If your puppy broke a tooth in the first few months of life, you at least had the reassurance that it wasn’t a permanent tooth. Once the adult teeth come in, however, tooth fractures are a bigger deal, especially for adult dogs who enjoy chewing.
How did my young dog break a tooth?
There are several ways a young dog can break a tooth, including:
- Chewing on hard items, like bones or cage wires
- Getting into fights with other animals
- Sustaining a traumatic face injury, like being hit by a car
Is a broken tooth an emergency?
A broken tooth is painful, so you definitely want to contact your VCA care team, but it’s not usually an emergency. Your dog may react painfully when the fracture first happens, causing you to notice, or you may just casually see that the tooth is broken. In both of these cases, you can simply call your veterinarian.
However, if your dog has experienced a significant trauma, they may be experiencing an emergency outside of the broken tooth. For example, a dog who has broken a tooth after being hit by a car or kicked by a horse has a high risk of head or chest trauma that would comprise an emergency. In some cases, dog fights can result in severe wounds and teeth being ripped out at the roots, so an emergency visit may also be needed.
How to treat a young dog with a broken tooth
There isn’t much you can do for your dog’s broken tooth at home, so the first thing you’ll want to do is speak with your veterinarian. Your veterinarian will evaluate your dog’s tooth fracture visually. They may recommend a dental cleaning to allow for a more thorough examination of the broken tooth, including x-rays.
If the tooth isn’t fractured into the pulp (soft inner tissues), it’s called an uncomplicated crown fracture. The dentin is exposed, which is sensitive tissue, so this is still painful. These teeth may be treated with a bonded sealant that reduces sensitivity and blocks infection from entering the tooth.
If the tooth is fractured with exposure of the pulp, it’s called a complicated crown fracture. Treatment options for a fractured tooth with pulp exposure in a young dog include:
Tooth extraction
A tooth that’s fractured into several pieces, has a fractured root or is otherwise unhealthy may need to be extracted for patient comfort. The good news is that most dogs do very well with missing teeth. Some dogs with no teeth may even continue to eat their kibble diets.
Root canal
A root canal involves removing the soft tissue (pulp) inside the tooth, which contains nerves and blood vessels. The root canal is then filled to prevent future infection of the tooth. A crown may be placed on the tooth. For root canal therapy to be effective, the roots of the tooth must still be intact.
Regardless of how the tooth is treated, your veterinarian will prescribe any necessary pain medications to help your young dog stay comfortable. If your dog has a procedure done in their mouth, make sure to follow any post-operative instructions sent home with you from your VCA care team.
