My nearly 7 month old GSD has all of his adult teeth, plus a baby tooth next to his right lower fang. So basically he has two teeth where one should be. After googling, it appears this condition is called "retained deciduous". Reading up on it, people say that by 7 months it should be surgically removed by a vet. My doctor said to give it a few more weeks.
Has this happened to anyone out there on this board? Is there a 'best' time to get this taken care of if surgery is the solution? Any other advice is welcome. Thank you
Edited by Will Grzybowski (01/28/2009 01:21 PM)
Edit reason: To Clarify Title
Natalya Zahn Webboard User Reg: 12-22-2006
Posts: 1824
Loc: Cambridge, MA
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My family's pomeranian actually retained BOTH of his lower baby canines - it looked a little freakish inside his mouth for a while! Our vet at the time didn't express any concern over them (and we weren't the most attentive dog owners ). If I recall, they did both fall out eventually, and not at the same time, but I really can't remember when... I do remember that a LOT of food would get stuck in between those double teeth, which, as the writing below notes, can lead to periodontal disease.
I'd probably listen to your vet and have it pulled if it didn't fall out in short order, before it has a chance to permanently effect the growth and placement of the adult teeth.
Thanks for the compliment on the pup! He is a good looking dog.
Well, it's good to hear that there's still a chance that it will fall out on its own. I'm going to give it another couple of weeks before I take him in. Unless it starts to deform the jaw or something like that. Thanks for the advice, I appreciate it.
Melissa Thom Webboard User Reg: 12-04-2007
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Its a fairly common thing to have happen in toy breeds although any dog can have this occur. For me with my toys it depends on how solid they are. If they are solid... like a stone I have the vet remove them at 6-7 months. The real danger is when teeth are hitting against each other they can break other teeth or screw up the bite. It also adds to the risk of an infection in the mouth.
If they wiggle I give a really good chew like a half frozen turkey neck or a really good game of tug to loosen them up a bit more and pop them out myself between thumb and forefinger. Usually I don't even get a whisper from the pup. It's not a process for the squeemish though.
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Retained Deciduous - Dual Fangs
#225584 - 01/28/2009 01:16 PM 
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Our vet at the time didn't express any concern over them (and we weren't the most attentive dog owners 
). If I recall, they did both fall out eventually, and not at the same time, but I really can't remember when... I do remember that a LOT of food would get stuck in between those double teeth, which, as the writing below notes, can lead to periodontal disease.
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