Antlers and Root Canals

[Nancie & Gracie Doodle]

Well, here we go again.  Gracie Doodle needs to either have her tooth pulled or have a root canal.  She just had her dental exam and they found two major crunching teeth that are sheared off down the side and/or cracked.  One is down into the gum which must be painful.  There are two thoughts on how to treat this.  Pull the tooth or have a root canal.  Some feel (and the Vet also) that there are dogs who are never quite the same once they have had one of their major chewing and nawing teeth gone.  Not medically speaking but more like depressed or how they act.  My DH said our Lab had a tooth pulled and he was never the same.  I never knew that but then he was DH's dog and not mine.  It was like a little bit of joy went out of him.  Now that we have celebrated Gracie's one year from start to finish on her Myositis we need to deal with this!  

While Gracie was being treated with huge doses of Prednisone, I had to keep her away from places and dogs that might have bacterial stuff.  Her immune system was depleated and she at one point had three bacterial infections on her legs that were bleeding and then get scabbed up.  Not a pretty sight especially since she had lost all her hair on those legs!  We were using a very expenive antibiotic to get rid of the infections.  Because of this I didn't take her in the public.  I felt so sorry for her that I ordered her two wonderful Antlers from the Antler Pantry.  Gracie loved them.  She is an obsessive chewer and I was so happy to see her so engaged in something that she enjoyed.  Well, now I come to find out that was what broke/cracked her teeth.  I know this for sure because one year ago during our diagnosis of her Myositis we had her teeth cleaned and examined.  They were perfect.  So I have to conclude that the antlers were the cause because I never give her bones.  I asked our vet yesterday out of confusion because he had told us that it was OK for dogs to eat bones.  He said yes, bones but not antlers.  He said that the kind of bones dogs usually would eat were rabbit, squirrel and small rodent bones.  Not the bones of a deer, cow or Moose!!!  He said that antlers are extremely hard and that is why they should not be given.  

So, we are going to give Gracie a rest for a month or so and then off to get a root canal.  Yes, we are crazy but she has gone through so much and we don't want to pull her tooth.  They will probably do the root canal on the really bad one and try to seal up and bond the other...just buying some time I'm sure.  Unfortunately, you want to go to a specialist who is licensed and educated to do only these type of problem.  Her root canal is going to cost more than mine!!!  Unbelievable!  But she is our baby and it will be done. 

The only reason I am posting this is not really to discuss it...our mind is made up but feel free to discuss amongst yourselves.  But, I wanted to let you all know about the dangers of Antlers since I know there are quite a few Doodles here who absolutely love them.  Also, this in now way is saying anything bad about the Antler Pantry.  I loved them and if you were to get antlers that's the place to go.  It is just antlers...from anywhere...are dangerous!  

[Deanna & Desi & Cori]

Well, darn it! Neither you nor Gracie deserve another issue! Hope the root canal goes well and that's the end of problems for a good long while!

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

Oh poor Gracie doodle, she just can't catch a break. No pun intended. The root canal sounds reasonable and does your insurance cover dental? Did you find a specialist that can do it?
We do have antlers all over and mine do chew pretty aggressively on them. I have taken them away when I hear a real hard crunching sound and it just sounds awful. My vet just looked at both their mouths but I wouldn't call it a total dental check up. I will look really well tonight myself. Can the break and crack been seen by you?

[Nancie & Gracie Doodle]

Sue...we have not attempted to look inside Gracie's mouth at the tooth.  In fact we are not even sure which tooth it is.  I think my mind went into that buzzing mode when the vet told us so I didn't hear anything he was saying at first.  The bad one goes down into the gum and that is the one he said needed to be pulled or worked on.  No we don't have dental insurance.  I chose to not have it nor the RX part of insurance.  I figured if we could afford to have a dog then we could afford normal regular maintenance like once a year check ups and vaccines and  medications and a tooth cleaning.  Good thing I have insurance for the other stuff though.  This last year would have been a very expensive year with her myositis without it!!  Yes we have a very "high end" veterinary dentist right here in San Diego.  He is a graduate of University of California, Davis School of Veterinary Medicine and has tons of titles attached to his name.  He is a Board Certified Specialist which is what our vet said we wanted.  I guess he is the go to dentist here in San Diego and boy his prices indicate so as well!!!!  There is only one other dentist qualified but this is the one that all the vets are referring people to.

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

I can certainly imagine that buzzing mode after the year you have had. Hard to absorb yet one more thing. Just curious if you can actually see it, but unless the vet took X-rays, then he would have had to have visualized it.
I just took my guys antler away as now I am concerned when I hear the slightest crunching on it and not scraping. I'm sure I don't have dental insurance either in my Petplan and like you thought I would just pay for their check ups and cleanings every few yrs, but this is much more than the usual expenses we'd expect and possibly preventable. Glad you have some one so good. I'm sure an area like San Diego would, forgot where you lived and didn't look up.

[Nancie & Gracie Doodle]

Oh yes, they took x-rays!  I know that dental insurance is available at a higher monthly cost.  I built my own plan with Embrace and opted out of the dental...now I probably couldn't get it because these two teeth would be considered pre-exsting.  My vet said that the root canal probably will be around $2000.  Mine was under $1400!  The surgery for the calcium deposit on Gracie's hip and her dental last week was $1400!  Insurance should pay for the surgery though...whew!

[Leslie and Halas]

Sorry you guys have another issue to get through.  But it sounds like she'll be good after the root canal, and I think you're making the right decision.

[Bonnie and Kona]

Poor Gracie and poor you! I'm so sorry. It's heartbreaking to think she has more pain to endure.

[Joanna, Zoe & Bender]

Oh I am so sorry that Gracie is going through this!!  It's great that she doesn't have to lose her tooth and I hope her recovery time will not be too painful.  Hugs to you both!

[Janie, Jackson and Jilly]

I am so sorry that Gracie has to go through this. How great that you can save her tooth. I hope it's clear sailing for her from now on! I just bought my two new split antlers, they are interested for a little while, then move on to something else. I will make sure to keep an eye on them..

[F, Calla & Luca]

I have been thinking of pulling all the bones and antlers and will do so today. There haven't been any new ones for a while so the dogs are not that interested. But i do have one or two I haven't given them But they and  I do not need this aggravation. Thanks for another warning.

[Jarka, Monty & Auggie]

So sorry, Nancie. Hope the procedure goes well. It's so hard to know what actually is good to give to our doodles anymore.

Fortunately, none of my doods are chewers (Monty being less of a chewer than Auggie). I bought an antler a long time ago and it's been touched maybe three times for a couple of minutes. It's too hard for them, yay!  We are using bully stick, occasional beef tracheas, and lately Merrick hoofers. Auggie's real brother Sam is a chewer and I recommended antlers. Will need to email them with a warning. Thank you!

[Carol and Banjo]

Nancie,  It's such a shame that your sweet girl has yet another obstacle to conquer.    Thanks for sharing.   Wishing Gracie all the best.