As you can see, this dog has trauma to the upper palate where the lower right canine tooth 404 is causing a 5mm indent. Food and other debris can get lodged in this hole which can cause pain, infection and halitosis (bad breath). This dog is 7 months old, so although 404 is a permanent tooth, the apex of the root has not yet closed (this happens around 12 months old), so a root canal can’t be done. The options therefore are extraction or a crown reduction and vital pulpotomy. It is better for the dog, for the structure of the jaw and to hold the tongue in place, if this tooth is kept in the mouth. At 7 months old the dentine is very thin, and the pulp is very wide, so the tooth is quite fragile and if it is extracted extreme care and patience should be taken.

As you can see in the photos below, this procedure involves cutting the crown off the tooth to reduce the height, then placing a restoration over the pulp to protect it. In this case Biodentine was placed on the pulp, then a glass ionomer and then a composite, and it was sanded smooth. A dentine bridge should develop in the Biodentine layer to protect the pulp in the future. A follow up x-ray should be done in approximately 6 months time to ensure that complications have not developed. It is also important that the dog does not chew on hard substances that could damage the restoration (like a human filling), especially before the dentine bridge has formed (which takes about 6-8 weeks).