Root Canal

Abbey has to have a root canal. We just got back from the vet, and her front upper left canine is dead. We noticed a discoloration, and after researching it a bit, I was pretty sure we would be at this outcome. She doesn't appear to be in any pain, it's not keeping her from eating, etc. but it does have to be taken care of due to the bacteria issue leading to potentially more problems. We're not sure how it happened, but the vet pointed out a small crevice in the tooth, which could have been made even deeper from chewing, blunt force, etc. and thus causing the bacteria to get in and the pulp of the tooth to die.
Has anyone else gone through this? Apparently its's pretty common. On Tuesday the U of M will be calling us to set up an appointment.

Awww, poor Abby .
I have no personal experience with this but I have read about this and it is not uncommon.
Best of luck, I am sure all will turn out fine !

Nancy
NJ

Poor Abby! I'm sure she will come through this just fine. Give her a hug for me.

Our oldest girl Penney has had to have 3 teeth pulled so far and is going on 10 years old; so far she is the only one. I don't think they were root canals, though, they were all 3 done by our vet. She came through all 3 with no trouble at all. Several years ago Kris talked to Penney's breeder in the UK. At that time Penny's mother was 12 and had lost about 1/2 of her teeth! We wondered at the time if it was hereditary, but her daughter Kate (about 6) has not lost any teeth, nor has her granddaughter Dottie at about 2. We are watching this carefully.

It is also my understanding that this is fairly common. In fact, we know a breeder that has a girl that must be on the order of 12 or 13 that has lost about 2/3 of her teeth.

They are doing amazing things in canine dentistry !!

So, after she has the root canal ....are they going to cap the tooth like in humans ? and I have to ask ..........how much is this going to cost ?? :yikes

Glad you caught this early. After the veterinarian dentist spoke at our club I took Jake in for a teeth cleaning and they x-rayed and his teeth are all good. I didn't realize they could look good on top and be rotted below the gum line. Shelby will go in February during Pet Dental Month...discounted price and she's younger than Jake. The photos he showed of dogs whose mouths were infected just broke my heart. How someone could not take care of this just amazed me. So....glad you caught it before it could cause serious infection. Give her hugs from us!

They won't be pulling the tooth, as it's a canine and much larger than the rest of the teeth. The smaller teeth they pull, but for a canine, they access the root by drilling a small hole in the tooth and in the gum line. They then kill the root and take it out, but leave the tooth intact. We'll find out on Tuesday how much it is, but I can't imagine it's more than the $700 we paid for the MRI for her COSM.

Both our cats have the same small crevice running the length of their canines, I now know how important it is to watch such a thing, as if it deepens and any bacteria gets in, the tooth dies.

Oh poor Abbey At least she'll be asleep though Jen I'll bet she'll have no problems after it's done either.

I don't know how many of you know this but there is a proven link between bad teeth and heart disease in canines I don't mean things like Abbey's problem here, Jen. But, people who don't look after their dogs' teeth and let them rot away

Pays to look after your furbabies teeth doesn't it?

Maxxs_Mummy said:

Oh poor Abbey At least she'll be asleep though Jen I'll bet she'll have no problems after it's done either.

I don't know how many of you know this but there is a proven link between bad teeth and heart disease in canines I don't mean things like Abbey's problem here, Jen. But, people who don't look after their dogs' teeth and let them rot away

Pays to look after your furbabies teeth doesn't it?

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Exactly, that's why we're so concerned---bacteria in the blood stream goes right to the heart, not a good situation at all.

Jen said:

...We're not sure how it happened, but the vet pointed out a small crevice in the tooth, which could have been made even deeper from chewing, blunt force, etc

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I'm sorry you have to go through this. I'm sure she'll do fine, but it's not going to be the most fun thing that ever happened. Root canals. I just had my first one this year.

On another thread, chewing bones was discussed. Did Abbey chew bones? A guy at the pet store told me that puppies could crack their teeth from chewing those hard bleached bones. After Zack got his adult teeth, i got him a couple of those bones. But i was hearing a loud cracking noise while he was chewing on one, and after that, I took them away. His teeth don't make that noise on any of his other chew toys.

Now i'm thinking I should get his teeth checked. Or at least ask the vet about it, and what age it should be routinely done.

glad you had appropriate concern about the discoloration. You're a good mom! :flwr:

Bruce H said:

...We wondered at the time if it was hereditary, but her daughter Kate (about 6) has not lost any teeth, nor has her granddaughter Dottie at about 2. We are watching this carefully....

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Maybe it's one of those things where both parents have to have the gene. That happens wiith people too. Some have trouble free teeth and others have lots of problems, and it isn't always a matter of whether a person eats a lot of sweets or takes proper care of their mouth or now.

Jen said:

Maxxs_Mummy said:

...I don't know how many of you know this but there is a proven link between bad teeth and heart disease in canines...

Click to expand...

Exactly, that's why we're so concerned---bacteria in the blood stream goes right to the heart, not a good situation at all.

Click to expand...

It's the valves in particular that are attacked by bacteria in the mouth. I was once diagnosed with mitral valve prolapse from auscultation and echocardiogram, and after that, i was always supposed to take antibiotics whenever i had dental work. Later, doctors could no longer hear the symptom on ausculation and an echocardiogram showed no mitral valve prolapse--kind of weird because it's not supposed to be reversible. Now i don't take antibiotics for dental work anymore.

Until this thread, i hadn't thought about cavaliers' vulnerability to valvular disease and dental problems. Definitely something i want to have routinely checked after reading this.