Today I took the WFT who is now 8 months old to see a groomer who is also a judge of WFTs.  She gave us some really helpful tips and did one side of the dog -we have now finished the other side at home!  However when she checked her teeth she showed us that one of the  lower incisors is growing incorrectly in that it is growing inwards so that instead of closing over the upper gum it is closing inside it and making a mark on the roof of her mouth.  I feel bad that I had not noticed this - so far she has not been affected.  I will however take her straight to the vet on Monday to see what can be done.

Has anyone else had this sort of problem with teeth?  I suppose she will have to have the tooth out although I did read on the internet that these days they can reposition teeth sometimes??  I am upset that a) I didn't spot it and b) I probably won't be able to show her.

I would be interested to hear from others with similar problems as I must get this sorted asap for my girlie.

Have a look at the links on my post here :-

http://www.champdogsforum.co.uk/cgi-bin/board/topic_show.pl?pid=1405790;hl=Tooth%20canine#pid1405790

Hope this helps :-)

Thanks Dill,  that is really helpful. I have read through the article which seems hopeful.   I will take her to the vet tomorrow to see what he/she recommends.  I wonder if treatment for this type of thing would be covered under my Kennel Club insurance policy - that is another issue!

Oh the joys of dog ownership - just as we are seriously getting to grips with the (tricky) grooming of the WFT we now the tooth problem!!!

It was me who made the original post that Dill commented on, so you have my sympathy.

Dickie is back at the vet tomorrow to have his mouth looked at again. His lower left adult canine is coming through in the wrong place and will probably grow into the roof of his mouth, so I want to see what options we have. The vet had hoped the adult canines would come through correctly, despite his extra incisors, but it doesn't look like that will be the case. :(

Can you just clarify that it is an incisor and not the canine that is doing the damage?

Pedlee,  I have mistakenly said incisors but I have checked and I do of course mean the large canine,  which in Sophie's case is on the lower right,  The canine on the other side seems okay.  It is the lower right canine which seems to be growing into the roof of her mouth.  I shall of course be interested as to how Dickie gets on tomorrow.  Obviously this is not an uncommon problem.  I will also be taking my girl to see the vet tomorrow.

We can compare notes...

Really the article is aimed at dogs whose canines are coming in too narrow -  so a canine marking inside the gum/roof of the mouth is what it would work on.

Incisors being at the front of the mouth,  may not be helped by the ball method,  but I doubt it would cause any harm.

WFT's have very narrow jaws which can cause problems when the teeth are coming through.    Perhaps giving things to chew that require using the front teeth -  tearing/nibbling -  might help?    So something like large gristly bones?

Pedlee,

Did you show your vet the paper?

> Did you show your vet the paper?

No, I didn't show the vet the paper Dill. In Dickie's case I don't think the ball method would help as the bottom canine has nowhere to go other than the roof of his mouth because of the extra incisors. I can see how it would work if there was a gap for the canine to grow through, but reading through the paper it keeps mentioning "no other malocclusions present" for it to be successful.

I'll look forward to seeing the new posh Sophie! :-D

Dickie has had his vet visit. She took some photo's which she will e-mail to a dental expert with a view to probably referring us. There was talk of tooth removal (as a last resort), height reduction with capping and even braces!

How did Sophie get on?

I enquired at the practice whether there was a dental specialist (mine is a large hospital type practice) and was told that there is.  First appointment I could get is tomorrow (Tues) at 9am.

Will report back!

Husband had to take Sophie to the vet as I had to wait for the washing machine man!  He and the dog have just returned and there do seem to be several options.  First of all the vet has recommended the simple playing with the ball method, for 10 mins a time three times a day.  This is to see if the tooth can be pushed back naturally.  We have to take her back in a fortnight to see if there has been any improvement. He did say that her jaw is about 1/4 inch shorter than it should be which has caused the problem.  The ball method was mentioned in Pedlee's article mentioned in a previous post.

If the ball method doesn't work a fixed brace can be made to shift the tooth back into the correct position.  That would be the next step.  I checked my policy and (surprise,  surprise) no dental work is covered.  We will however  pay whatever we have to to get this sorted.  There are other options too like  grinding tooth down and crowning it - not always successful apparently.

At least I feel we are doing our best so fingers crossed for a good outcome.

Double check your insurance policy as often it is "cosmetic" dentistry and "teeth cleaning" that isn't covered. This is a welfare issue so may be covered. Luckily my insurance does cover it and they have already contacted my vets with a view to starting the claims process (all within 10 minutes of me contacting them - very impressed!).

Let's hope we both get a satisfactory outcome.

I have checked with the insurers who said that although they were not familiar with fixed braces they would "have a look  at it".  I did point  out that the problem was not cosmeic  but medical as the tooth is beginning to poke into the roof of her mouth.

I've put the details on my original thread, but our appt. for tooth removal and brace fitting is next Tuesday.

Has Sophie been for her follow up appointment and how is she getting on with the ball method?

Never knew dogs could have braces for teeth! Good luck.