Help - Canine Tooth Extraction Or Root Canal?

[Houndmommy03]

Silver is at the vet this morning getting xrays. He broke off the tip of his upper canine. They will be calling me this morning to discuss options once they see what is going on. A root canal is significantly more expensive (ie. ~$500) than an extraction (~100). Any thoughts on what I should do assuming I get a choice. We have had a lot of vet bills in the last month so the root canal looks prohibitive but I hate for him to lose his tooth. Also, when the vet looked at his teeth he said the other 3 canines were fractured so I could be looking at having to do something with those either now or down the road.

 

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

Thanks!

Kim, Silver and Holly

[Guest KennelMom]

They can live just fine without a canine tooth. Our Erin only had one tooth left in her head when she went to the Bridge, having had all of them pulled when she came off the farm at 12. Our Caesar had a canine pulled in his last dental about a year ago and you couldn't tell any difference in him.

[greyhndz]

Kim, do you have a veterinary dentist nearby with whom you can consult for a second opinion?

 

The other thing to keep in mind is that after the root canal, depending on the stability of the tooth structure, they may also need to crown the tooth, which will up the cost significantly. But for an important tooth such as a canine, they may feel it's best to preserve the tooth rather than extract.

 

Veterinary dentists

 

"The Pet Dentist"

 

Crowns

 

Scroll down to "dental fractures"

 

Hope this helps a bit!

 

Jordan

[MarcR]

Kara is missing one of her canines (also because of a fracture) and she doesn't seem bothered by the missing tooth. Depending on the fracture, root canal may not be an option in any case.

[Guest boondog]

Dillon lost her right canine and does just fine. Good luck with Silver.

[Houndmommy03]

Thanks for your replies and Jordan thanks for the references. I appreciate your posting them. I've read them and have also been searching Greytalk and the internet for info. I don't have a specialist nearby but the practice I go to is large and they have a vet on staff who specializes in dental "stuff" so hopefully he is very experienced. From what I have been reading, it sounds like removing the canines can be a problem and should only be done if other options don't exist. On the other hand it seems other grey owners had their grey's canines removed with no problems. I am confused about what to do.

 

Kim, Silver and Holly

 

 

[Tallgreydogmom]

Have the tooth removed. I had some root canals done and felt the vet took me.

[Guest KennelMom]

I'd have the tooth removed. No question. Yes, it does suck to have them lose such a big tooth, but they can get over it and recover just fine. The major drawback to losing a canine is that sometimes the hole doesn't heal completely. We had this problem with Erin, though Caesars eventually did fully close. Even the hole wasn't a huge issue. I just checked it to make sure there wasn't any food stuck in the hole (there never was, but my vet told us to keep an eye on it).

[Remolacha]

Sugar had both her lower canines removed a couple of years ago, and has had no problems without them. She even recovered from the dental surgery much faster than I had expected (she was 9)

[Guest LynnM]

They do fine without it.

 

Lynn

[Houndmommy03]

Unfortunately they couldn't do Silver's xrays this morning because they were having trouble with the machine that gives bloodwork results. So, I picked him up this afternoon and he will go back Friday. I'm glad to have more time to research all of this but feel sorry that he had to go to the vet this morning for nothing - poor baby!

 

Thanks for your replies!

Kim, Silver and Holly

[krissn333]

If it were me, I'd have it pulled. The only thing you might notice, since it's an upper canine which kind of acts to hold the lip outward, is that his lower canine might cause his upper lip to bunch up every now and again. It's not a problem and actually looks kind of cute, like Popeye or something

 

I would be leary of having a root canal done because IMO that doesn't guarantee to fix the problem, and eventually later in life he might just have to have it pulled anyway, why not just do it now?

[ahicks51]

$500 for a root canal? Our estimate was $2000, and that was for a lower canine!

 

Anyway- we had the tooth pulled, and Minerva does just fine. Note there is the off-chance that, if the root canal is done incorrectly, the vet might not get all of the nerve, causing constant pain for the animal. Not common, but it can happen.

Edited August 20, 2007 by ahicks51

[silverfish]

If it were me, I'd have it pulled. The only thing you might notice, since it's an upper canine which kind of acts to hold the lip outward, is that his lower canine might cause his upper lip to bunch up every now and again. It's not a problem and actually looks kind of cute, like Popeye or something

 

I would be leary of having a root canal done because IMO that doesn't guarantee to fix the problem, and eventually later in life he might just have to have it pulled anyway, why not just do it now?

 

We dont' get the option to have a root canal done over here. No doggie dentists, sadly.

 

Jim lost one upper and one lower canine. He healed well and did just fine eating etc, but the one problem that we did notice was just that: his lower canine hit the upper lip each time he closed his mouth and eventually did make a sore spot - which the vet warned us might happen.

 

Not a big deal, but a nuisance and a pain for the poor old guy.

