| Ask The Vet -
Q&A |
Question
I have a 18 week old German Shepherd puppy. I noticed that
on her front bottom teeth she has the new adult tooth which is in,
but the baby tooth is pushed in front and has not come out yet.
Do I need to get her into our vet to have it removed? She just started
to teethe this week.
Joyce - Texas, USA |
Answering questions:
Susie Samuel MA VetMB MRCVS from
Vet
Help Direct |
| Answer |
Hi
Joyce,
When
the permanent teeth erupt they press on the root of their equivalent
‘deciduous’ or baby tooth, causing it to loosen and
eventually to fall out. This process can fail to work if the permanent
tooth is not fully aligned with the deciduous tooth, as is probably
the case with your puppy.
It
sounds as though your puppy’s baby tooth has been loosened
slightly by the adult tooth as it has been pushed forwards. Your
puppy is still young and it is possible that with time it will fall
out by itself. If this does not happen it is important to get the
tooth removed. The space between the adult tooth and the baby tooth
creates a sheltered area for bacteria to hide out and cause dental
disease.
Removing
deciduous teeth is usually a quick and easy procedure, however,
it does require the animal to be under anaesthetic and so it is
commonly performed at the same time as neutering. I would give it
another month during which time I would recommend that you brush
that area particularly carefully once a day. If the baby tooth is
still present after a month I would go to see your vet to discuss
removing it. If you are planning to get your bitch neutered in the
next month I would ask for it to be removed at the same time.
Kind regards,
Susie Samuel MA VetMB MRCVS www.vethelpdirect.com
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