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Old March 3rd, 2009, 02:39 AM
jsp123 jsp123 is offline
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dog root canal & crown

Hello- My 3yr old dog had a fractured upper canine, for which he had a root canal and crown restoration. That was Dec 23, and I just noticed that the crown looks like it is broken. I haven't given him any bones, he doesn't chew on rocks, and he hasn't been in his dog kennel (which is where I think he broke it in the first place, chewing on the door grate). He does eat dry food, and wrestles pretty raucously with his dog friends.

Should the crown would last longer than three months?

I am wondering now if I should have chosen to have the tooth pulled after all (would have been cheaper, but my vet recommended the root canal instead since the tooth was still healthy). The dental work cost $700, and although I would pay anything to make sure he is OK, I'm a little annoyed that the $700 only lasted me 3 mo, and am wondering if I should push the issue with the vet (i.e, ask if he will fix it for free or reduced cost).

sorry this is so long, just wanted all the relevant info in there...Thanks!
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Old March 3rd, 2009, 07:25 AM
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clm clm is offline
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The way my dogs chew on stuff, no way I would have gone the root canal and crown route. Not unless the crown was made of titanium.
Have you talked to your vet about it yet?

Cindy
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Old March 3rd, 2009, 07:58 AM
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Love4himies Love4himies is offline
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I understand the vet wanting to keep the tooth, but I don't think a root canal and a crown on a dog, who can potentially eat rocks, is very practical. In my opinion, the vet did not do what was best for your pocket book. So I would be going back to the vet and insist on having the work redone at no cost and have him warranty his work.
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Old March 4th, 2009, 12:58 AM
jsp123 jsp123 is offline
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thanks

Thanks, you both echoed what I've been thinking...I really was trying to do the right thing with the root canal, but now I'm kind of regretting it.

I talked to the vet today, and his is going to fix the ceramic cap on his tooth. So I'm giving the tooth another chance. If it cracks again I think I'll start pushing the vet to pull the tooth. There's only one vet dentist within driving distance, so I have to stick with this vet, no second opinions...
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Old March 4th, 2009, 07:44 AM
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Good luck!
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Old March 4th, 2009, 11:50 AM
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Would it be an option to leave the tooth but shorten the cap--sort of just take the point off? I have no experience with canine dentistry but if it's just the point that's breaking off, maybe a shorter, blunter cap would hold up better?
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  #7  
Old March 4th, 2009, 08:33 PM
Terrycito Terrycito is offline
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Crown

I don't know about canine dentistry too much, but being a dentist (humans only), I can tell you that maybe the crown broke because the occlusion (the way teeth meet) is too high, meaning that there is a heavier contact on that particular tooth against the one on the opposite arch, instead of being equally distributed throughout the arch (mouth). This could be one of the reasons,also, what kind of material was used for the crown? all metal (all gold) or porcelain fused to metal? I think you mentioned the vet would repair the porcelain on the tooth? well being the teeth in a dog very small I can't imagine how much tooth structure is remaining to have space for the metal and the porcelain, in a human tooth you need at least 2mm of tooth reduction or more for this restoration. Do you know if the vet put a post when he did the root canal? my fear would be that the whole tooth (what is remaining) would break. It is hard to give an opinion without seeing the x-ray or a clinical picture of the tooth before and after the restoration...... did the vet mentioned the option of having an all gold crown? Whatever restoration your dog has I highly recommend that you keep an excellent oral hygiene and keep an eye on the margins of the crown (where the crown meets with the tooth) so that there is no inflammation which could lead to infection, bone loss, etc..... I wish I could be of more help, but if you have more questions please let me know

Good luck and please let me know what happens
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Old March 5th, 2009, 08:15 AM
vabird vabird is offline
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Pulling a healthy canine can be more difficult than you would think. Those roots are very long and it can take forever to remove them.
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Old March 6th, 2009, 11:17 PM
jsp123 jsp123 is offline
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I went and looked back at my notes from the dental surgery (I'm a dork and take notes), and I guess it might not be called a crown...what the vet did is perform the root canal, then fill in the space with some rubbery substance, and then fill and cover it with ceramic or porcelain. So I guess not really what a "normal" human crown would be. Sorry, I

Vabird, that's exactly what the vet told me (that it is actually pretty hard to pull such a large healthy tooth, and that it would do a lot of trauma in the mouth). I'm taking him in to have the vet dentist look at it next week. Unfortunately I live in a really small town 130miles away from the vet (which is scary when I think of a real emergency). I'll post again once the vet has looked at it...hopefully that will help anyone else out there who might have this problem.

Thanks, everyone!
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