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lil luvs · Senior Chi

retained baby teeth

Nana_Becky · Senior Chi

Roxie still has her upper canines but they are beside the permanent ones. She will be 9 months old tomorow. I am waiting until she is a year old and then taking her in to have them checked. So far her bite looks okay.They are not in a double row catching particles of food. But yours are show dogs so you really need to be careful probably. Do you smell any bad odor coming from their little mouths? We have played tug and given rawhide chews and everything the vet recommended us to do but to no avail so far. They said if we were going to spay her they would remove the puppy teeth then. But we do not have that in her plans for the near future.

WeeKidsMom · Senior Chi

Yes it can throw their bite off. I believe I read somewhere that for show, pups should have retianed teeth out at 6 months. Don't quote me though. But I do know it can screw up their bites, I did a lot of reading when my Billy's bite got so bad.

lil luvs · Senior Chi

Thanks guys -

Becky - that's exactly what vet told us - wait til 1 year (we're not s/n ours). But I was nervous about the bites. CJ does have a very slight underbite (i think - it's not actually his jaw which is definition of underbite, but his lower teeth don't line up level with his top) so i was concerned.

Karen - it does say 6 months in most sites for removal - but not for show, but because to have them done when you s/n your dog. So you were right that 6 months was mentioned :)

I'm going to call vet tomorrow and discuss him pulling CJ's now. He didn't have both sets 3 months ago when we first got him - still had all his baby teeth then and has just started losing some front ones so it hasn't been that long.   But the back teeth do now have his permanent coming in also so I don't want to risk "misaligning" his bite anymore.   I may wait on Bijou's as she only has a couple and i think they may already be lose.

I couldn't believe some of the stuff they have out now when i was researching this - doggy braces???   LOL I also couldn't believe what it said some breeders do where AKC doesn't allow any orthodontic work (but pulling baby teeth is allowed) - there are cases of breeders cutting the baby teeth to make them fall out earlier or putting rubber bands on teeth to straighten them out

Thanks again girls

Jess · Senior Chi

Yeah, I believe the Vet can just pull them for you if you want. I dont know what kind of anaesthetic they'll use, local or general, but I know they can and will do it! I would definitely recommend you have them out as soon as you can.

Let us know what happens?

x

lil luvs · Senior Chi

they actually knock them right out for it :( which is why it's so much easier to do if they're being s/n

CJ is scheduled to have his done tuesday - he retained all 4 baby canines and is just getting stinky breath from the debris being caught inbetween them. He's soooo tiny tho i get nervous about them putting him under. But i totally trust my vet and know he knows what he's doing.

I'll probably wait and put Bijou in for hers after the holidays - she actually came home from that last vet visit and lost another baby tooth - so maybe it'll just take a little longer on hers for them to come out naturally :)

JacobsBunch · Administrator

Am I following this conversation correctly....are you all saying that a chi should have lost all of their baby teeth by 6 months? I keep re-reading but just not getting it LOL

lil luvs · Senior Chi

I think it's more a case of when permanent teeth come in than when baby teeth are all out. CJ's problem is that his permanent canines are already in - and his baby canines are still there behind them - which can through their bite off. The 6 month mark i saw during my research was just to have them done when you s/n the dog. But a lot of the sites say the earlier you get them out - the better for their bite but none ever mentioned pulling them if permanent teeth weren't already in or coming in

Nana_Becky · Senior Chi

Yes, All of Roxies permanent teeth are in but she has not lost her upper canines. But they are not in a "double row". So it has not thrown her bite off or anything. The vet said as long as it does not start collecting a lot of plaque we were ok. But if that happened they would have to put her to sleep and remove them. But if you are showing the dog you do need to get them out or if they are in a double row it will make the others poke out. Now this is just what I was told Heather. It is if the permanent teeth are in and the baby teeth have not fallen out after a certain amount of time. But.. I have not studied this at all. I am sure Sue knows a LOT more than I do.

lil luvs · Senior Chi

yep - sounds right to me, Becky :)

Bruno actually has a retained canine also - he's almost 1 1/2 but we're not pushing to have his out as it hasn't hurt his bite and i'm not using him in show or breeding right now - if i decide to neuter him (which we're going to decide after 1st of year), then i'll have his done too.
Bijou still has 1 or 2 baby teeth with her permanent in also - but her bite is fine and i'm going to give her a little more time.
The main thing with CJ's was he does have a slight underbite, which may be solved by pulling the retained babies - and he was starting to get stinky breath which may mean it would go into problems.

The main thing with keeping the retained baby teeth is to be sure they aren't getting periodontal disease. This can be common if they have "double teeth" as it's easier for food to get stuck in between the teeth and cause bacterial infections.

While we're on the subject, anyone else try to brush their teeth?

Nana_Becky · Senior Chi

Uhhhhh, I'm a bad mommy. I just give dental bones and dried dog food. So far this has done the trick with Abby and she is almost 3 now. Her teeth look gorgeous!!! I know if she ate moist food I would have too tho. She would let me I bet and so would Roxie if I insisted. They will let me put my fingers in their mouth for almost anything. If there was a finger tip brush I probably could. Whew the male we used to have ... I would have had one less finger. Had to have someone else even clip his nails. These will even let me clean their ears with a q-tip. Mind I don't dig around where I cannot see, that would not be smart. They are such good girls.

JacobsBunch · Administrator

Well, this has become IMO a very interesting subject. Bailey is 6 months and has lost, to my knowledge, only one baby tooth. That is also that only adult tooth I see. His teeth look "hooked" like a baracuta LOL and let me tell you they are SHARP I am a bad mommy too with the teeth brushing. I am lucky to be "allowed" to even look at their teeth, touching them would be out of the question :)

Nana_Becky · Senior Chi

Heather all 3 of mine had started loosing the little "milk teeth" in the front on top and bottom by that time. But you may never know when they lose those. They are soo tiny anyway. The next I started seeing going were the ones on the sides and back. The canines were the last. ( In our case) And of course we still have the upper two on Roxie. I do not remember how the books say the perfect way should be. LOL
Roxie marches by a different drummer tho. She has been at the breeders since Saturday and should have been receptive by then but it is Tuedsay now and she wants no part of it and the little stud even seems unconcerned still. She was more excited before she started bleeding. The little furry clown. I think I will go get her tomorrow or Thursday. I miss her tooooo much. Boo hoo.