The little ones with young teeth need to be checked
It is important to have teeth checked in puppies and kittens to make sure their teeth are growing in correctly. If they are not growing in correctly, this can cause discomfort, how and what they eat, and also how the upper and lower jaws grow in relation to each other.
Read Fergus’ case study below. This is a great reason for having your young pet’s teeth checked.
CASE STUDY - Fergus
Fergus had a malocclusion as a young puppy
A malocclusion means that one or more of the bottom or top teeth don’t quite sit right when the mouth is closed. We refer to a malocclusion as “traumatic” if the problem teeth are causing pain and these require treatment.
In Fergus’ case, both of his lower baby canine teeth grew in too narrow, a condition called base narrow canines. When Fergus closed his mouth, his lower canines left painful indents in his palate.
Not only does this cause discomfort, it can affect how the upper and lower jaws grow in relation to each other, a condition called “dental interlock.”
In Fergus’ case, both of his lower baby canine teeth grew in too narrow and didn’t sit right when the mouth was closed.
In Fergus’ case, he had his lower baby canines carefully extracted under anaesthetic both to relieve the discomfort and to give his lower jaw the chance to grow properly.
As his permanent teeth came in, we monitored their growth to determine if he would require any further treatment. Treatment options can vary from orthodontic movement, endodontic treatment or extraction of the problematic adult teeth. Either way, the goal of treatment is to give the animal a comfortable mouth.
Fergus was one of the lucky pups as his malocclusion was mild, so as his permanent teeth developed, he did not require any further advanced procedures.
Painful indents can be seen in his palate from the lower baby canine teeth not growing in correctly.