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!  

[Kyoko]

Nancie, I am so sorry to hear all of the deals Gracie doodle has gone through......And yikes, because we do have several antlers.... I recently bought antler "Burr" and they seems to enjoy it....I am a bot concern now... They seem to just gnaw on them rather than biting them down, though...?

[Jill, Woody & Maxi]

Wishing you and Gracie all the best, and a speedy recovery!

[Stella]

We had to stop both of our LDs from having bones or antlers.  They have both chipped teeth on them.  Hartley is a power chewer and destroys bones and antlers rather then gnawing on them. At his recent physical the vet was horrified at the state of his teeth - he is only five and he has worn down his canines significantly - two down to the interior of the tooth.  She said if it was any tooth other than the canines she would recommend pulling them, but the canines roots are so long it would be a difficult extraction.  I don't think he is in pain with his teeth, he continues to steal wood from the wood pile to chew at any opportunity!  But, at some point it is obviously going to become an issue.  It is difficult because if we give them anything soft to chew on, it is shredded within a few minutes and hard things are ruining their teeth.....what to do??!

[Nancie & Gracie Doodle]

We have the same canines problem but it is from chewing tennis balls!  Gracie also is a power chewer and loves to gnawsh her tennis balls until they fall apart.  She is obsessed with them.  I have tried everything as well and they just get destroyed.  Tennis balls are only for outside but inside she has rubber animals she loves to squeek and chew on.  I even bought the special tennis balls that are not supposed to be abrasive on her teeth.  What a gimmick that is!!!!  Her canines at 6 years old are way down and you can see brown dots in the top of them.  The vet says that they desensitize pretty quickly so she doesn't seem to feel anything.  I too wonder where we will be with the teeth in a few years.  For sure at some point, our Doodles will be eating mush!!  

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Nancie, Gracie's broken teeth may be a totally different situation, but Ned had a slab fracture on a back molar that we  pulled and he is FINE with NO problems. He had to stay overnight (a whole 'nuther story) and was really frisky and happy when I picked him up.  He ate better once the tooth was out.  We researched the different methods of treatment and the specialist we consulted said that a simple slab fracture like Ned's  was pulled easily with no problems.  The other research we did, didn't show positive long term results for fillings.

[Nancie & Gracie Doodle]

Nancy...I am not sure which tooth (teeth) are the cracked ones but they must be the main bone chewing ones!  Our vet said that pulling the tooth would also require about the same amount of time but not quite as expensive but still not cheap.  It is a three rooted tooth so you can't just yank it.  A bit more surgery is involved.  We will of course meet with the "oral" surgeon (ha ha) to get a prognosis on which way is the best way to go in his opinion.  I do remember your posting about Ned's tooth and how his life turned around eating wise afterward.  Gracie has absolutely no problem eating at all.  Ever since the Prednisone and even now that she is off it, she is always wanting to eat.  We are now doing part Acana, Honest Kitchen and Green Beans!  She has become my Princess and nothing is too good for her!!!!

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

I am glad you found this before it became infected, and that you can do something to fix it.  I know our regular vet advised us to 'watch' for infection so that Ned could keep the tooth longer,  but we didn't want to wait for that to happen.  I can certainly understand why you also want to be proactive in meeting all of Gracie's needs.  Ned's molar was a "major chewing tooth" with the roots and it was a little trickier to pull I guess, but I think that they do it the same way oral surgeons remove our wisdom teeth (crush and suck). I only posted because I  wanted you to know that if Gracie has to have hers pulled, the outcome can be just fine.

[Nancie & Gracie Doodle]

Ewwww...crush and suck!!!

[Pam & Trixie]

Trixie had the same fracture as Ned. A slab fracture on her Molar. Yes, the one with 3 roots. I have her tooth- LOL.
We had it pulled. We were told that was the best treatment for a slab fracture. While it didnt seem to effect her- though I found it pretty soon after she cracked it....She has done just fine after having it pulled too.

[Joyce Meredith]

My mini doodle chipped a tooth on her wire crate at 6 months. Local vet thought she didn't need the tooth, but I couldn't stand to have an injury so young. Fortunately I had a trip planned to visit family and a vet dental practice was near their home. I learned so much about dogs health and tooth development! The dental vet said that most chew toys are bad for teeth and only allow chewing on flexible toys such as kongs - only things that can be easily bent, not rigid and hard. also, tooth brushing is essential! I brush most days now that she is used to it but it took some training for both of us. Ps: I got rid of the crate!

[Joyce Meredith]

Forgot to explain- the dentist put in a white filling and saved the tooth. Expensive because of general anesthetic but worth it for my baby.

[Lonnie & Libby Lu]

So sorry to hear this about Gracie. I would do the same thing Nancie having the root canal instead of pulling the tooth.  It is not crazy at all.  It is what is best for Gracie.