# My GSD needs her tooth pulled



## Kirsten (Jun 18, 2013)

Half of Maylee's upper tooth broke off and there is root exposed  we are scheduled for surgery to remove it on Tuesday, but I am super worried about the surgery. Has anyone else gone through this ( it is one of her main uppers) and is this the right choice or should I look for a vet to fix it instead of removing it? She is 6 years old and I am also worried about putting her under at this age.

I am kicking myself because the vet thinks it broke off from the deer antlers I give her  

Any thoughts would be appreciated!


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## Rainheart (Nov 28, 2010)

I assume you are going to do pre-anesthetic bloodwork. I wouldn't worry, it is pretty routine to pull a tooth (I wouldn't hesitate to pull a broken tooth rather than fix one). 6 years old she is in her prime. Hope she does well!


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## Kirsten (Jun 18, 2013)

Yeah they are going to do blood work beforehand. I am glad to hear that you wouldn't hesitate to pull rather than fix( I have been reading things online and it made me start to question my decision) 

Thanks Rainheart!


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## Rainheart (Nov 28, 2010)

They do just fine with teeth being pulled! To me, just not worth the extra money, and it has the possibility of failing, and then it would need to be pulled anyway. Let us know how she does.


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## Yaichi's Mom (Jul 21, 2012)

I just went through this in January with Brisby who won't be 3 until mid June.

I had her a a veterinary dental specialist in Toronto as she had broken the tip of her lower canine tooth and it required a root canal. While the vet had her under, she also noticed her upper right molar was cracked and needed a root canal as well. I opted to have the molar extracted as having the root canal on the molar would have cost another $2500 and the molar had 3 canals so it would be another complex procedure, which the vet could not guarantee and I was already in for a bill of $2800 

Brisby also had blood work done prior to the procedure.

I hated for her to loose a molar at such a young age, however I just could not afford the additional cost for the molar on top of what I already had to pay for the canine ( and I really couldn't afford that either but it had to be done)

Don't worry....Maylee will be fine. You will have her on antibiotics after the extractions and will have to give her soft food until the stitches dissolve and she heals.

Dr Sharon French, our specialist said the most common reason that our dogs fracture molars is from chewing hard sticks, especially frozen ones, antlers and rocks so try to keep those things away from your dogs.


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## Kirsten (Jun 18, 2013)

Thank you, Yaichi's Mom. How is Brisby doing without the the one tooth? Wow! That certainly is expensive- I thought the extraction was! ( it's $1,000-1,500 depending on how it goes) 

Do you know how Brisby broke her tooth?


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## 3 goldens (Sep 30, 2005)

Buck had a back tooth pulled and small growth removed from around one of us upper canine teeth when he was 10. We had the pre dental work done--and found he was super low thyroid tho he had never shown any symptoms. Took us and the vet by surprise. Vet delayed the procedure until Buck's thyroid level was brought up in about a month. Then not long after he turned 11, he had to to have another growth removed from behind the other upper canine tooth. 

I do swer by blood work before any surgery or dental procedure even cleaning. Anytime they are going to be put under, it is best to make sure all is well with kidneys, liver, blood, etc, etc.


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## CAROLINA MOM (May 12, 2009)

Sorry to hear Maylee broke her tooth. 

As Rainheart said above, as long as you're doing the pre surgery blood work and everything is fine, her surgery should go well and she shouldn't have any problems. 
If it were me, I'd opt for the surgery too instead of trying to fix it. 

Best of luck, wishing her a speedy recovery.


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## Yaichi's Mom (Jul 21, 2012)

Kirsten said:


> Thank you, Yaichi's Mom. How is Brisby doing without the the one tooth? Wow! That certainly is expensive- I thought the extraction was! ( it's $1,000-1,500 depending on how it goes)
> 
> Do you know how Brisby broke her tooth?


She is doing well although I think it took her a bit to get used to it. I also notice she sometimes chews a bit differently on the one side.

Brisby's fractured molar was an upper. Dr French suspected it was caused by chewing something hard, like sticks. ( I don't give her antlers, however Dr French said they cause many tooth fractures and should not be given)

Leaving the fracture as is was not possible. First, exposed roots cause pain even if the dog manifests no sign of pain. Second, Dr French indicated that leaving a tooth like this will eventually lead to infection/abscess of the jaw which can spread to under the eye and can be quite serious.

Brisby's canine had to be repaired as the pulp was exposed and it is not advisable to extract canine teeth due to the position in the jaw and depth of the root. This was caused by some idiot throwing a rock and Brisby tried to catch it. 

No kidding about the expensive part. I thought I had an all inclusive insurance for Brisby, however one of the only things it doesn't cover is teeth!!!!!

Good luck with Maylee and keep us posted on how it goes.


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## Kirsten (Jun 18, 2013)

Thanks again, everyone. I actually had people at work today, tell me that they would never spend that amount of money for "just a tooth"! (And these are "dog"people!!!) ugh. I don't get it..... I would go without eating if I needed the money for one of my dog's health issues.

Thanks again for your support and I will let you guys know how it goes tomorrow.


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## Kirsten (Jun 18, 2013)

So Maylee had the surgery yesterday and they ended up having to pull two of her upper molars ( one on each side) She is in some serious pain and won't stop crying, even with an increase of the pain meds. She is also refusing to eat or drink. The vet suggested giving her chicken broth and she took one sip and then walked away. I have to take her back to the vet's tomorrow morning if she is still refusing


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## Rainheart (Nov 28, 2010)

Hoping she feels better soon! Sometimes I do find shepards are a bit melodramatic, though  Just keep offering her some water, and then eventually some food, maybe soft food.


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## Yaichi's Mom (Jul 21, 2012)

I am sorry to hear that Maylee is in so much pain.

I didn't have that experience with Brisby or at minimum, she didn't show it.

Brisby was quite out of it after her root canal and extraction. She was on Metacam for quite a few days after though.

Also don't expect her to eat right after surgery, If you have something cool and nutritious like yogurt, see if you can get her to take a bit of that. 

What are you giving her for pain?


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## Kirsten (Jun 18, 2013)

Well, late last night she finally drank some water and ate a scrambled egg. This morning she ate another scrambled egg and finally tonight she ate some kibble soaked in chicken broth! 

I am hoping Rainheart is right and she's just being over dramatic (all though I'm sure it's super painful) Maylee has always been super sensitive and a bit of a drama queen 

I wonder if the breed does have something to do with how they deal with pain? My Golden, Murphy, had drain tubes in his head a few months ago and acted like nothing was wrong! So, that's interesting that Brisby did so well with the surgery. Are Goldens more resilant?

Besides the eggs, I did give her that dog ice cream (I'm sure it's not the healthiest choice, but she ate it) she is on Tramadol every 6 hours and Vetprofen once a day.


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## kellyguy (Mar 5, 2014)

I'm not sure if Goldens are more "stoic" or just don't feel pain as much as other breeds. There is also vast differences in the way humans react to anesthesia, I'm sure some dogs don't shrug off the after effects as easily as others.


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## Rainheart (Nov 28, 2010)

She's on two different classes of pain medication. Though, she still might be a bit sore. Definitely I do find there are some dogs or breeds that handle pain better than others. Cats, just to show a difference, hide pain extremely well.


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## CAROLINA MOM (May 12, 2009)

I'm sorry Maylee has been in so much pain.
Good to hear she has started eating, hoping she will feel better with each new day.


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