# Lingually Displaced Mandibular Canines



## Ginjon507 (Nov 7, 2019)

My vet showed me my mini poodles canine problem, he suggested the ball therapy method to help his adult teeth come in right. Also suggested he get them removed if the ball therapy doesn’t work in a few months and have it done during his neutering if his adult teeth have come in. We have a follow up for his teeth in about a month. I’ve tried searching but couldn’t find any info. Any perspectives on this? Experiences? It’s this super common in minis?


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## Newport (Jul 16, 2014)

I have never heard of this, but was able to find this blog post with helpful photos- and the patient looks like a standard poodle puppy. I hope this helps.



http://www.alpinevet.ca/blog/2016/1/5/dawsons-sore-mouth


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## Eclipse (Apr 26, 2010)

Ginjon507 said:


> My vet showed me my mini poodles canine problem, he suggested the ball therapy method to help his adult teeth come in right. Also suggested he get them removed if the ball therapy doesn’t work in a few months and have it done during his neutering if his adult teeth have come in. We have a follow up for his teeth in about a month. I’ve tried searching but couldn’t find any info. Any perspectives on this? Experiences? It’s this super common in minis?
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


If you are referring to base narrow canines, it is fairly common in some Standard lines, particularly those with more refined heads. I'm not aware of the statistics for minis. My younger Standard was base narrow and her lower puppy canines were pulled as they were puncturing the roof of her mouth. This often corrects as the dog's lower jaw, which grows more slowly, catches up, and with the arrival of adult teeth. If this is not the case, you may need to see a specialist. My dog's adult teeth were also coming in very slightly inside so we saw the board-certified veterinary dentist at our local specialty hospital. It was felt that ball therapy and also exerting outward pressure on the teeth several times a day by hand would be enough to correct the issue and it was. Her teeth moved into the correct position as she grew and her bite is perfect. While the ball therapy/outward pressure method is very common in many cases, I have heard of cases severe enough to need further correction such as braces, etc. I have also heard of people having the offending adult canines filed, or even pulled - which would not be my choice by a longshot for multiple reasons, including jaw stability. 

You should keep a close watch on the roof of your dog's mouth now to make sure they are not puncturing it (which is painful to the dog and can also cause infection if food particles, etc. get into the punctures). If so, I would not wait until adult teeth come in to have anything done. You may want to go ahead and consult a dental specialist in any case for a second opinion. 

I would also reach out to your breeder to let them know you are having this issue and find out if any of the other pups in the litter or in the breeder's lines have had the issue and the outcomes....

Google "base narrow canine" and "ball therapy", you will find a lot of information.....


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## Liz (Oct 2, 2010)

My standard had lingual verted canines (on her lower jaw, IIRC). My vet at the time (who I have mixed feelings about) pulled her baby canines and recommended ball therapy as her adult teeth came in. They came in just fine. Ball therapy turns out to mean little more than "play a lot," meaning play in ways that gets the dog to use her mouth to naturally push the adult teeth into alignment. At least, that's all we did.

As Eclipse said, it's common in standards, but I'm not sure how common in minis. It's a side effect of having the extremely long, narrow muzzle (and frankly, perhaps a reason to select for a more blunted muzzle). At the time, I spoke with a well regarded breeder who posted here, and she said that she does not offer her owners any discount for this particular health issue, because it's so common to the breed. I'm not sure how I feel about that response - if there's a health issue common to the breed, then shouldn't the standard be adjusted to minimize the occurrence? Agh, clearly I don't think like a breeder.


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## reraven123 (Jul 21, 2017)

My standard had one lower canine growing inside the top canine as a baby, and his breeder said my vet would probably want to pull it. She said to ignore what the vet said and leave it alone and to use ball therapy as the new tooth grew in. That is what I did, and his teeth are perfect now. Ball therapy means you get the dog to play with a ball that is just the right size to fit inside his lower teeth and put outward pressure on them. I had a ball about 2" in diameter attached to a rope and tried to get Zephyr to tug on it. He wasn't crazy about playing tug at that age, so really didn't get a lot of "therapy", but the new tooth still grew in properly. 

As far as breeders giving discounts, I think that usually the adult teeth do grow in correctly, so a discount for a puppy with this condition would not be appropriate. You do have to watch and make sure the inverted tooth doesn't actually go through the roof of the puppy's mouth.


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