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Permalink Reply by Bev Levy on June 26, 2010 at 9:18am

Sparty had a back tooth removed for the same reason a few years ago. He eats a hair slower than the speed of light but is otherwise fine. He also has one that is cracked but the vet said it was not bad enough to remove yet and he wore the enamel off his back teeth with the Nylabones. I still let them have the circular one because he does not crank on it so hard and we have some pasturized cow bones. I know he really missed the regular Nylabones but he got over it. This was about 3 or 4 years ago and he is 12 now and doing fine. We should get together! Our corgis have a lot in common! Lol

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Permalink Reply by Beth on June 26, 2010 at 9:42am

I don't know too much about it, but I just read a blog post recently from Patricia McConnell, who had to have one of her Border Collie's teeth removed not too long after trying to save it with a root canal.

http://www.theotherendoftheleash.com/toy-story-with-a-twist#comments

I think if it were me, I'd probably just have it pulled. Poor Griffyn!!

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Permalink Reply by Shelby Shirley on June 26, 2010 at 10:49am

In March I noticed Leo had a lot of unusual decay/tartar on the big tooth on top in the back. Turns out the tooth was cracked. When? How? Who knows. Probably happened a few months or more before I took him in to have his teeth cleaned and that was the reason for the buildup as he wasn't chewing on that side of his mouth. He just turned two the end of March so it wasn't like he had "old teeth" and the rest of his teeth were good. The vet chose to pull it during his teeth cleaning as it was cracked clear up into the gum and causing a lot of irritation. While trying to pull it the tooth cracked completely and crumbled into several pieces. They were pretty sure they got all of the pieces but put him on antibiotics for two weeks just to be sure there wouldn't be any infection problems. He is no worse for the wear and chews his food quite happily morning and night. With hind sight it may have happened on either an ice cube that he grabbed when it fell on the floor from the freezer or possibly on a cow hoof that I buy them to chew on.

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Permalink Reply by Cheryl Nickel on June 26, 2010 at 6:28pm

Do not waste your money on a "cap". Three years ago, Roscoe had broken the lower right canine tooth; how it happened is still a mystery. I took my French Brittany to a veterinarian in Tulsa, OK who specializes in canine orthodontics (there are only about 100 of them worldwide). After an exam and a thorough discussion of our options, I chose to have the tooth capped instead of pulled. Roscoe spent the entire day at the vet's for the procedure & at the end of the day I paid the $1,800.00 bill & headed back home to Enid. Within 6 months the cap came off. Luckily, the vet had prepped the tooth so well it is still stable & does not give him any trouble. I watch it closely & at the first sign of discomfort, pain or infection, we will have the tooth pulled.

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Permalink Reply by Sam Tsang on June 26, 2010 at 8:27pm

It can get quite messy if it gets infected in the future, here's what an extraction would look like. Since the carnassial are used for grinding, caps would be an ongoing expense.

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Permalink Reply by Judi, Dawn, Soffie & Griffyn on June 27, 2010 at 9:13am

Wow! Thank you Sam! This was an excellent example, and a great website. I did not know about that website but it definitely will be put in my favorites. Lots of great information!! I read the article about brushing their teeth which, up till now, I'm sorry to say we have not been doing.

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Permalink Reply by Brian Ambrosius on March 31, 2011 at 9:18pm

Hey, doesn't this sound familiar!  I'm going through the same thing with one of my corgis right now.  I'm also leaning toward just getting the tooth/teeth removed (both are the carnaissal premolars), although my vet is kinda trying to advocate for saving the tooth if possible as Brian is only 3 years old (although she is realistic about the money issue).  In any case, the vet said that they would have to perform an x-ray to determine if the pulp was exposed, and then they would be able to move on to options (i.e. pulling the tooth/teeth if pulp exposed or leaving them in and keeping a close eye).  Here's the thing, they said that they won't just pull the teeth and that they will have to sedate and do general anesthesia just to do the x-ray. Did they make you do an x-ray prior to extraction and did they need to sedate/anesthetize to do the x-ray?  What did you wind up doing in the end with Griffyn?

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Permalink Reply by Brian Ambrosius on March 31, 2011 at 9:30pm

actually just found a really good study about canine tooth fractures in case anyone else is interested: 

http://www.fecava.org/files/ejcap/EJCAP%2020-3%20p%20230_235%20Schr...

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Permalink Reply by Judi, Dawn, Soffie & Griffyn on April 1, 2011 at 2:59pm

Hi Brian,

I did end up having the tooth pulled.  And he came through it like a champ!!  I honestly don't remember if they did an xray.  My vet was pretty certain the pulp was exposed. She also said she was quite certain he was in much pain but was being "very brave" about it.  But they did do general anesthesia to extract the tooth.  And at the same time did a thorough cleaning.  He was on soft food (which for us was pouring water on his kibble to soften it) for two weeks and antibiotic.  I have not regretted my decision to have the tooth pulled.  And Griffyn has shown no signs that it is a detrement in anyway to him.

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Permalink Reply by Geri & Sidney on April 1, 2011 at 12:51am

My corgi mix Bruce is 16 and has had about 8 teeth removed. You wouldn't know it, seeing him eat. He does great!

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Permalink Reply by John Wolff on April 1, 2011 at 2:14am

I've had 3 root canals. I can't pay my dentist enough. Think about wild animals, with no dental care at all. Same goes for most people in this world.

Teeth are important, and those carnasials are huge teeth.  But our pets are pampered animals, and can survive easily with missing teeth.  Not so in the wild, I'd guess.

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Permalink Reply by Scout & Kelly on April 1, 2011 at 2:38pm

My corgi fractured the same tooth (only on her right side) a few weeks ago chewing on rawhides (I know, I should have known better..).  I was torn between the exact same decisions, and it ultimately came down to what the radiograph (x-ray) looked like.  Two of the roots had abscessed from getting infected from the fracture; if it had only been one root then the possibility of saving the tooth might have there, but with two roots abscessed it made the most sense to pull it.  She's doing great now, and despite the loss of a huge tooth, she's still a chow hound (only now with softer toys).  She's 3 years old as well.  If money is an issue, then pulling the tooth is a completely reasonable solution, especially since saving the tooth might require travelling to a specialist.  If that's not an issue to you, then I'd see what the radiographs look like to guide you and your vet in which route may be the most practical.  In my experience they do just fine without the tooth.  She was on soft food for two weeks after to let it heal (as well as antibiotics and pain meds) and now she's back on her regular food and chews it like nothing's changed.  I'm also a bit more strict in what I allow her to have as far as chew toys are concerned--no more rawhides or nylabones, she now has to deal with softer more rubbery toys, which at first she wasn't keen on, but now she realizes that's her only option so she's been gnawing on it happily, though I do have to watch her with it in case she bites off pieces of the toy because she is still quite the power-chewer when she wants to be!

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