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Retained Baby Teeth
Puppies are a lot like babies. They are both cute, they both whine a lot, and they both have a set of baby teeth which are later shed so a new set of permanent teeth can grow in their place. We call the baby teeth "deciduous" teeth, because they are shed like the leaves on a deciduous tree. Most of the time this process proceeds without hitch. However, occasionally, some of the deciduous teeth will be retained, or not shed, and this can cause problems.
Almost exclusively this happens to the large canine teeth. Sometimes both top baby canines will be retained. Sometimes all four are retained. It is most likely to happen in the small breeds: Chihuahua, Yorkshire Terries, Poodle, Lhasa Apso, Bichon Frise, etc.
In the image to the right, the thin, sharp deciduous canine tooth can be seen behind the larger, rounder adult canine tooth.
The retained teeth can cause problems in two ways. One is that the retained tooth interferes with the proper eruption of the adult teeth. The adult teeth can erupt too medially and hit on the sensitive soft tissues of the hard palate, causing sores or fistulas. More commonly, the retained baby teeth trap food and debris, and promote plaque and tartar formation, leading to periodontal disease which can destroy both the baby tooth and the adult tooth. In the previous image, th e shapr eye can see a brown discoloration between the two teeth. This is tartar and periodontal disease.
The retained teeth are supposed to be shed at six months. I generally wait a few months longer to see if they won't come out on their own. After that, they need to be extracted. These teeth, although they look small, can be very difficult to extract. They often have very long, thin roots which can fracture easily. It is bad to leave a broken root tip. The retained teeth are also very close to the new adult teeth. At this early stage of their development, the adult teeth have very thin walls and are quite delicate. They can easily be punctured by the extraction instrumants and permanently damaged.
Extracting deciduous teeth requires general anesthesia. It is a good idea to plan the extractions to be done at the same time as your puppy's spay or neuter surgery.
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