Broken Canine Fang

[Draco]

Hi all,

I just noticed my cat (10 years) has a broken upper canine tooth. About half is missing, not a tiny chip or anything.

He seems to be okay, eating and does not seem to be bothered- but I know cats hide pain well. What should I look out for? There’s no redness or bleeding- I can’t tell if pulp is exposed, I don’t think its exposed.

No idea when or how it happened- I’m thinking the turkey neck I gave him? Or one of the many times he's run into a wall from his zoomies. Could be older than that, weeks, days, who knows.

What are the odds of infection? I can’t afford a vet at the moment- and he turns feral on the table, the vet will have to knock him out to give him an exam. I don’t want to stress him out if I shouldn’t have to worry. He eats soft foods mostly.

here’s a pic

 

[Azazel]

Cats don't chew with their canines so it couldn't be from the turkey neck. Plus, the impact would have to be really big for it to chip the tooth. It would have to be something traumatic like a fight with another cat or a collision.

If the pulp is exposed then most vets would recommend extraction. It's hard to tell whether a bacterial infection would occur, but the idea is that it's not worth the risk. One of my cats has both canines chipped. On one of them the pulp is not exposed, but it is slightly exposed on the other one. My vet and I keep an eye on it. We had x-rays done and the vet said it's okay to leave in for now. So.. you basically need to talk to a vet that you can trust and who won't rush to extraction without good cause. From the picture you posted, I think it's pretty likely that the pulp is exposed. That's a big chip.

 

[Draco]

Cats don't chew with their canines so it couldn't be from the turkey neck. Plus, the impact would have to be really big for it to chip the tooth. It would have to be something traumatic like a fight with another cat or a collision.

If the pulp is exposed then most vets would recommend extraction. It's hard to tell whether a bacterial infection would occur, but the idea is that it's not worth the risk. One of my cats has both canines chipped. On one of them the pulp is not exposed, but it is slightly exposed on the other one. My vet and I keep an eye on it. We had x-rays done and the vet said it's okay to leave in for now. So.. you basically need to talk to a vet that you can trust and who won't rush to extraction without good cause. From the picture you posted, I think it's pretty likely that the pulp is exposed. That's a big chip.

Thanks for the reply! He's an indoor only cat, how he managed to make a big impact to break it like that is beyond me. It is possible he did get into a fight with my other cat since he's constantly hounding her.

I pressed at the bottom of the tooth and he did not flinch away which leads me to think no pulp.

I will be away this week and made a note for my cat sitter to keep an eye on him for me. if he shows signs of discomfort I will have to take him to the vet.

 

[Azazel]

Thanks for the reply! He's an indoor only cat, how he managed to make a big impact to break it like that is beyond me. It is possible he did get into a fight with my other cat since he's constantly hounding her.

I pressed at the bottom of the tooth and he did not flinch away which leads me to think no pulp.

I will be away this week and made a note for my cat sitter to keep an eye on him for me. if he shows signs of discomfort I will have to take him to the vet.

He probably wouldn't show signs of discomfort from the pulp being exposed. Cats rarely show any signs of discomfort from these things and they're notorious for hiding pain. He probably wouldn't start to show signs until it actually developed into an infection. If you have a vet that you can trust it's worth talking to them. The first step would be to get x-rays and see how bad it is. Then they would make a judgement about what should be done about it. It's a tricky situation because many vets will just jump at extraction. I was lucky to have a vet who is very cautious. She said she doesn't like removing canines because they are structural but that it would probably have to come out eventually. She just didn't want to do it yet.