Retained Baby Teeth

This is the special outlet where my new dental X-ray machine will soon be installed.  I had to get a dedicated circuit put in (I can hardly wait for the electrician's bill).

There are lots of good reasons to take dental X-rays when you're working on a pet's teeth, but I'm only going to talk about one of them today.

Like people, dogs and cats start out with a set of deciduous, or baby, teeth.  These are quite small.  As the animal grows, these teeth don't.  By the time the pet is about three months old, the teeth look too small for the animal, and there is noticeable space between them.  That's because the jaws are growing and the teeth aren't.   At roughly sixteen weeks, permanent teeth begin to emerge.  The first ones will be the upper incisors -- the two teeth right in the middle of the front on the upper jaw (numbers 101 and 201 for your dentists out there).  By five to six months, most pets have all of their permanent teeth, with the canine teeth (fangs) coming in last.  As the permanent teeth come in, the roots of the baby teeth dissolve, and they just fall out to make room for the new tooth... most of the time, that is.

It's very common to see some baby teeth retained.  The permanent tooth has come in beside them, and now we have two teeth in the space meant for one.  This is most common with the canine teeth, the fangs, and it's not good.  The bottom fang should come up and rest in a groove just in front of the upper fang.  If the upper "baby fang" is still present, it pushes the permanent tooth forward, making that groove too small.  If the lower "baby fang" doesn't go away, the permanent tooth comes up into the roof of the mouth, instead of that groove.  So, if you see permanent teeth coming in while the baby teeth are still there, it's important to have those baby teeth extracted.  We want the permanent teeth to come in to the right spot. It's not just a matter of a pretty smile: think how it would feel to have one of your teeth always poking you in the roof of the mouth -- OUCH.

When the baby tooth's root has not dissolved, it can be quite long. In the case of the canine tooth (fang), the root is about twice as long as the tooth you can see.  This requires general anesthesia to extract, as you've got to do a bit of digging to get it out in one piece.

These teeth are the  reason that I started the post by talking about a dental X-ray unit.  This six-months old Yorkie puppy looked like it had a mouth full of permanent teeth, and we just needed to get those two baby fangs that were hanging on.  Danged if she didn't have TEN baby teeth hanging around.  Some were pretty loose, having no roots, and others were still pretty firm.  They all needed to come out and make room for the permanent teeth.  Were there more than ten baby teeth hanging on?  I don't think so; I do think I got them all, but I don't know for sure.  I need that dental X-ray.

Comments

[Mike]

I have a 6 month old Chihuahua puppy and I just noticed over the weekend that his permanent teeth are coming in sort of behind his "baby teeth". I'm taking him to the vet this week to have it looked at, but I have a feeling he's going to need at least a few teeth pulled. Is this common in small breed dogs? I've never heard of it before this.

[Doc]

Mike,

This is pretty common. We used to wait until the dog was having some other procedure to take these out. Unfortunately, by that time, the permanent teeth are probably in the wrong place. If those permanent teeth are half-way in and the baby teeth are still feeling solid, those baby teeth should be extracted right away.

Thanks for reading.

[Jillian]

I know that with dogs, retained deciduous teeth are a concern around 6-8 months of age. Is the same true with kittens? I've been checking my kitten's teeth every week or so, but it's been about 10 days since I last looked, and today I noticed his upper adult canines are in about halfway, and the babies haven't fallen out. He was neutered about 3 weeks ago, so it's too late have them pulled when that gets done, and I'd hate to have to put him under again this soon just for those two teeth.

[Doc]

Jillian,
The situation would be similar, but I do not recall ever having seen a cat with retained deciduous teeth. Lowers would be more of a concern than uppers. As the permanent teeth continue to emerge, check for mobility of the baby teeth. If you can wiggle them, I think you'll not have a problem.

Thanks for reading and writing.

[Cherie]

Hi Doc
I have two 6 month old kittens. I have not noticed my female losing any of her teeth but I was checking my males mouth and noticed that both canines adult teeth are growing in but the baby ones haven't fallen out. The adult ones are barely coming in(I can see them) so will he lose the baby one still? Or should I take him to the vet?

[Doc]

Hello, Cherie,

If you can just barely see the tips of the permanent fangs showing, it's too soon to get worried. If the baby teeth are still present when the permanent fangs get more than halfway in, then you would wish to have those baby teeth extracted.

Not sure what "halfway" is? You may have to go to your veterinarian in that case, just to check.

The problem is much less common in cats than in dogs, so you probably won't have to worry about it.

Thanks for reading and writing.

[mike]

My toy poodle pup is going on 7 months old, his adult teeth are pretty much out, but his baby teeth are still solid. what should i do?

