Dear Colleagues,

This is an update from a case that I posted 8 weeks ago that concerned a 10-week-old Labrador retriever, Betty, whose deciduous canine 504 got caught in the owner’s bracelet. It sustained a chipped tip [original photo re-posted].

Regan, Jodie and Judy all recommended that the tooth be extracted because it was quite likely that the pulp cavity was involved. However, the owner chose to wait-and-see.

I thought that you would like to know that they were proved right. When I saw this dog again this week the tooth had loosened, and there was a discharging sinus at the site of the apex of the tooth above and distal to tooth 105 [photo].

I took a photograph of the extracted tooth over the site to show how the sinus opening was exactly located at the apex.

I have attached the radiographs to show the diseased tooth – interestingly the tooth is best seen using a lateral 45 degrees view compared to the 70 degrees rostrocaudal oblique view that are used typically for the maxillary canine tooth. I have included both for comparison.

Finally, I have attached a picture of the palatal aspect of the tooth showing the pitting and holes in the root.

Next time I see a chipped deciduous canine I am armoured with the photos to encourage owners to take action rather than procrastinate!

I am waiting to see how the permanent canine tooth erupts, and hope that it has not been damaged by the infection surrounding the extracted tooth.

Hope you all have a relaxing weekend.

With best wishes,

David