Wildlife confrontation results in a fractured jaw

Skipper is a 7 year old fox terrier who had an altercation with wildlife under the owners back deck. Skipper’s mom heard all the commotion but never saw the wild culprit that Skipper had cornered. She finally got Skipper to come out and when she did Skipper was covered in blood. He had multiple skin scratches and wounds and his right lower canine tooth was hanging out at an odd angle. Skipper was rushed to the emergency hospital and then to Pet Care when they opened a few hours later. An IV catheter was placed, fluids, antibiotics and pain medicines administered, and then Skipper was anesthetized for an oral health assessment.

              

On these two images of Skipper’s mouth it can be seen that Skipper has a fracture of his lower jaw involving his lower right canine tooth and several incisor teeth (white arrows).

Dental radiographs (x-rays) were taken and the white arrows point to the areas of bone fracture.

Under complete anesthesia Dr. Fisher was able to reduce the fracture by applying digital pressure to the avulsed canine tooth, and thus pressing it back into its normal position.

                 

Next, Dr. Fox used stainless steel orthopedic wire along with dental acrylic to stabilize the fracture site (white arrows). After the fracture repair Licensed Veterinary technician and dental hygienist, Janyce Cooper, took advantage of the opportunity to complete the rest of Skipper’s oral health assessment and clean and polish the his teeth. Notice how clean and shiny Skipper’s teeth are compared to the original images shown above!

Skipper will be eating soft food for around 6 weeks while the fracture site heals. If everything goes according to plan the prognosis for full return to normal function and a pain free mouth is excellent. Good teamwork everyone!