Re: Chipped teeth Ideally dogs (and humans) should have some kind of thorough teeth cleaning experience every 24 hours as plaque takes 24 hours to harden. So, daily is ideal. But I know I'm not quite that diligent and Obi still has clean teeth. Every 2 to 3 days would still be beneficial, if you're not planning on making it a daily thing. If they're cow/lamb leg bones and Simba is a determined chewer I'd supervise a bit and take them away once he's chewed the meat and cartilage/soft ends off. The ideal kinds of bones are ones coverered by meat - think chicken leg + thigh or half a rabbit, not cow/lamb marrow bone.
Re: Chipped teeth [quote author=Oberon link=topic=2456.msg25948#msg25948 date=1379352944] Think chicken leg + thigh or half a rabbit, not cow/lamb marrow bone. [/quote] Raw, of course. The question I am puzzling over is what is half a rabbit exchange rate to kibble...I can't add half a rabbit a day to his food intake. I think I'm going to have to look into shifting to raw.
Re: Chipped teeth Don't take it too literally, Julie A quarter of a rabbit, a chicken leg...it all depends on the size and age of the dog and whatever else they are eating. You just have to trial a certain amount and then watch the weight of your dog. Over time you work out the right amount for your dog. It's sounds tricky but it's not - you really do work it out by observation. If they seem a little rolly poly all of a sudden, feed less for a few days. Pippa has quite a few articles about raw feeding on the main website - just do a search for 'bones' or 'raw'
Re: Chipped teeth I know ;D, I can't help it - I'm an engineer, I do precise! I'll have a read and (maybe) a go!
Re: Chipped teeth Hmm..okay...well the ones I got at the pet store were the cow/ lamb leg bones type....I have 3 so use those up first. But I'm not thinking I want to go to raw diet at this point. I'm still going to look for the dental kibble to help with the teeth business...
Re: Chipped teeth So we have some chipped front teeth here Been to the vet though and she had a poke which seemed to suggest that the nerve isn't exposed - phew!! She did say though that if the remaining enamel wears and exposes the nerve that the tooth would have to be removed. Is this everyone elses experience with chipped teeth or are there alternatives? Riley's chipped the bottom off one of the top teeth and a little corner off the corresponding bottom tooth.
Re: Chipped teeth No idea Definitely looks like a bite down on something as he's done the top and bottom. It's strange though as he's not really an aggressive chewer of anything but rawhide and plant pots. The rawhide is usually quite soft from all his saliva too. I was hoping they would fill his tooth if it ever needed it but apparently not according to the vet I saw today. I did wonder if a specialist would have a different view. On a good note his teeth are very clean
Re: Chipped teeth What a bummer. Good that the vet thinks that some enamel is still there. Dog enamel is very thin (0.1 to 1mm) and it doesn't take much to expose the sensitive part. There are three layers - 1. enamel, then 2. dentine (hard and white but very sensitive), then 3. pulp (very sensitive, pinky-brown coloured, soft and with direct blood supply). If dentine is exposed, sealing it is an option. Leaving it is painful for the dog and the risks of infection, abscess and/or tooth death are present (dentine contains tiny tubes that communicate touch to the nerve and that also allow bacteria entry to the inner part of the tooth). Dentine sealing is what Obi had done. If pulp is exposed then a root canal, capping (if the tooth is still 'live') or extraction are options. Exposed pulp will eventually lead to infection and tooth death. My first dog had a root canal as he broke a tooth badly and we did not want him to lose the whole tooth. Dentine sealing, capping and root canals would require a veterinary dentist. They would be routine procedures for a vet dentist. Obi sends big sympathetic wags to Riley!!!!
Re: Chipped teeth [quote author=bbrown link=topic=2456.msg29239#msg29239]I did wonder if a specialist would have a different view.[/quote] I would think so. Having twice had the benefit of it myself, my advice would be to get a referral to a vet dentist. My Nicolae gave himself a slab fracture of the carnassial. Imagine your biggest molar, times three, with the whole side missing. But the tooth was saved with root canal followed by filling the remaining (huge) cavity. It is important not to wait till it gets bad or painful though....
Re: Chipped teeth Thanks Obi !! I'm surprised that he doesn't need work to be honest as the top tooth is noticeably shorter than the others which makes me think that the dentine would be exposed. She seemed to feel that because the tooth felt hard and Riley didn't jump when she poked it that it was ok. I think I may be seeking out a second opinion
Re: Chipped teeth Oh good grief.....I'm really sorry,at least Rachael has some experience and seems to think it wise you see a specialist.....these watch a wait things are horrible,thankfully we all watch and wait very conscientiously , Hope you aren't feeling too pulled about Riley x
Re: Chipped teeth Poor Riley, I am sorry he has done this to his teeth but I guess it can happen quite easily then. Good luck with the vet dentist, didn't know such a thing existed : Helen x
Re: Chipped teeth Poor Riley! Hope you get the help you need from the dental specialist. Seems to be getting more common? Good luck.
Re: Chipped teeth I think that dogs have always suffered from broken teeth but it's just that people are more likely to think about dental health these days and look in their dog's mouth. Especially the type of responsible owners who hang about on this forum 12 or so years ago when we needed (or, rather, insisted on) specialist care for Nicolae there was only one vet dentist in the country. He used to fly all over Australia and NZ doing zoo animals' teeth. Now it's not so hard to find a vet dentist but the only dog people I've ever heard of consulting one are me and Barbara
Re: Chipped teeth Well, Obi is off to the vet dentist in Sydney again in two weeks (15th March) as we have discovered another small chip on another tooth. We want that seen to, plus there is probably other stuff we have missed. We are really careful with what we give him to chew (only soft bones and rawhide chews, pigs ears and beef tendons and the like). But he is naughty - at day care a few weeks ago he found a piece of metal pipe and ran around and played tug of war with it : I saw the pics on Facebook.... Basically, he just has spots of weak enamel due to the fever he had as a puppy while his adult teeth were forming (when he was with his previous family) and so I think that this is not going to be our last visit to the vet dentist.
Re: Chipped teeth I think you are right Rachael,you are probably always going to monitor him.hope it's easily fixed this time. They are cases aren't they,no notion of what they do being potentially bad for them..... Isn't there a nice restaurant you call into when you do a Teeth Run? X
Re: Chipped teeth Thanks, guys Last time we went to the 'Little Korea' area that is nearby and stocked up on Korean treats and had a Korean bbq. An excellent suggestion of yours, Angela, to do the same again this time Obi is a bit strange in that he likes holding metal objects in his mouth. Most dogs do not like this at all....but he is just an odd dog.... Love 'im anyways
