Dental health in our pets is important to a pet’s health and comfort just like it is important to our health and comfort. Pets generate a large amount of force when they bite down and chew on objects. When there is a large amount of force and leverage placed on the teeth frequently, they can fracture. When a tooth fractures the sensitive pulp is exposed. The pulp of the tooth is the innermost layer and contains blood vessels, nerves, and tissue to help keep the tooth alive. When the pulp is compromised by a tooth fracture it can lead infection and death of the pulp. Radiographically you can see a widening of the pulp chamber and if the dental disease progresses there is loss of bone around the tooth as seen in Figure 1b. If too much bone around the tooth is lost, it becomes very painful to eat and can also lead to breaking of the jaw. To prevent fractures on the teeth it is recommended to avoid letting your pets chew on antlers, bones, nylon toys, caw hooves, ice cubes and many other hard objects.
Figure 1a: This image shows a healthy canine tooth with a thinner pulp chamber.
Figure 1b: This image shows diseased canine teeth with the widened pulp chamber and pocketing in the bone surrounding the canine teeth.
If the tooth is fractured and pulp is exposed and compromised, it is recommended that a root canal procedure is performed. Root canals involve removing the pulp that is dead or infected, disinfecting the tooth and then filling the chamber and sealing the tooth as seen in Figure 2 below. This saves the outer structure of the tooth.
Figure 2: This image shows the canine teeth after the pulp was removed, and the tooth disinfected and sealed
In some cases where it is likely the pet will continue the behavior that caused the fracture or if the cause cannot be removed from the environment, it is recommended that a metal crown be placed over the tooth to protect it and to keep it from fracturing again.