Dental issues can be a hidden source of pain in our pets. Routinely, having a look at your pet’s mouth and teeth can help catch any problems. When checking Roz’s mouth last month, we noticed her lower canine had become discoloured and a diagnosis of pulpitis was made. You can see from the photo below; her tooth had turned a dull / pink colour.
Pulpitis is normally due to trauma to the pulp within the tooth, this leads to bruising and subsequent bleeding within the tooth canal. The most common cause of pulpitis is blunt trauma to the tooth. This is often caused by chewing bones, stones, or accidental clashes when playing.
In addition to the bleeding in the canal, if sufficient trauma happens, the tooth may become subluxated or rotated within the tooth socket. This can lead to rupture of the blood supply. If the tooth has lost blood supply, the tooth will subsequently die. As the tooth is dying off, this causes pain to the animal.
Roz underwent a full general anaesthetic; she had full mouth dental x-rays taken. She was given local anaesthetic nerve blocks to ensure she felt no discomfort. All her teeth were cleaned and polished and the lower canine was removed. The dental x-rays also allowed us to see that two other premolar teeth needed to be extracted.
After her procedure she was kept comfortable at home with pain relief and was fed soft food for the next few days. She has since made a full recovery 😊
Teeth can often be overlooked by owners as a problem in our pets. Often, owners will think that if their animal is eating normally, they don’t have any pain in their mouths. Roz never showed any discomfort and never went off her food, even though she had a painful issue with her canine. It is very important to get regular check ups with your vet, we will always do an oral exam and suggest a dental if needed.