[gretzky]

Poor Gretzky has a slab fracture on one of his upper left molars. Does anyone have a recommendation for a veterinary dentist in the DC/MD/VA area?

And before anyone asks (hangs head) - yes, he chews antlers. I should say, he used to chew antlers. I thought by choosing antlers labelled as "soft", hand chosen by the wonderfully nice guy at Michigan Antler Art, that we would be fine. I should have listened to all of the warnings.

The fracture looks similar to this online picture
http://cdn.petplace.com/images/default-source/article-content/125666373.jpg?sfvrsn=0

Thanks!
Christina & Gretzky

 

[Daisy123]

I don't have personal experience here but they have good reviews. I called for a cleaning estimate and they were very expensive. You could also ask your vet if they have experience with this issue or if they have any recommendations. I think typically the vet would just extract the tooth but a specialist could do a root canal to save the tooth. Good luck!
Center For Veterinary Dentistry And Oral Surgery

 

[gretzky]

Thanks! Our vet did provide a recommendation. I wanted to also reach out to the forum to see others' experiences. Google search shows a variety of information about extractions, root canals, and other procedures, so we will have quite the dialogue with the vet dentist.

 

[Karen519]

Gretzky

Thanks! Our vet did provide a recommendation. I wanted to also reach out to the forum to see others' experiences. Google search shows a variety of information about extractions, root canals, and other procedures, so we will have quite the dialogue with the vet dentist.

Hope that everything goes very smoothly. So SORRY this happened.

 

[CAROLINA MOM]

Hope it goes well too.

 

[gretzky]

Thanks, all! Appointment #1 with a specialist went well. This dentist recommends full extraction instead of a root canal and metal crown. His experience is that a high number of root canals fail after a few years, and you end up extracting anyway. With Gretzky in particular, he expressed concern that Gretzky himself might damage the repaired tooth - through chewing or just being rambunctious. Given that G is a young and energetic dog, and all.

We'll get a 2nd opinion on Friday. I'm a little concerned that they might anesthetize the dog for X-rays and full diagnosis before recommending extraction vs root canal. They asked us to fast Gretzky before the appointment. I don't want to put Gretzky thru anesthesia just for an X-ray.

 

[gretzky]

We went with the 2nd dentist for the surgery. After she got him sedated and x-rayed, she found that the slab was very small but did expose the common pulp chamber of the tooth. She estimates that the fracture was very recent, probably less than a week. She doesn't see any infection, which is a great relief and probably why Gretzky had no pain or change in appetite. She is performing the extraction now. He'll be on soft foods only and antibiotics for 2 weeks, and he'll have Rimadyl for the pain.

My heart is breaking.