# Cracked canine tooth- not sure what to do



## wildo (Jul 27, 2006)

A year ago or so, Pimg cracked her upper canine on the right side. It looked like just a hairline crack running horizontally on the outside of the tooth. It has escalated now where it seems there is plaque in behind the crack, and most recently a small black speck at the gumline. Our yearly vet visit isn't for a couple more months- so I am gathering opinions here to see what people make of this.

Do you think this is a serious issue?
Do you think there's really anything that can be done about it?
If dental work can be done- any clue on what this sort of thing costs? I think I saw a recent thread where someone had an entire canine removed/replaced!

She doesn't seem to be in any kind of pain from it, and has no issues at all eating her kibble. Just looking for some opinions...

This is the best I could capture it (I shined an LED maglight to light it up). Note that the plaque looking stuff is below the tooth surface:


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## codmaster (Aug 5, 2009)

why wait two months to see a vet? I would take her as soon as i can get an appointment to see a good vet.


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## AbbyK9 (Oct 11, 2005)

I really cannot tell where it is cracked or how this is forming from the pictures. Is there any chance you could have someone else take the picture while you hold, or in some way attempt to get a picture outside in natural light vs. shining artificial light on the spot?

If this is a concern and it looks like it is cracked, I would not wait a couple more months to see the vet, I would make an appointment and have her seen. I don't think it's anything that would need an e-vet visit, obviously, but if you can call and make an appointment, that would be good. Have it looked at.

Do you scale your dogs' teeth at home? I do mine if it's needed (which isn't often because she gets chicken necks with her kibble to clean teeth).


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## wildo (Jul 27, 2006)

I can try to get a better picture tomorrow in the sunlight. As I said- it's been in this state for a while. I just think in the back of my head about dogs dying from tooth infections or whatever- not that I've ever heard of that happening in real life. I've never scaled her teeth. In fact, she's my first dog of my own- and neither me nor any of my family growing up has payed attention to dental hygiene in our dogs. That's why I'm a little clueless about it. Just looking for some opinions...


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

go to the Vet. i think you should have gone to the
Vet a year ago.



wildo said:


> A year ago or so, Pimg cracked her upper canine on the right side.


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## wildo (Jul 27, 2006)

Dogs chip/crack their teeth all the time. That doesn't necessarily mean they need immediate vet care. I clearly posed three specific questions-

Do you think this is a serious issue?
--Apparently so, since everyone just keeps saying go to the vet.

Do you think there's really anything that can be done about it?
--Unanswered.

If dental work can be done- any clue on what this sort of thing costs?
--Unanswered.

I appreciate everyone taking the time to tell me to go to the vet, but that isn't what I asked for. I felt I was pretty clear in my questions... I'll get better pics tomorrow.


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## codmaster (Aug 5, 2009)

If you chipped your tooth or if your kid (if you have any) chipped their tooth would you wait two months before taking them to the dentist? If so then I would suggest you will probably wait for your "regular" vet visit. If you wouldn't wait, then why not at least call your vet and ask them if you should bring him in to see him.


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## AbbyK9 (Oct 11, 2005)

> If you chipped your tooth or if your kid (if you have any) chipped their tooth would you wait two months before taking them to the dentist?


IMHO that would depend entirely on the location and severity of the chip. 

I chipped my tooth last summer (well, technically, my dog did) and it was one of my front teeth but the very bottom corner. I did not experience any pain except when it happens and while I could clearly see it, other people did not notice it. I did eventually go to the dentist for my regular cleaning and had it looked at at that point. Dentist just basically filed it down (I had big front teeth to begin with, so I am not at all fussed about this change in dental appearance!) and that was all that needed to be done.

I can't honestly tell from the OP's picture what and where it is chipped so I can't really say whether anything can be done about it or what that might cost. I have no idea whether it's a crack or a chip or where it's located in those pictures. The only thing I see is plaque. (Sorry, OP ... I just really can't tell.)


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## codmaster (Aug 5, 2009)

AbbyK9 said:


> IMHO that would depend entirely on the location and severity of the chip.
> 
> I chipped my tooth last summer (well, technically, my dog did) and it was one of my front teeth but the very bottom corner. I did not experience any pain except when it happens and while I could clearly see it, other people did not notice it. I did eventually go to the dentist for my regular cleaning and had it looked at at that point. Dentist just basically filed it down (I had big front teeth to begin with, so I am not at all fussed about this change in dental appearance!) and *that was all that needed to be done.*
> 
> I can't honestly tell from the OP's picture what and where it is chipped so I can't really say whether anything can be done about it or what that might cost. I have no idea whether it's a crack or a chip or where it's located in those pictures. The only thing I see is plaque. (Sorry, OP ... I just really can't tell.)


But only a dentist (or a vet!) can make the medical decision with a degree of knowledge. Could be something that should have immediate attention to save the tooth, for example.


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## BowWowMeow (May 7, 2007)

No need to be nasty folks! 

I cannot see the crack from that picture but the gum looks fine. 

Can you move up your appointment and just have the vet take a look to make sure there isn't any type of infection?

Here is my experience with these sorts of injuries:

My first dog, Massie, had a mouth full of broken teeth because she loved to fetch rocks. I would not indulge her but she managed to convince everyone else to throw them. :help: When she was about 7 I noticed some swelling at the gum area and it turned out to be a bone infection from a broken tooth. None of her other teeth caused any problems though. 

Chama broke a molar on a marrow bone and that had to be removed because the root was exposed. That was a pretty obvious one though. She also had a dead tooth. It happened when she was fairly young and when she died at age 14 it still hadn't given her any problems. My vet told me to keep close eye on the gum area for infection but otherwise to leave it alone.

I do know people who have capped their dogs teeth but I never had a vet recommend that for my dogs' teeth problems.


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## arycrest (Feb 28, 2006)

wildo said:


> Dogs chip/crack their teeth all the time. That doesn't necessarily mean they need immediate vet care. I clearly posed three specific questions-
> 
> Do you think this is a serious issue?
> --Apparently so, since everyone just keeps saying go to the vet.
> ...


Holy cow, you don't have to be such a bloody little snot! People took the time to answer your first question, gave you their opinion and apparently didn't have anything to add. I hesitate to share what little information I can add since it might not meet all the criteria you've set forth in your three questions but here goes ... 

*QUESTION 1:* Yes, it could be serious!

*QUESTION 2:* Yes, I think something can be done about it. About 5 or 6 years ago Honey had a problem with a chipped/broken canine tooth that had a crack at the gumline. My vet said the tooth was painful and she sent me up to the University of Florida's Veterinary School of Dentistry. 

I was given two choices up there - I could either have a root canal done or have the tooth extracted. The root canal was much more expensive than the extraction. The head of the Dental Clinic said that due to Honey's age (she was a Senior citizen) she would recommend the extraction. The tooth was pulled, Honey was fine after the surgery and lived happily ever after.

*QUESTION 3:* I'm sure the price has gone up since Honey's procedure was done, but if I remember correctly the extraction was somewhere between $300-$700. I don't remember how much the root canal would have run except it was very expensive.


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## Pattycakes (Sep 8, 2010)

I would also recommend you take your dog to the vet sooner rather than later.

Whether or not its serious...its very hard to tell from the pictures.

As for the cost...no idea...but I will say that I had dental work done on my GSD at 7 months old and it cost abour $1200, plus another $380 6 months later for a followup. But my GSD had a canine reduction and vital pulpotomy ($1200) and then 6 months later she went back for a recheck to make sure the tooth was still viable and alive (which it is) and the vet noticed that the tooth had some of the pulp over the cap so she corrected it ($380). 

Hopefully its nothing serious or costly. Keep us posted!


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## wildo (Jul 27, 2006)

Turns out there is a dentistry vet in my area. I just scheduled an appt for Monday. They are also emailing me a "standard extraction" price sheet to give me a ballpark figure. We hope that an extraction wouldn't be required since it is such an important tooth. Time will tell...


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## Pattycakes (Sep 8, 2010)

Thats great that you have a dentristy vet in your area.  That was an option (extraction) for my puppy when I took her in as well. But I opted for the reduction instead since I felt as you do...its an important tooth and a big one. Good luck!


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## KZoppa (Aug 14, 2010)

from what i can tell, there is no swelling and if your dog is eating and chewing on bones and such with no obvious pain (mouth pain you would DEFINITELY notice) i would say have it checked as a caution but i dont think its a problem. As for cost it all depends on where you go. But it wont be cheap. A friend of ours had to have one of their dogs teeth removed and it ran them $1500 plus the cost of follow up a week later and every two months for 6 months to make sure none of the other teeth moved and no infection started. hope that helps out some. I'll have to remember to take a picture of Zena's chipped canine when i see her in a couple weeks.


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## wildo (Jul 27, 2006)

They sent me an estimate for a typical extraction (Like I said- don't really wanna do this). On the low side- $715.30, and on the high side- $894.70.

(EDIT- there was no copyright notice on the estimate, nor have I provided the name of the clinic. I have no issue posting these prices)


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## BowWowMeow (May 7, 2007)

My regular vet did Chama's extraction. If I remember correctly it was around $400 but that was several years ago and my vet tends to be a little cheaper than other vets.


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## Pattycakes (Sep 8, 2010)

That doesn't seem to be a bad price for the extraction. Hopefully it won't come to that.


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## wildo (Jul 27, 2006)

*Not a crack!*

Got back from the vet/dental specialist and am happy to report that he is 99.9% sure it is not a fracture. At first, he didn't even see it. Pimg has "tennis ball teeth" and he thought I was referring to the warn down tip of the tooth. I corrected him and pointed out the line I was seeing, highlighted here:










At first he was a bit shocked. Once I pointed it out, he could see it plain as day. He was honestly stumped for some time as he looked and touched it. Finally, he excused himself and came back with a scalar. He said he had a suspicion that it was just a very odd line in the tartar buildup, and not a crack at all. He went to town with the scalar, and wouldn't you know it the line disappeared. In fact, after scaling for a while- it is clear that she had some real buildup on that tooth:



















He said her teeth are borderline needing cleaned. Since I want to get an xray of her hips for agility, he suggested going through with a cleaning. Easy for him to say as he handed me the $700 estimate...


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

$700 for a cleaning? What? Or the hip/elbow and cleaning together....still ourtagious unless you live in the DC area.
A RMB may be under $4 and will help clean off that gunk in an hour and you won't even have to sedate...well the dog will be in heaven, sedated by satisfaction.


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## wildo (Jul 27, 2006)

onyx'girl said:


> $700 for a cleaning? What? Or the hip/elbow and cleaning together....still ourtagious unless you live in the DC area.
> A RMB may be under $4 and will help clean off that gunk in an hour and you won't even have to sedate...well the dog will be in heaven, sedated by satisfaction.


The hip xray was quoted at $218, and the rest falls into the cleaning/anesthesia. It's too bad this place was so expensive because I really liked their staff and facilities. But their outrageous prices have driven me away- just like my first vet, a local VCA clinic.

I see RMB all over the place on this forum, but I don't know what it means or how to get it. Real meat bone? As in- just go to the grocery and buy a bone?


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

yes, call a butcher or grocer and ask if they sell beef knucklebones or soupbones. The knucklebones are easier on the teeth and provide cartilage for the dog so are very nutritious. soupbones are more expensive(in my grocery store) but the meat stores usually have extra's cheap! 
Fridge the bone for another chew session...if they dry out, they can splinter.


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## wildo (Jul 27, 2006)

I already am confident of the answer, but just to double check- you feed it raw, correct? And thanks for the info!



onyx'girl said:


> yes, call a butcher or grocer and ask if they sell beef knucklebones or soupbones. The knucklebones are easier on the teeth and provide cartilage for the dog so are very nutritious. soupbones are more expensive(in my grocery store) but the meat stores usually have extra's cheap!
> Fridge the bone for another chew session...if they dry out, they can splinter.


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

yes raw, under supervision. RMB stands for raw meaty bone.


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## AbbyK9 (Oct 11, 2005)

You can also purchase a scaler and do your dog's teeth at home if your dog will put up with it and/or you have someone to help. I got my scaler from Amazon and do teeth every so often if they look like they need it, which isn't terribly frequent since she gets chicken neck bones about once a week.

I'm surprised the vet didn't get more of the plaque off that tooth "after scaling for a while".


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## Lin (Jul 3, 2007)

Where in Indiana are you? I might be able to help recommend a vet with better pricing!!! 

Also, if you're close enough to me I could even teach you how to use the dental scaler. I use it on my dogs when necessary, though I also feed RMBs and they don't get a lot of plaque buildup. I just offer because I know I've had friends afraid to do it, and it really is quite easy! My dogs lay on the bed with their heads in my lap usually while I'm doing it.

From your picture I actually thought the plaque portion was chipped off enamel. My girl Tessa has that on one of her canines, currently we just are keeping a close eye on it and waiting to see if she needs a root canal or extraction. Extraction being cheaper, but root canal more ideal with a canine!


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## ChancetheGSD (Dec 19, 2007)

My recommendation is a toothbrush. Even if you don't care to pay for the doggy toothpaste, brushing the teeth once a day will make a HUGE improvement in how much tartar and plaque build up gets on your dogs teeth.

