BE KIND TO
PETS VETERINARY STORIES
DO DOGS SUFFER FROM TOOTHACHES?
The Carnassial Tooth Abscess
Dr Sing Kong Yuen, BVMS (Glasgow)
Dogs do suffer from toothaches. I will say that the most painful one must be
the carnassial tooth
abscess. The canine carnassial tooth is the 4th premolar tooth. When there is
chronic gingivitis, the bacteria destroys the periodontal ligaments attaching the tooth to
the gums. Bacteria destroys the tooth and forms a carnassial tooth abscess. An
abscess is a collection of pus.
Carnassial
tooth abscess is a common disease in the older dog that has poor dental care.
It is very painful. The presenting sign is a festering facial wound
below the eye. Pus and blood seep out daily like an active volcano spewing
hot lava and ash daily. Home remedies like antibiotic powder and silver cream
or antibiotics are ineffective. Most owners think this is just a traumatic
wound. But this open wound never heals, despite medication and cleansing as shown
in this case of a 4-year-old Pomeranian seen at Toa Payoh Vets in 2007.
“I am sick and tired of cleaning this wound for the past many weeks,” Mrs
Jaswant Singh pointed to the wound below the Pomeranian’s left eye. “I pour
antibiotic powder and also gave antibiotics, but the wound keeps discharging dirty
blood daily! My cat could have scratched my naughty baby causing this wound or
something sharp had poked into his face!”
“This wound is a result of a tooth root infection,” I took out the Hills’ illustrated
drawings of this common dental disease in dogs in Western countries. It is
easier to show than to tell. I lifted the dog’s left upper cheek, but the
carnassial tooth showed thick tartar and an inflamed gum. No pus and blood
leaking out from the gums. “The permanent cure is to extract the rotten
carnassial tooth. Antibiotics will not resolve the problem.”
“Just get on with the tooth extraction,” Mrs Singh showed me her dog’s discharge
stain in her silk black sari with big red flowers. “My saris are very expensive
as I buy them from New Delhi in India, not from the shops in Little India here!
My baby keeps soiling them. I have to clean the soiled bed, sofas and mop the
floor to remove her discharges for the past weeks! I have no maid to help me.”
“Hey, wait,
wait, wait,” Mr Singh interjected. “Are you sure our dog suffers from carnal, cunning
or whatever?” As this was their first visit
to Toa Payoh Vets, the husband eyed my diagnosis as money-making.
“This doctor is talking nonsense,” Mr Singh whispered, not too softly in his
wife’s ear. “The tooth and the wound are so far apart and separated by the sinus
bones. How can infection travel so far? He must be nuts and out to make money
from us!”
“I can take an X-ray to show you that the root or roots of the carnassial tooth
is infected,” I said when Mr Singh turned towards me. “No need to do it,” the husband put up his hand. “Thank you very much. We will let
you know if we want you to pull out the tooth.”
Around 2
months later, Mrs Singh consented to the dental extraction. There is the root
canal and associated treatment, but it will be expensive. I extracted the loose left carnassial tooth and the first molar.
ADVICES TO DOG OWNERS: In the blink of an eye, 6 years passed by when Mrs Singh had her Pomeranian treated for bad teeth. “My dog’s facial sore healed within 10 days,” Mrs Singh reminisced. “Hence, I do not see you.”
She did not get her dog’s teeth checked yearly as advised by me. Her dog had not suffered another carnassial tooth abscess in the right side but now had several loose and decayed teeth extracted.
Carnassial tooth abscess is also known as malar
abscess or oro-nasal fistula. Some vets do mis-diagnose this disease as allergies
or infected traumatic wounds. A spot-on usually accurate diagnosis is made if
there is a festering non-healing facial wound below your dog’s eye. Dental
extraction is the least expensive effective treatment. Yearly dental check ups will prevent most of your dog’s teeth from decaying so that your dog has teeth up to old age.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Phone 6254-3326, 9668-6468,
judy@toapayohvets.com,
www.toapayohvets.com
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BE KIND TO PETS VETERINARY STORIES
DO DOGS SUFFER FROM TOOTHACHES?
