Lily

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Lilly was a happy healthy Labrador with a problem: she had fractured one of her incisors.

This little tooth at the front of the mouth is used for nibbling, chewing and some manipulation of food and objects. When a tooth is fractured, the nerve and blood supply in the tooth (the pulp) is exposed and becomes intensely painful for 1-2 weeks whilst the nerve dies and recedes. The channel for the nerve and blood supply becomes a direct route for bacteria to run through to the tooth and into the bone below, leading to loss of bone (lysis), and in some cases abscesses and weakness.

If you've ever experienced an exposed a nerve in a tooth, you will appreciate the discomfort! Whereas we will go to the dentist and have it repaired, dogs don't have that luxury unless the owner is quick to recognize the problem and brings the dog in to the vet.

In most cases dogs adapt to the pain; they will continue eating in most cases, but often avoid using that part of the mouth. They will frequently become quieter or even slightly grumpy.

With any tooth, the ideal is to maintain it in the mouth and to keep it functional. This is particularly important for 2 types of tooth:

1. The big canines at the front corners of the mouth, which are used for grabbing hold of toys, playing and behavioural displays for other dogs.

2. The carnassials (the large teeth at the back of the mouth), which are also very important, as they are the major chewing surfaces.

In Lilly's case, the decision was made to save the tooth rather than extract it.

We hollowed out the tooth, removed the remains of the pulp and cleaned it.

We were then able to refill the tooth with a hard setting material similar in consistency to tooth and bone.

We were also able to reshape the fracture surface to make it smoother and reduce the build-up of plaque that can occur around rough surfaces.

Please click on these images to enlarge them:

<filling the tooth crown

<filling the tooth root

<hardening the filling with UV light

The processes are exactly like those used in human dentistry.