# 6.5 month overbite opinions



## Okin (Feb 27, 2013)

So Athena is at 6.5 months and she has an overbite. It probably a little less than a centimeter but is causing some issues with the lower canines. My vet has seen it a couple times and said she sees dogs with issues like this all the time and while it won't be a perfect scissor bite it isn't a huge deal. She said I could see a vet dentist if I was worried about it. I asked her about the lower jaw catching up like I have seen people here mention and she told me she would research it. She said she couldn't find anything about that happening in the Veterinary literature but did read on message boards where people said they have seen it happen. 

Let me know what you think. Not a big deal? See a dentist ASAP? Any and all advice is appreciated. 

PS: I don't notice her having any pain, issues eating or with grip when tugging etc. 

Overbite









My main concern is on the left tooth it has created a bit of a socket the tooth is going in to. 









Socket


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## shawk2424 (Feb 6, 2013)

Shepherds are supposed to have overbites. That's how the cut.


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## marbury (Apr 3, 2012)

shawk2424 said:


> Shepherds are supposed to have overbites. That's how the cut.


Shepherds must have scissor bites. Overbite is conformationally incorrect, although judges don't tend to penalize as badly as blatant underbites.

One of my bitches had a pretty decent overbite as a puppy. I freaked out (and posted here about it, somewhere!) but at 1 year she has a perfect bite. I was told that the lines from whence she came tended to end up with level or underbites if they had correct dentition at that age, so she grew into her bite. I'd ask the breeder how the sire and dam matured to see.


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## shawk2424 (Feb 6, 2013)

So if they arent supposed to have overbites then how do they achieve the scissor cut? Kudos on having to correct me with the appropriate terminology even though it didn't matter in this case.


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## ugavet2012 (Apr 15, 2010)

My Malinois had horrible base narrow lower canine teeth as a puppy so I was worried his would do this too. Adult teeth grew in correctly though. I did however spend a lot of time researching what to do if they didn't come in right. Here is a good website Base Narrow Canine Resulting in Palatal Contact - VDC

Might be worth it to at least get an opinion of a vet dentist. The condition makes me cringe, seems painful to me. My dog's parents had normal scissor bites.


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## Lauri & The Gang (Jun 28, 2001)

From the GSD standard:

_Teeth _--42 in number--20 upper and 22 lower--are strongly developed and meet in a scissors bite in which part of the inner surface of the upper incisors meet and engage part of the outer surface of the lower incisors. An overshot jaw or a level bite is undesirable. An undershot jaw is a _disqualifying fault._ Complete dentition is to be preferred. Any missing teeth other than first premolars is a _serious fault.


_I had a Skye Terrier that was sold as a pet because of a HUGE overbite. By the time he was 8 months old it had changed to a perfect bite.

If it's not bothering her I wouldn't worry about it.


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## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)

shawk2424 said:


> So if they arent supposed to have overbites then how do they achieve the scissor cut? Kudos on having to correct me with the appropriate terminology even though it didn't matter in this case.


Shawlein Fine Art & Purebred German Shepherd Dogs


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## Okin (Feb 27, 2013)

I talked to the breeder and he said he has not seen it before. The vet thinks it is ok but I get nervous about it.


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## Okin (Feb 27, 2013)

Got a referral to a board certified vet dentist sadly it is two hours away. I like the look of those acrylic inclined planes they seem like they would work perfectly.


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## KZoppa (Aug 14, 2010)

OP, if you want, I can post pictures of my 3 year olds bite so you can see a scissor bite. Her litter mate when I went to pick her up had an overbite. I couldn't tell you whether the bite corrected on the other pup though. Wish I could but they didn't keep in touch.


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## Patriciacarter (Oct 30, 2013)

*6 month old with an overbite and left incisor in wrong spot*

I was wondering I have a situation here with a half german shepherd half husky puppy who just turned six months old. A few weeks ago we realized his overbite is causing his left incisor to come in at the wrong angle. The vet wants to pull it out when they do the neuter. Says they haven't seen this before...however he's not bleeding or seem to be in pain. Eats just fine. And it seems to be moving forward in the last few weeks. Was wondering with all your experience with german shepherds if you've ever seen this before...my vets seem clueless in this matter. I want what's best for the puppy. I've attached a few photos. Please just take a quick look. My puppy Guinness and I appreciate it soooo much!
I wasn't able to attach the photos here...
But I uploaded them to my profile!


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## Blanketback (Apr 27, 2012)

Patricia, I'm no expert - but my puppy was having teeth issues so I read up on it back then. Take what I say with a grain of salt, lol. I believe that the tooth is a very important part of the jaw, structurally. If you're seeing it move into proper position and it's not bothering your puppy, then I'd leave it alone. Hopefully someone with more experience can answer this for you. Good luck with your little guy, I hope his wonky tooth straightens out on its own soon.


