# Adult Bottom Canine Teeth Narrow?



## MollyMuiMa (Oct 13, 2012)

I thought this was a pretty good picture of what a scissor bite should look like!


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## Mysticrealm (Jan 31, 2016)

Thanks but I know what a scissor bite should look like. What I don't know is when a puppy first gets his adult canine teeth, since they grow beside and to the inside of the baby canines, how far to the inside is normal for them to start growing in so that they will eventually clear the roof of the mouth.


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## CharismaticMillie (Jun 16, 2010)

Mysticrealm said:


> My boy Asher's bottom baby canine teeth used to poke the roof of his mouth. They pretty much moved out of the way and he didn't seem to have any issues with eating or playing or eating me. He is getting in his adults and has lost his babies, and I know that the adults usually grow in from the inside of the babies, but how far to the inside of the mouth is normal? I don't want his adult teeth poking the roof of his mouth but if they don't move outwards from where they currently are they are not going to clear the roof of his mouth. He's 5 months old.
> I haven't paid close enough attention to my other dogs as they were teething to see how they came in so I'm not sure how much to the inside is 'normal'?


The adult teeth will probably follow the same pattern that his puppy teeth did. They may end up clearing right at 6 months on their own, but since the implications of adult teeth poking into the palate are greater than with puppy teeth, I'd go ahead and start doing both ball therapy and applying thumb pressure every day. This will help guide the teeth out. 

As soon as the adult canines first erupt, it's a good idea to start this process. A few times a day, firmly and steadily press your thumbs against the inside of the lower canines and press them outward for several seconds. Don't press so hard that you risk breaking a tooth, but do press firmly enough that it has a braces-like effect. 

For ball therapy, encourage your dog to hold a tennis ball in his mouth as much as possible. You can also put the ball in his mouth and gently yet firmly hold it closed for several seconds a few times a day.

http://www.toothvet.ca/PDFfiles/ball_ therapy.pdf


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## CharismaticMillie (Jun 16, 2010)

Mysticrealm said:


> Thanks but I know what a scissor bite should look like. What I don't know is when a puppy first gets his adult canine teeth, since they grow beside and to the inside of the baby canines, how far to the inside is normal for them to start growing in so that they will eventually clear the roof of the mouth.


They can start pretty far in. Just follow the thumb pressure and ball therapy routines and they should ultimately clear the gumline. But do start right away. You can stop ball therapy and thumb pressure as soon as the canines clear the gum.


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## sidewinder (Feb 3, 2016)

Mackey is very close to Asher in age, maybe a few days younger (born April 11). He also had his baby lower canines look as if they would poke up thru his upper pallate, but they ended up spreading out, and they were fine. My vet commented on what a nice bite he had. Now, with the adult teeth coming in, I'm also worried about the same thing. My first spoo, years ago, needed vet treatment to correct it. She also had an umbilical hernea, and while she was anesthetized for them to repair it, they also loosened her lower canines and cauterized a channel in the gum of the upper jaw for them. It worked well, and her teeth were good after that. 

BTW, Mackey's upper canines are growing in nicely. They erupted behind the baby teeth, not to the inside. Hopefully, that's what will happen with the lowers, too. 

I had another breeder tell me about applying pressure to the teeth several times a day successfully, but I hadn't heard about the ball method. Thanks for that, CM!


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## Mysticrealm (Jan 31, 2016)

Thanks guys! I talked and showed them to my breeder today and she had no worries that they would clear the roof of his mouth, however I think I will still use some thumb pressure and such a few times a day to encourage them to for sure get out of the way.


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## Zorkon (Oct 12, 2016)

The thumb method works great. I didn't know about it for my first Standard, Jed, so I ended up paying big bucks first to have his baby canines pulled and then to get "doggie braces" for him when his adult canines grew in wrong too. For my second and third Standards, the breeder told me to use the thumb method each and every time you let them in from a potty break. Even though the second breeder's dogs had that problem in her line, by using the thumb method, Nadia and Boon's adult lower canines grew in perfectly.


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## Mysticrealm (Jan 31, 2016)

As an update. Asher's teeth came in great. I did the thumb method a bit, a couple times a day most days, just to be sure, but the breeder was right and the came in perfect.


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