Excessive Tooth Wear in a Dog

This 6 year old Beagle dog has excessive wear to his incisor teeth (white arrows) and left lower canine tooth (red arrow). The abnormal process of teeth wearing rapidly is known as dental attrition. Diet and chewing habits account for most cases of severe attrition. Excessive chewing on tennis balls which are covered with a material that is similar to ScotchBright scouring pads can be one cause. Excessive oral grooming and chewing as a result of itchiness resulting from allergies such as cases of severe flea allergy can also result in incisor teeth wearing down to the gum line. The dental pulp responds to rapid wear by laying down secondary dentin, which is visible as a dark brown spot on the affected tooth. The dark brown spot is solid and cannot be entered with a dental explorer. No therapy is required in these cases.

 

In the case of the lower right canine tooth; this tooth wore down as the result of a malocclusion with the upper right first incisor tooth. Consistent rubbing on this upper tooth caused the wear seen in the above photo. These teeth have worn each other down so that they now fit together acceptably and there is no need for treatment. Tooth vitality is being assessed here via illumination to see if there is evidence of a healthy pulp cavity. As well, all worn teeth receive a thorough exam with a dental probe to assess overall tooth health and vitality.

  

Dental radiographs are another means of assessing the health of worn teeth. In dental radiograph 1 on the left the black arrows point to the pulp cavities (slightly darker linear grey zone within the tooth) of both the excessively worn canine tooth and the normal lower left canine tooth on the opposite side. Comparing a suspect tooth against a known healthy tooth is a good way of assessing tooth vitality. Both pulp cavities are symmetrical and there is no evidence of unhealthy pulp tissue or dentin. As well, this radiograph shows that the incisor tooth roots, seen here between the two canine teeth marked with the arrows, are also healthy. The dental radiograph on the right demonstrates a healthy tooth root. There is no evidence of abscess formation or bone socket disease (red arrow).

Using all of the information gained from both our exam and radiographs it was determined that these teeth, although showing severe attrition, were still healthy and did not require a root canal or extraction.