Hello,
I'm curious regarding anyones experience with fractured molars.
My girl was enjoying raw marrow bone this afternoon. I was noticing how her teeth are becoming clearner. (she is adopted and has some yellow/tartar.) Anyway, I noticed her back upper molar is cracked. I think its what is called a slab fracture. There appears to be some exposed pulp. I will put a call into the vet tomorrow morning.
It does not outwardly seem to be bothing her. She is alert, chasing squirrels etc. I'm just giving her soft canned food for now.
Does anyone have any first hand experience with this type of dental issue??
I would certainly opt for salvaging the tooth, if it is an option.
Also, she is NOT good at the vet. She generally needs to be muzzled/restrained. Its quite stressful for us both!! They know her at the vet office. So I suspect she will need some sedation in order to have her mouth examined....oh brother....

Wish me luck!

Regards,
Linda

Sorry I'm not writing because I have experience with a cracked tooth but I certainly have experience being stressed out whenever having to go to the vet. I'm always stressed when taking a cat or dog to the vet. Good Luck!!

http://www.veterinarydental.com/veterinarians/fracture.php

http://www.dentalvet.com/Encyclopedia/P00352_SC01096.htm

http://www.vetinfo4dogs.com/ddental.html#Dental%20problems%20associated%20with%20giving%20dogs%20bones

My personal experience is all I can give you, and that was with my granddog, who fractured a molar the same way.

He ended up with a root canal and a crown, since he was young, and it did cost a fortune. If he had been older, he probably would have had an extraction.

He did have to be sedated to do the exam and anesthetized for the work.

I think some dogs gnaw away on a recreational bone, scraping nicely on the vertical tooth walls (whatever you call them), but some try to crack them open.

I haven't given recreational bones to any of my dogs since then.... I guess we can all only refer to our own experiences.

I don't even give unground poultry thighs after that experience. They get the front end "as is" and the back end ground up, or they get backs and necks.

OTOH, I imagine most dogs do just fine with all kinds of bones.

P.S. You might want her to be very well-exercised before vet visits.

Linda, so sorry to hear about your girl's tooth!! Slab fractures are a fear of mine every time I give my boy a marrow bone (but I still do it - he LOVES them, and they do help keep the chompers pearly white). As I understand, though don't have first hand experience with, they can be quite expensive to fix. Your vet will have a better idea about whether you should fix it or just remove it based on her age, and the exact conditinon of the tooth.

I also sympathize re the vet. My dog isn't the least bit aggressive but will do everything in his 90lbs of struggling muscle power to keep himself from being restrained. I can open his mouth and look around all I want, but if a vet ever needed to, I'm positive he'd need some form of sedation.

Is there any way you could take a picture of the tooth, with someones help, to take with you should your dog not want to "open wide" for the vet? First hand observation is best, but if the fracture is serious, and would translate clearly in a photo, they may be able to save at least one round of sedation (for the exam) and just schedule you straight for dental surgery to have it repaired.

Just a thought. My sympathies again, and good luck!!

~Natalya

Great links Connie! And FRIGHTENING. (I'm a bit squeemish when it comes to dental work in general, but some of those images were downright scary - And I can only imagine VERY painful.) I'm so torn up about this issue - don't think I'll stop giving bones, but will probably give them less frequently.

*I did like the look of that crown though on the dentalvet site - it's straight up dog bling!!

~Natalya

Thanks everyone for your replys. No more bones for "Sam." Part of me feels like kicking myself, I gave her the bone.... Whats done is done, live and learn. Now I just need to have it taken care of at the vet. I'm hoping I get her in to be seen tomorrow.
She will most likely need sedation to be evaluated, as Connie mentioned.

I'll let you know how it goes. I appreciate everyones input.

Linda

Connie,
Thanks for the links, they are very helpful!!

Linda

 Quote: Linda Walsh

Part of me feels like kicking myself, I gave her the bone.... Whats done is done, live and learn.

Don't kick yourself!! A LOT of people give their dogs bones - some of them have problems with it, but I would guess most don't. You happen to be an unlucky one, but it's certainly not from poor care.

Take good care of her now and she'll be just fine (hope it doesn't cost TOO much to fix!).

~Natalya

 Quote: Natalya Zahn

*I did like the look of that crown though on the dentalvet site - it's straight up dog bling!!

~Natalya

Yes indeed. The one my granddog has is just like that, and extremely gorgeous.

It was done at Tufts, and went just about as smoothly as a big dental thing can go.

Thanks for making me laugh.....doggie bling, bling. Can you imagine.......glittery gold doggie "grills."

Anyway, I'm kinda calming myself down about now. As far as $$$, I can always pick up an extra shift at work to help offset the cost if that is necessary.

I just want what is best for my girl!!

Thanks!

linda