The Carnassial Tooth Abscess
Dr Sing Kong Yuen, BVMS (Glasgow)
Dogs do suffer from toothaches. I will say that the most painful one must be the carnassial tooth
abscess. The canine carnassial tooth is the 4th premolar tooth. When there is chronic gingivitis, the bacteria destroys the periodontal ligaments attaching the tooth to the gums. Bacteria destroys the tooth and forms a carnassial tooth abscess. An abscess is a collection of pus.
Carnassial tooth abscess is a common disease in the older dog that has poor dental care. It is very painful. The presenting sign is a festering facial wound below the eye. Pus and blood seep out daily like an active volcano spewing hot lava and ash daily. Home remedies like antibiotic powder and silver cream or antibiotics are ineffective. Most owners think this is just a traumatic wound. But this open wound never heals, despite medication and cleansing as shown in this case of a 4-year-old Pomeranian seen at Toa Payoh Vets in 2007.
“I am sick and tired of cleaning this wound for the past many weeks,” Mrs Jaswant Singh pointed to the wound below the Pomeranian’s left eye. “I pour antibiotic powder and also gave antibiotics, but the wound keeps discharging dirty blood daily! My cat could have scratched my naughty baby causing this wound or something sharp had poked into his face!”
“This wound is a result of a tooth root infection,” I took out the Hills’ illustrated drawings of this common dental disease in dogs in Western countries. It is easier to show than to tell. I lifted the dog’s left upper cheek, but the carnassial tooth showed thick tartar and an inflamed gum. No pus and blood leaking out from the gums. “The permanent cure is to extract the rotten carnassial tooth. Antibiotics will not resolve the problem.”
“Just get on with the tooth extraction,” Mrs Singh showed me her dog’s discharge stain in her silk black sari with big red flowers. “My saris are very expensive as I buy them from New Delhi in India, not from the shops in Little India here! My baby keeps soiling them. I have to clean the soiled bed, sofas and mop the floor to remove her discharges for the past weeks! I have no maid to help me.”
“Hey, wait, wait, wait,” Mr Singh interjected. “Are you sure our dog suffers from carnal, cunning or whatever?” As this was their first visit to Toa Payoh Vets, the husband eyed my diagnosis as money-making.
“This doctor is talking nonsense,” Mr Singh whispered, not too softly in his wife’s ear. “The tooth and the wound are so far apart and separated by the sinus bones. How can infection travel so far? He must be nuts and out to make money from us!”
“I can take an X-ray to show you that the root or roots of the carnassial tooth is infected,” I said when Mr Singh turned towards me. “No need to do it,” the husband put up his hand. “Thank you very much. We will let you know if we want you to pull out the tooth.”
Around 2 months later, Mrs Singh consented to the dental extraction. There is the root canal and associated treatment, but it will be expensive. I extracted the loose left carnassial tooth and the first molar.
ADVICES TO DOG OWNERS: In the blink of an eye, 6 years passed by when Mrs Singh had her Pomeranian treated for bad teeth. “My dog’s facial sore healed within 10 days,” Mrs Singh reminisced. “Hence, I do not see you.”
She did not get her dog’s teeth checked yearly as advised by me. Her dog had not suffered another carnassial tooth abscess in the right side but now had several loose and decayed teeth extracted.
Carnassial tooth abscess is also known as malar abscess or oro-nasal fistula. Some vets do mis-diagnose this disease as allergies or infected traumatic wounds. A spot-on usually accurate diagnosis is made if there is a festering non-healing facial wound below your dog’s eye. Dental extraction is the least expensive effective treatment. Yearly dental check ups will prevent most of your dog’s teeth from decaying so that your dog has teeth up to old age.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Phone 6254-3326, 9668-6468, judy@toapayohvets.com,
www.toapayohvets.com
Reyna -
Try to make an entertaining fun educational video for pet owners and vet students.
you need to narrate the text in the images eg. X ray, in not a monotonous tone
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