5 Common Dog Tooth Problems (Page 6)

1: Tooth Root Abscess

One of the more agonizing oral problems your dog may experience is a tooth root abscess. This occurs if the root of the tooth became exposed to bacteria — perhaps from a crack or break, or from advanced gum damage due to periodontal disease — and an infection has set in.

Signs that may indicate an abscess might be difficulty eating — your dog may be dropping food, tipping her head to one side or may avoid eating at all. As the abscess builds up, you may notice facial swelling. Depending on which tooth is affected, it may look like her eye is infected or inflamed, due to the proximity of the tooth’s roots to the eye.

A look inside your dog’s mouth should reveal the culprit — a bump, swelling or a localized area of the gums that looks red and angry. An abscess may spread to surrounding teeth, so it may be difficult to pinpoint which tooth is affected.

Due to the pain involved, it’s wise to get your dog to the veterinarian quickly, who will do an X-ray to determine the extent of the problem. He may try to save the tooth with a root canal procedure, or he may need to extract it. He’ll probably also give your dog antibiotics to control the infection, and pain medication to help her feel better while she’s awaiting the procedure and recovering.

Over the course of her life, your dog will probably encounter fewer dental problems than humans do. But when something suspicious arises, it’s important to react quickly, both for your dog’s comfort and to safeguard her overall health.

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Kathy P.

4:00PM PDT on Aug 15, 2012

poor puppies

August 15
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Julie H.

6:35PM PDT on Jul 23, 2012

omg so much stuff to learn.

July 23
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Lynn D.

3:08AM PDT on Jul 6, 2012

Thanks for a most interesting article! I always things like milk bones were good for them and the vets NEVER recommended dental care for dogs!

July 6
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Robin s.

2:05AM PDT on Jun 27, 2012

Adopt a pet = saving a life

June 27
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Marianne B.

11:35PM PDT on Jun 24, 2012

Sounds like their problems are alike by humans also. We should pay attention to our animals as we would to our own teeth.

June 24
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Carrie-Anne B.

2:44AM PDT on Jun 14, 2012

thanks for sharing :)

June 14
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Meg G.

5:36PM PDT on Jun 12, 2012

As a dog trainer I get called alot at 7-8mth age due to chewing. This age is when your worst chewing problems will begin. Young dogs need to chew at this time to help with the adult teeth bedding in and the teeth as they are emerging can be painful.
If you can get your very young pup right from the start to chew on hard vegetables it will help pull out puppy teeth and massage the gums without doing harm as well as getting them use to this things for when the worst chewing starts.
Foods like whole raw carrots, yams, sweet potato (not potato), pumpkin slices, the stems of broccoli & cauliflower, hard apples and pears. These can be cheap if brought in season and if stored correctly sweet potato and pumpkin can be stored for months and make very cheap healthy chew toys and bones.
If you are going to feed bones to young dogs the best are brisket bones (which really aren't bone). They are very hard cartilage off the rib cage and your pup can sink their teeth all the way through.