Fractured teeth in dogs and cats

Teeth fractures are due to traumatic forces being applied to them. External forces such as getting hit by a car or hitting a rock when trying to pick up a ball. They can also be caused by internal forces from chewing on substances that are too hard like bones and antlers.

First we will discuss the anatomy of a tooth. The shiny white outside of the tooth is a thin layer of the hardest substance in the body called enamel. Inside the enamel is a layer called dentin. While still a strong substance at a microscopic level it looks like a sponge containing nerves. The center of the tooth (pulp chamber contains nerves and blood vessels. As our pets age the dentin continues to grow making the pulp chamber smaller. The risk of a fractured tooth is bacteria getting into the pulp chamber and causing the tooth to die and abscess. With exposed dentin hot and cold affect the nerves causing sensitivity.

Often the signs of fractured teeth are minimal. If owners do not look in their pet’s mouth regularly, they are usually discovered during an annual exam at the vet clinic. The symptoms can be subtle like not playing with some toys anymore or only chewing kibble on one side of their mouth. If a tooth abscesses it is often very painful and our pets will show signs of discomfort. Sometimes an abscessed tooth will cause a swelling over the roots of the tooth that will be painful to the touch.

Most owners don’t notice a difference in their pet once they fracture a tooth and perceive that it is not painful. Our pets do not know that pain was not there yesterday and that it should not be there so they just get on with life and suffer through the pain.

Treatment depends on the severity of the fracture. Some enamel fractures where the enamel has been chipped away and dentin is exposed can be treated with a sealant to protect the pulp chamber. The tooth needs to be evaluates with an x-ray and it is always

recommended to follow up with yearly x-rays to ensure the health of that tooth.

Significant fractures, exposed pulp chambers or abscessed teeth require more invasive treatment. Those treatment options are extraction or root canal therapy. Extraction involves surgically removing all of the affected tooth and stitching the gums closed. The pet loses the functionality that the tooth provided but the mouth is pain free. Root canal therapy involves drilling a hole to access the pulp chamber removing all its contents and sealing the inside of the tooth. A nonreactive material is used to fill the pulp chamber and then the access hole is filled with a restorative compound. The pet will be pain free but retain the functionality of the tooth.

Most cats fracture teeth due to external forces and are almost always cats that go outside. Many fractured teeth in dogs are due to chewing on things that are too hard. So keeping

cats indoors and not giving dogs hard things to chew on like real bones, nylon bones, antlers etc. can greatly decrease the risk of fractured teeth.