Hair stuck under gum line
 

I'm not sure if this is a totally weird problem or if it's common and I've just never heard of it.

Streets is a bit of a hairy fellow, and a bit of a licker, so he ends up with a lot of his own, and his brother's, fur in his mouth.

A couple of months ago I noticed that the gums around one of his k9s was inflamed and there was a small amount of puss. I spoke to my vet about it and both of us were at a bit of a loss since the tooth is in good shape.

So I soaked the area in warm salt water, stepped up the brushing and kept an eye on things.

Well, I've finally figured out the problem, but I don't know if anything can be done about it. There seems to be a ton of hair stuck up under the gum line. Brushing his teeth everyday keeps new hair at bay, and works some of older stuff out, but there's clearly more up in there. Yesterday I had to pull more than a dozen hairs out with tweezers.

Is there any solution to this, preferably that doesn't require going to the vet and being put under? Streets has had focal seizures in the past and tends to be pretty sensitive to, well, just about everything, so I'm not going to risk putting him under unless it's really, really necessary.

Knowing you pitgrrl , when I read the tittle , I thought you had GUM stuck in YOUR hair :laughing:

SO hair gets stuck under his gums ? How weird is that ? :confused: Could only happen to you / one of your dogs I tell you :D

Sorry I don't have any advice :confused:

Yeah, I didn't even think how the title would sound until now :laughing:

It's just weird, it happens to Basil too, but he's less fuzzy and licks less, so he doesn't really have any problems. I don't even think think there's much the vet could really do :shrug:

These 2 are from the same litter right ? It must have to do with a gum defect ? :confused: Because I never heard about this problem before. :confused:

But their gums look totally normal, to both me and the vet. (Basil does have extra teeth and extra nipples though........:laughing:).

Go look at Nelly's k9's Frenchy, I bet you find a hair or two sticking out of the gum line.

[QUOTE=pitgrrl;638731]

Go look at Nelly's k9's Frenchy, I bet you find a hair or two sticking out of the gum line.[/QUOTE]

omg :headslap: yes there is , you evil girl you , know I will check her gums everyday :yell:

:laughing: Sorry!

I'm going to cause panic on Pets.ca, everyone will be obsessively looking at their dog's gums.
So, in an effort not to add to people's paranoia, I have to stress that Basil has the same thing, no problems at all, it's just Streets who's a;ways been a bit "special"

how about flossing his teeth, you can get those little things, with the strip of floss held in place? And nope none of mine have hair sticking our to of their gums.

Getting hairs stuck in the gums seems to be a rather common occurence, I've just never seen it cause infection before. Years ago when I was in high school I did a co-op placement at a vet clinic and that is when I first noticed it. We'd have dogs out on the operating table (for something else, maybe a spay or a neuter), and I began to notice otherwise very nice healthy pink gums that had tiny black spots or black lines right at the edge where the tooth meets the gum. I began scraping at them with my thumbnail and discovered that the black was the very tips of hairs that were stuck up in there. I was able to draw them out just by scraping with my nails. Since then I always check my own dogs periodically and occasionally have to pull a few out of them too. It seems to happen most to dogs with smooth coats as their hairs are shorter and stiffer, probably when they're nibbling/biting at themselves to scratch an itch. They never seem to act bothered by having the hairs there, but I know what it feels like to have a piece of popcorn kernel stuck by one of my teeth and don't like the thought of leaving them there when I can easily take them out.

oh YAYAYAYAYAYAY!! im not the only one who finds 'hair in the gum'!!! WOO HOO!!

sorry pitgrrl, not creating an obsession that wasnt already there!!!!

as for a solution?? heck if i know. is it always in the same spot?? maybe you could talk to your vet about building up the tooth around that area???

BTW the thought of pulling WADS of hair out turns my face green. i have a hair-in-the-mouth phobia. :yuck:

-ash

[QUOTE=want4rain;639846]oh YAYAYAYAYAYAY!! im not the only one who finds 'hair in the gum'!!! WOO HOO!!

sorry pitgrrl, not creating an obsession that wasnt already there!!!!

as for a solution?? heck if i know. is it always in the same spot?? maybe you could talk to your vet about building up the tooth around that area???

BTW the thought of pulling WADS of hair out turns my face green. i have a hair-in-the-mouth phobia. :yuck:

-ash[/QUOTE]

I seriously pull hairs outta there multiple times a day, brush the dogs teeth every night and although I find hairs in the gums of both dogs, and stuck along various teeth, it's only this one tooth on the one dog that has any problems. The only theory I have it that there are some hairs up there that have just been stuck for a long time. It's so frustrating.

I haven't seen any puss since I pulled the bunch of hair out with the tweezers the other day though (they were sticking out the side of the gum, rather than at the gum line like normal) so hopefully I've solved the problem. :shrug:

[QUOTE=pitgrrl;638738]:laughing: Sorry!

I'm going to cause panic on Pets.ca, everyone will be obsessively looking at their dog's gums.
So, in an effort not to add to people's paranoia, I have to stress that Basil has the same thing, no problems at all, it's just Streets who's a;ways been a bit "special"[/QUOTE]


That is so strange....I found some too. LOL!! :rolleyes: But hers are long and fuzzy, in between the teeth more then the gums....are your dogs short and course?

Once last summer I looked and I found ants in her teeth, a few of them, stuck between her teeth, like she licked a ant hill. :loser: She was smiling at me with a grill full of ants. :rolleyes: