really hard things like bones could be a problem, but what's a dog to do? I think we can't wrap them in cotton wool. No bones, no sticks, no fun.

[Linda, Webber and Seda]

This looks like the same procedure the dentist did when I fractured a tooth!

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

Myself, I never had much luck with bonding and I have had many.  They need to be replaced about every 2-3  years, wear easily ( in my case), and eventually break down.  But I am trouble and a challenge to dentists.

My thoughts are that with a dog who chews, these would wear even more quickly than mine did.  Just my opinion.  If it were my dog, I'd have the tooth removed just from my own experiences since we can't tell Ned, he can't chew any longer because of his dental work.  As humans, we know better but how do you stop chewing when you are a dog?

I'm wondering if dogs have the acid in their saliva as much as humans do?

Poor guy.  I'm sorry this is happening, Nancy

[F, Calla & Luca]

Saliva is really interesting. This is human saliva info.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saliva

Usually it is alkaline.

http://www.ehow.com/facts_5660143_causes-acidic-saliva_.html

[Linda, Webber and Seda]

Oh Nancy, I am so sorry Ned has a dental problem.  You have really had some Vet bills this year.  The idea of waiting for a tooth to get infected makes me a bit uneasy.  Ouch.  The doggie dentist would know if it could be bonded or if it needed to be pulled.  Maybe you could call around and get some estimates.  I would think the expensive part would be putting Ned to sleep for either procedure.  I would also wonder how permanent a bonding would be on the chewing surface of a back molar.  Haven't a clue. 

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

I agree with Linda.  Why would they wait for the inevitable infection?

[F, Calla & Luca]

Maybe it isn't inevitable? I just read the article Karen posted and apparently if only a superficial piece is missing, infection  is not inevitable. It depends whether the pulp/root is exposed.