Wear of dental hard tissue

Attrition is the loss of tooth substance that results from wear. This could result from wear that is produced by opposing teeth coming in contact with one another (occlusal wear) or from the constant chewing on toys and other objects that with time wear down the hard outer surface of the tooth. In many dogs some degree of progressive attrition is normal with increasing age.

This 5 year old male dog is showing loss of tooth surface of the lower mandible canine teeth. The white arrow points to the affected tooth on the right side. As the enamel is worn away dentine is exposed. With normal wear, the deposition of new dentine keeps pace with the loss of tooth substance and there is rarely exposure of the pulp cavity. If the wear occurs at a rapid rate, many times as a result of chewing on abrasive substances, such as tennis balls, or bad habits such as cage biting; then the pulp cavity can be exposed resulting in loss of vitality of the affected tooth. Dental radiographs are necessary to determine if the wear seen here is causing tooth pathology, particularly infection of the root canal or the bone at the root apex (root tip).

        

Dental radiographs were taken of our patient and showed that both teeth had uniform pulp cavities and root canals (solid red arrow) indicating that at this time there is no evidence of obvious infection or loss of root canal vitality. As well, at the apex of the tooth the bone is healthy (open red arrow)- no lytic lesions, indicative of infection, or abscess development are apparent. The advice given to the owner: Let’s reassess these teeth radiographically in 6 months to make sure that the tooth is remaining healthy. We will compare size and shape of the root canal and reevaluate surround jaw bone health. In the mean time continue with normal brushing to control buildup of plaque and tartar.