[tbhounds]

Pull it--the root canals and/or crowns never hold up and you end up pulling them down the road anyway

[feemandvm]

I'd go for the root canal myself... but only if a dental specialist did it. If I couldn't get to a true board certified dental specialist... then I'd have it extracted.

[feemandvm]

Have the tooth removed. I had some root canals done and felt the vet took me.

 

Would you feel the same if your own dentist recommended a root canal instead of extraction for your teeth? I can't see how recommending the best care is "taking you". If you felt the vet was dishonest or did a poor job then you need to find a new vet.

 

 

 

[Guest cobweb2000]

$100 for an extraction?!?

I'm getting one of my dog's lower canines removed this week and the estimate was $500-$800 for just the extraction. Prices started at $1200 for the root canal.

 

I hope your guy does ok during his surgery.

[MarcR]

Pull it--the root canals and/or crowns never hold up and you end up pulling them down the road anyway

 

The same can be said for root canals and crowns in humans. But if the tooth is otherwise sounds and it's done properly, a crown will last a good long time.

 

Ediited because I still can't type.

Edited August 21, 2007 by MarcR

[Guest greytexplorer]

Have the tooth removed. I had some root canals done and felt the vet took me.

 

I personally have had ONE root canal done, and the endodontist should have told me that the tooth structure was such that a root canal was not justified.

He took my $600 with a smile and thank you.

I ended up paying my dentist $50 to pull it the next week.

I'll never do THAT again, and that includes my dogs' oral issues as well.

 

Pull it. Pupper will never miss it.

[Houndmommy03]

I'm thinking that I must have misunderstood my vet about costs to extract or do a root canal. Of course when I asked about cost, I'm pretty sure what he told me didn't include anesthesia, pain meds, etc., etc. so the cost will be more. I will definitely be prepared for a big bill no matter what we have done. I feel really bad that poor Silver may have to go through any of this. Again, thanks for your input.

 

Kim, Silver and Holly

[feemandvm]

Have the tooth removed. I had some root canals done and felt the vet took me.

 

I personally have had ONE root canal done, and the endodontist should have told me that the tooth structure was such that a root canal was not justified.

He took my $600 with a smile and thank you.

I ended up paying my dentist $50 to pull it the next week.

I'll never do THAT again, and that includes my dogs' oral issues as well.

 

Pull it. Pupper will never miss it.

I think you are making a mistake if you allow 1 bad experience to taint your entire opinion on a subject. It is ashame that your endodontist was not honest with you... but that doesn't mean that root canals are not good procedures, just that your endodontist was dishonest.

 

I think people don't realize what a big deal it is to pull a canine tooth. The root of the tooth is actually larger than the part of the tooth that sticks out of the gum! They'll need an incision made into the gums, the gum lifted off of the bone of the jaw, bone drilled away from the jaw, then the root leveraged away from the bone, the resulting deficit is often packed and then sutured over. This isn't like having a small incisor pulled... it is a big deal.

 

Will a dog with a pulled canine be scarred? No. 99.9% will do fine. Lower canine extractions run teh risk of having the tongue hang out fo the mouth but that is strictly cosmetic. However, if the difference in cost isn't an issue AND you have a dental specialist in teh area, I would personally pursue the root canal for my own dog. If the difference in cost was problematic financially... I would have no problem pulling the tooth.

 

Again I'm not arguing against extraction as much as arguing against the idea that a root canal isn't better or justified.

[Greytlady94]

I'll be the minority here. If the cost is something you can handle, I would do the root canal. If the cost is prohibitive, then that makes the decision easy.

[Guest lapatte]

Do you know how many root canals I have in my mouth? Too many to count =o) Guess I wasn't there when God gave out good enamels..

 

Would I put my dog through that? no way! two of my root canals had to be redone about 5 years after they were first done. Was that fun? nope! Could that happen to the dog? of course!

 

save yourself money, and your dog grief... pull it out =o)

 

In the end, it is your decision... but if your dog could speak what would he/she say?

 

nat

[Houndmommy03]

Silver is back at the vet this morning. The full cost of an extraction is around $400 (that is all inclusive - xrays, pain meds, anesthesia, extraction, etc.). A root canal would be around $500 (again, that includes everything). I don't know if the vet doing the work is a certified dental specialist but he is the only one in the practice that will do a root canal. He apparently is the dental "specialist" within the practice.

 

I felt bad leaving Silver there this morning - he looked so sad. I really hope I don't have to make a decision on this - at this point money isn't deciding factor (with a $100 difference between the procedures). The concern is whether a root canal will be done properly, will the "crown" hold up or will I have to keep having it replaced (money becomes an issue now if I have to keep paying for replacements and of course I don't want to keep havng him put under anesthesia any more than necessary), will the tooth have to be pulled in the end anyway. Silver is only 5 years old so I do hate having his tooth pulled at this point and extraction sounds like a major undertaking.

 

Oh well, we'll see waht the vet says when he calls...

 

Kim, Silver and Holly