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## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)

Patricia, I would wait that out. The pics in your profile look almost identical to the last dog I had at that age. His teeth were a mess but within 2 more months or so, they straightened out and are now perfect. He's earned several SV show ratings, highest ratings available for his age, and got a dental notation done by an SV judge. If he's not in pain, I would NOT be pulling teeth or doing any sort of intervention at this age. Those teeth are brand new and need to settle in, his jaw may still be developing. Vets always seem to want to do drastic, irreversible things early on. It's your choice but if that was my dog, I would wait and just not even be tempted to look at the teeth for another month.


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## Wolfgeist (Dec 4, 2010)

It is possibly for them to grow out of it. My male had an overbite as a puppy, and now has a perfect bite.


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## Patriciacarter (Oct 30, 2013)

Thank you all for replying! I feel so much better knowing 
There is at least a good chance it will continue to get Better - I'll keep 
Praying too  you guys are a blessing!
Here's a photo of my puppy in case you're wondering.
He's a total sweetheart 
I figured out how to upload them in here! Yay!


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## Andi (Oct 31, 2013)

I was about to post a similar question about my 6 month old GSD when I came across this thread tonight. She was just spayed on Friday and the vet told me that they noticed she has an overbite and the lower canines are starting to poke into the top of her mouth, so they want me to see a veterinary dentist (which I didn't even realize existed!). My fear though, is that she's only 6 months old and her jaw still has some growing -- and the teeth haven't fully come in either -- and a dentist may want to take action now. I asked the breeder about this -- since the vet said this is hereditary -- and of course she said she's never seen that in her dogs and was upset that the vet would say it's genetics. Everything I've come across on the web so far says A) it's genetic and B) many dogs, especially GSD's can have this as a puppy but grow out of it by 10 months. I would like to see if anyone else on here has more info for me because right now, I'm afraid if I go to a vet dentist they won't want to wait it out.


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## MaggieRoseLee (Aug 17, 2001)

My Bretta had the same situation and I did pay the big bucks to see a doggy dentist when my regular vet noticed it as her permanent teeth were coming in.

The Doggy Dentist actually had a bunch of the local K-9's from the police departments coming in occasionally and, in her opinion, this seems to be more of an issue with the working line dogs. It CAN be a problem but if the bottom teeth are pushing outward and into place in front of the upper canines, then as long as they are continuing to close their mouths and eat normally, the lower canines will continue to grow and guide into place. Their jaws are also continuing to grow.

She did recommend taking my fingers and putting pressure on the problem tooth (teeth) to push them in the direction they need to go a few times during the day. 

BTW, by the time all her teeth came all the way, she is fine...

This is how bad they looked initially, her bottom canine is almost inside her top canine and not in that big gap to the front.










This is NOT my dog, but shows how if the teeth don't move into position they can actually make holes in the dogs palate and the resulting infections can be bad, so we do have to pay attention but not panic!










http://veterinarynews.dvm360.com/dvm/Dentistry/Defining-dental-malocclusions-in-dogs/ArticleStandard/Article/detail/704902


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## Andi (Oct 31, 2013)

That's interesting about seeing it more in working dog lines. My Lola's parents are both therapy dogs and many of the pups coming from that breeder either go in the therapy or police dog direction.

I'll keep an eye on her teeth and will try applying pressure, as you mentioned. I have a feeling she'll outgrow this as her lower jaw looks like it has a lot of catching up to do..

thanks much!


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## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)

Andi I guess my rule of thumb is to consider whether the dog is reluctant to eat, play, chew, etc, and if the teeth are poking holes, is this causing problems like infection? In my dog's case, even with the teeth poking into the roof of the mouth a little, it didn't change the dog's willingness to eat or play tug and there were no complications. Since it was a dog I was considering for a breeding prospect later on, I waited it out. In my opinion, if you do dental intervention that rules the dog out for breeding, if the teeth really are bad enough that they will not correct on their own.

My dog's teeth at 6 months - overbite, canines overlapping, etc.


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## Andi (Oct 31, 2013)

Liesje - so did your dog's teeth work themselves out eventually? Lola has very tiny indentations in her mouth right now but she is always eager to eat, plays like a little maniac and chews on her toys (or anything else she can get her paws on) all the time. Tug of war is one of her favorites -- although we're taking a break right now since she was just spayed a few days ago and I have to keep her calm -- which by the way, keeping a puppy calm is the most impossible thing to do!! But essentially, she doesn't seem to be uncomfortable or unhappy.


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## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)

Yes, they did. When he was 13 months old he received an SG rating (highest available for that age) from a German judge, who also examined his bite and gave us a "dental notation" (document that states all the teeth are in and the bite is correct).


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## Andi (Oct 31, 2013)

Good to know, thank you!!! I think I need to wait it out -- and just keep an eye on her mouth to make sure there are no issues with infection.


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