I've never had bones chip much off the front teeth. I have a senior who's mouth is so small it's hard to brush so I pretty much only have the option of RMB and a special spray. Mind you, she had no dental care in her younger days so she had NASTY teeth when we started. (And highly infected gums!!) Most has been chipped off and she actually has pretty clean teeth now (And with a round of antibiotics, healthier gums) but bones have done very little for the canines. I've personally used a scaler to chip off the tartar as much as I can (She doesn't sit still very well lol but over 90% is gone and what IS left isn't near the gum to give pockets for bacteria to grow) and that's the only thing that's made a real difference. She's too old for me to be comfortable about putting under for a dental. (Almost 13)

Chance on the other hand, has pearly white teeth. He gets RMB -and- I brush his teeth. The vet always comments about how clean they are. I only wish I'd have started Zoey's earlier.

I've had people tell me I'm stupid, that I care too much about "a dog", ect but tbh I could care less about their opinion. Fact is, more often than not, dogs have dental diseases to some degree from lack of care. Infections from dirty teeth can enter the blood stream and attack organs such as the liver, heart, kidneys, ect. It can reduce your dogs lifespan and I don't know about you guys but I love my dogs and want them around as long as possible. If preventing infection by brushing their teeth at LEAST a couple times a week will help do that, then I'm all for it. If it takes away literally a whole minute or two of say, my tv time, then fine. I don't need to watch that commercial anyways.


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## wildo (Jul 27, 2006)

AbbyK9 said:


> I'm surprised the vet didn't get more of the plaque off that tooth "after scaling for a while".


I guess I use the word awhile loosely. I've never seen teeth scaled before. I assumed it would be effective in two or three scratches, but he used seven or eight high pressure scratches. I was surprised by the amount of effort it seemed like he had to put into it... And given their prices, I doubt there was any chance that he had intentions of just cleaning up the whole tooth for me.



Lin said:


> Where in Indiana are you? I might be able to help recommend a vet with better pricing!!!
> 
> Also, if you're close enough to me I could even teach you how to use the dental scaler. I use it on my dogs when necessary, though I also feed RMBs and they don't get a lot of plaque buildup. I just offer because I know I've had friends afraid to do it, and it really is quite easy! My dogs lay on the bed with their heads in my lap usually while I'm doing it.


Wow Lin, That's a great offer! I'll PM you some details. Thanks!


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## Pattycakes (Sep 8, 2010)

Glad that is wasn't serious!  

I've been brushing my dogs teeth since she was about 6 months old. I should really do it more often...but I brush them a 3-5 times a week. No buildup as of yet.


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## wolfstraum (May 2, 2003)

was going to say that I could not see a crack and that a scaler or even a q-tip or tooth brush going over the tooth mightt help get a better photo  - but if the dog was not bothered or in pain, it is not an emergency!!!

I had a young dog snap off the tip of a tooth in training - freak accident - other than the yelp when it happened - she never showed any problem....when I saw the short canine it took me a couple of minutes to try to figure out what happened...she had a titanium cap as the tooth was alive, and she was less than a year old...she did protection work for 8 years with that cap and it was intact when she died at 10.5

IMO - $700 is a bit steep for teeth cleaning and OFAs no matter where you are (maybe CA is normal...)

Lee


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## Rerun (Feb 27, 2006)

Wildo, a great place to get RMB's is at archers butcher in Fishers off 116th st.


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## wildo (Jul 27, 2006)

Rerun said:


> Wildo, a great place to get RMB's is at archers butcher in Fishers off 116th st.


Thanks for this! We are currently training (but not for much longer) at FFK9 just north of 116th st. So I'll have to stop in and pick one up! Thanks!


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## wildo (Jul 27, 2006)

wolfstraum said:


> was going to say that I could not see a crack and that a scaler or even a q-tip or tooth brush going over the tooth mightt help get a better photo  - but if the dog was not bothered or in pain, it is not an emergency!!!
> 
> IMO - $700 is a bit steep for teeth cleaning and OFAs no matter where you are (maybe CA is normal...)


I admit, it was really hard to get a picture of it. In person, it very much did look like a crack. Even the vet thought it was at first. But yeah- thankfully a scaling revealed the truth. As to the price- no question there... It's way too much!


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## BlackPuppy (Mar 29, 2007)

When I got Doerak, his canine teeth were chipped and cracked from the previous owner(s). After about 2 years, one of the canine teeth broke off while he was chewing on a recreational bone. I took him for a root canal and he already had an infection in his jaw bone from the damaged teeth and he had to go on antibiotics. The root canal with cleaning was $925. I would have saved $70 if I had the extraction only.

Poor Doerak. He must have had a tough life before I got him.

I recommend visiting the dentist for a consult.


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## Lin (Jul 3, 2007)

wildo said:


> Thanks for this! We are currently training (but not for much longer) at FFK9 just north of 116th st. So I'll have to stop in and pick one up! Thanks!


First Friends? Seriously? Off 126th? Thats where Rerun and I train! :shocked:


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