Fractured Deciduous in Puppy Teeth

Diagnosis: Note the discolored canine tooth and the fractured crown (green arrow). The blue arrow shows a gingival swelling or draining tract. This tooth has root abscess.

In the second photo you can see that both upper canine teeth were fractured. Deciduous teeth are fragile and a fracture of any depth typically involves the pulp. The pulp chamber will typically appear as a black hole in the tooth.

Fractures of teeth that expose the pulp (inside of the tooth) are painful. Bacteria from the oral cavity may travel down the root and form an infection. Moreover, our young pets tend to develop an abscess relatively quickly due to the fact that the apex of their tooth is open, and their lifestyle includes chewing objects that pack the tooth (pulp) with pieces of sticks, feces, food etc.

Eventhough pets loose their deciduous teeth between 4-6 months of age, a fractured deciduous tooth must be treated as soon as it is seen.

Treatment involves extraction of the fractured tooth. Careful extraction technique is necessary to prevent fracturing the affected root or damaging the developing permanent tooth. Intra-oral X-rays are helpful to evaluate these affected teeth. On the X-ray note how the permanent teeth are developing and erupting (green arrow) under the roots of the pet's primary (baby) teeth (red arrows).