# Retained canine baby teeth



## PoodlenPrada (Aug 13, 2014)

For whatever strange reason Phoenix has retained all of his baby canines with the adult teeth growing in next to them. He's rounding up on 8 months but will not be neutered for another couple of months. AT out last vet check up on 7/24 I discussed having the baby teeth pulled, but the bet wasn't at all worried about it. She told me to just continue giving him lots of chew toys and whatnot and if the situation hasn't resolved itself by the time he's neutered then they can be pulled out then. Sure enough one of the bottom teeth fell out on it's own a few days following the vet visit. I check the others daily, the two upper baby teeth have slight moment (very slight) when wiggled, but the other bottom tooth does not. He's not bothered by the extra teeth at all, but I know it can become problematic later on. 

Not really wanting to have him put under for surgery anymore than absolutely necessary, I'm wondering if waiting the 2 months for the neutering will cause any long term dental problems? Has anyone else dealt with this with their pups?


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## N2Mischief (Dec 3, 2012)

I won't be of much help, but Misha did retain her baby teeth. Because we were going to show her, we had her put under and had them all pulled. She was over 7 months but I can't remember exactly how much. They pulled 15 teeth that day, a lot were tiny! With Misha it was actually a good thing because she was very slow to wake up from anesthesia and that is when we discovered her MVD of the liver. 

I would think an extra couple of months won't make a difference and I personally would wait for the neuter.


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## mom2Zoe (Jun 17, 2014)

Zoe has retained baby teeth .
She will have them pulled when and if she has to be put under. I will not put her under just to pull them , but that is a risk as well. It can effect her other teeth, prob not. She is 18 months.
I do not think waiting the few months is even a little problem. Doing damage to permanent teeth take a long time.I am a little worried for Zoe, you are in the clear. .


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## PoodlenPrada (Aug 13, 2014)

mom2Zoe said:


> Zoe has retained baby teeth .
> She will have them pulled when and if she has to be put under. I will not put her under just to pull them , but that is a risk as well. It can effect her other teeth, prob not. She is 18 months.
> I do not think waiting the few months is even a little problem. Doing damage to permanent teeth take a long time.I am a little worried for Zoe, you are in the clear. .


My vet told me that lots of puppies retain their baby teeth and it's not really uncommon at all. I'm with you on not wanting to put my baby under for something unnecessary, and the vet said she'd only be overly concerned about it at this stage if the teeth had grown in in such a way that prevented him from eating or caused pain. She also told me to make sure I brush his teeth more often than normal because theres a higher chance of food getting stuck between the teeth that can cause bacteria to grow. Are Zoe's retained teeth just her canines, or did she retain others too?


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## zooeysmom (Jan 3, 2014)

I would definitely wait. They'll probably fall out by the time he is neutered anyway. I've only had my dogs' baby teeth pulled during their spay/neuter.


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

Poppy's stayed in for what seemed like forever - I eventually scheduled surgery when she was around 9 months old, and one fell out a week before it was due so I cancelled it. The second came out a few weeks later. If there is any movement at all they will probably come out very soon, and once three are out, the fourth will not be far behind! If your vet is happy they are not distorting his bite, I would leave them for now.


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## mom2Zoe (Jun 17, 2014)

PoodlenPrada said:


> My vet told me that lots of puppies retain their baby teeth and it's not really uncommon at all. I'm with you on not wanting to put my baby under for something unnecessary, and the vet said she'd only be overly concerned about it at this stage if the teeth had grown in in such a way that prevented him from eating or caused pain. She also told me to make sure I brush his teeth more often than normal because theres a higher chance of food getting stuck between the teeth that can cause bacteria to grow. Are Zoe's retained teeth just her canines, or did she retain others too?


I think just her canines. I brush her teeth every day and just hope that will be enough.
At the time of her spay the vet I was using didn't pull them, when I switched vets I blamed him . My new vet said it id not routinely done at spay and sometimes can do more harm pulling them, a judgement call. All i know is that she is 18 months and they are still in her mouth.


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## Misfits (Dec 27, 2014)

Years ago I had a yorkie pup that retained all four canines. The vet didn't suggest pulling them when he was neutered at 8 months, and I'd never raised a toy breed pup before - 20 years ago what did I know? They never did fall at on their own. I could not keep those little teeth clean. He kept getting hairs and fuzz wrapped around them from toys and wrestling with our other dog. I was constantly picking fuzz balls out of his teeth. Finally at two I had them removed, which was just another anesthesia that could have been avoided. I wouldn't rush the neuter just because of the teeth, but when the time is right for him to be neutered, I'd get the teeth out then and be done with it. 

Diana


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## marialydia (Nov 23, 2013)

Well, Jupiter's experience was a little different, and his retained canines caused a permanent problem with his bite. I got him when I was living overseas, and when his canines didn't fall out I took him to Europe and had them extracted. He was about nine months old, if I remember correctly.

As a result of the canines growing in badly, throughout most of his life Jupiter's lower right canine did not fit on the outside of the teeth but pressed into his palate. It started to erode the upper canine and I went to a canine dentist who was going to drill and cap it. It did seem to be causing him some pain.

While I was thinking about this he needed a growth removed and my regular vet did a dental cleaning. He needed two of the lower incisors removed and his canine rather quickly drifted over to the correct place. (This was when he was 10 years old). So really it seems to have been due to crowding.

Jupiter's teeth and mouth continue to have some problems and he now does not seem happy eating anything that is hard to chew. I wet his kibble and combine it with soft foods, both canned and fresh. I wonder now if I had been living somewhere with decent vet care, if an earlier extraction would have avoided these problems.

He's had some other problems recently and his vet thinks that this is now quite a way down on the list, and now recommends to leave it as is. He will be 14 years old next month.


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