# 1 1/2 year old Girl Top Incissor cracked AND Kennel Cough on the same day



## Schnitz85 (May 20, 2015)

Hey all, it's been a while since I have perused the boards, thankfully that is a good thing! 

Little Ellie had quite the day yesterday. She goes out with a group everyday for 6-7 hours and gets her exercise living it up in SoCal since moving from NYC. I came home yesterday to her coughing when excited... First thing I thought was maybe she had something caught in her throat. At night, I took a look in her mouth and saw that her top front tooth was CRACKED! I have no idea how it happened, but then my mind jumped to her tooth was stuck in her throat! The vet looked at me like I had 4 heads and said she had kennel cough as far as she could tell... all the telltale signs. Gave me doxycycline and a cough suppressant for at night. She is up to date on everything too which sucks! I have to wait around 5-7 days before she can get back out there... 

As far as the tooth, she said to go to a dentist in a week or so(didn't know they had them!) but that they would give me some ideas. She said it wasn't prone to infection and unless she stopped eating/acting normal she wasn't in pain. Thing that sucks is I brush her teeth 3x a week and she has an enzyme in her water to keep plaque off, etc. 

I have health insurance, that covers a lot that I have been itching to use(silver lining??). Been reading up on options, I see you can root canal and put a crown or cap on it? Does anyone have any experience in this?? I hate that the little girl has a gap in her teeth now! 

I attached a photo of her tooth. Thanks in advance guys!


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## einspänner (Sep 8, 2012)

That's a bummer!

Canadian Expy will probably chime in soon, but here's a thread about her boy's dental work. Might give you some ideas. http://www.vizslaforums.com/index.php/topic,27345.msg351969.html#msg351969

How's she doing with the kennel cough? Steam from a hot shower or warm, not hot, chicken broth is as good for them as it is us in making a sore throat feel better.


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

So far, (knock on wood) we haven't had to have any dental work. Cash does have a tiny chip in a tooth, but not big enough to expose the nerve , or cause a problem. The tooth is bright white, so no damage to root.
While dogs have a high tolerance to pain, I would think a tooth broken as low as hers would hurt.


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## Canadian Expy (Feb 27, 2013)

Aww poor Ellie. She's having a rough time right now between the kennel cough and the tooth. I have also dealt with kennel cough in my older V when he was younger. The shower trick suggested by Einspanner worked well. I also ran a humidifier in the room at night near his crate to help as well. And of course, trying to keep the pup calm so that they don't get over excited and into coughing fits (usually easier said than done with a V). It resolved itself in a couple of weeks. 

Unfortunately, I have more experience with dog dentistry than I'd like. My oldest V has had many trips to our dental specialist here as you will see in the thread Einspanner posted the link to. I also had a foster dog who broke the tooth just to the right of the tooth your Ellie broke. I suspect she broke it on an antler chew (a dental specialist will tell you to only give your dog chews that soften with saliva). I wasn't aware it had broke, until I came home one day from work and she was drooling excessively. I checked out her mouth and found the tooth had been broken. She was clearly in pain (hence the drooling), so I booked her in for removal the next day. 

My understanding is that with a cracked front tooth, they will likely suggest removal. In Ellie's case it doesn't look like there is much tooth left, but your dentist will advise you on the best procedure for her. Extraction of a front tooth is a very simple procedure. 

I have had a root canal done on Aspen's canine tooth, as the vital pulp therapy that had been performed 2 years ago had failed. The only options left were root canal (if possible) or extraction. Fortunately, she was able to do the root canal (as there was no other physical damage to the tooth since the pulp therapy had been undertaken) but I need to have the tooth checked in 1 years time. If the root canal is not successful then It will need to be extracted. Canines are very difficult to extract due to how far into the jaw they go. The dogs jaw can break in the process, which I want to avoid if at all possible. Fingers crossed. 

I'm assuming the vet has suggested you wait a week or so due to the kennel cough? I would contact the specialist now to make the appointment in case there is a wait time. Though it is not a medical emergency at this point, anytime you have a broken tooth this can allow bacteria into the tooth and cause the tooth to become abscessed. Dogs are far more tolerant of pain than us humans, so I don't agree with your vet saying that unless she stops eat/acting normal Ellie is not in pain. As you will see in the thread re: Aspen's dental work, he recently had an abscessed tooth that he showed zero signs of having (physical or behavioural). If you have ever experienced dental pain yourself, I'll assume that's not something you want your pup to have to go through. Aspen was chewing, eating, playing, etc normally. There was no redness or swelling of the gums in the area of the tooth. The only indicator was in his blood work. 

Please keep us updated on what the specialist decides. If you have any other questions, I'll do my best to help.


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