[Doc]

Hello, Mike,

This is not an emergency, but you should make an appointment with your veterinarian to get the retained baby teeth extracted. The sooner this is done, the fewer problems you will have.

Thanks for reading and writing.

[Heather]

I have a 20 week old boston terrier who is quite small for his age (only about 6 lbs). His ears began curling backward at about 14 weeks of age, and therefore I thought that he had begun teething. (They later restraightened out at about 17 weeks). However, when I took him to my vet about a week ago, she noticed that his BABY teeth (especially the incisors) had completely erupted yet! She also noticed that his adult molars were starting to come in. She was concerned about the fact that his baby teeth hadn't even fully erupted yet at this age. How likely is it that I may have a puppy who does not have adult teeth under his deciduous teeth? What other dental problems can I expect due to his delayed development?

[Doc]

Hello, Heather,

I'm no dental expert. Dental X-rays would be needed to see what's going on there. With that information, your regular veterinarian would then be able to consult a veterinary dental specialist.

Your dog may just be a "late bloomer" or there may be significant developmental abnormalities. Sometimes deciduous (baby) teeth need to be extracted early.

Without dental X-rays, you just won't know.

Good luck.

[Kathryn]

My partner and I have a very outgoing 5 month old male kitten. I found one of his baby teeth on the floor the other day and decided to check out the rest of his teeth.

When I looked, I noticed he had double canine teeth on the top row of his teeth, on both sides. I was wondering if this will cause him any problems, as both teeth seem to be about the same size. I was also wondering what we should do about this and whether we should act now, or wait a month or two to see if the problem resolves itself?

[Doc]

Hello, Kathryn,

The top teeth cause less problems than the bottom canine teeth. If the bottom canine teeth are double, it usually makes the permanent fangs come up into the roof of the mouth.

With double top fangs, the permanent fang can come in too far forward, leaving less room for the bottom fang. Even if the teeth are meshing together okay, those two teeth being in the space meant for one will accumulate a lot of debris and tartar, causing gum disease that need not take place.

If the bottom canine teeth are coming in okay without interference, then there is no urgency in dealing with the top teeth. If there is interference, then the retained baby teeth should be extracted as soon as possible to allow the other teeth to find their normal spots.

If no interference, then I'd watch for a few weeks. Those baby upper canine teeth may go ahead and loosen. If you have double teeth a month from now and the baby tooth isn't loose at all, it should be extracted by your veterinarian.

Thanks for reading and writing.

[Kari]

Hi Doc!

Quick question...
I had one of my chihuahuas upper canines (baby tooth) removed when she was spayed yesterday. No adult tooth had started to come in, but she has all her others. Is there a chance she might not have an adult tooth come in? And how long will it take to not bother her? Or heal completely? She is 11 months and Im feeding her canned dog food until it seems to feel better. Im giving her baby tylenol for her tummy as well... Thanks so much!!

-Kari

[Doc]

Hello, Kari,

Most permanent teeth erupt by the time the dog is six months old. It is possible that there just is no permanent tooth there, but it may be up under the gums and misdirected. A dental X-ray is the only way to tell.

After removal of a baby tooth, most dogs will be free of pain in just a few days. By the time you finish treating her post-op pain for the hysterectomy, her tooth will probably be fine, as well.

Sorry I couldn't be of more help. Talk to your veterinarian about this.

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[Mom]

My vet removed my 6 month old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel's upper canines when he neutered him last week. They cauterized the gums after extraction. This was on Friday. On Sunday, I noticed that the gum on the left side was eroded and very angry looking. I took him back to the vet the next day and he debrided the area and removed a small bone chip (my regular vet did not do the surgery, an associate did). He said to keep an eye on it and that it should heal pretty rapidly. The gum does seem to be healing but you can see the entire tooth up to where the lip meets the gum line. The gum is entirely gone above 3/4 of he tooth. Will this grow back?

[Doc]

Hello, "Mom",

I have difficulty advising you, in that I cannot see the patient. I am afraid that I may not be accurate in mentally visualizing what you describe.

If indeed the root of the permanent canine tooth were exposed, you would actually have had to remove bone as well as gum tissue. It seems very unlikely that bone would have been destroyed during the extraction of the baby tooth.

I would recommend that you have your veterinarian recheck the area in a few days. It is possible that things are not as bad as you fear. Quite frankly, most pet-owners are not used to looking at surgical sites, and often mis-estimate (both better or worse) the severity of the problem.

If the situation actually IS as bad as you make it sound, it is very possible that some grafting surgery would need to be performed.

You really need to let your veterinarian re-examine the dog in a few days.

Good luck.

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I agree with this there are lots of good reasons to take dental X-rays when you're working on a pet's teeth, but I'm only going to talk about one of them today,Keep posting!

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