I remember when my puppy first had a broken tooth, I was a bit worried, I was thinking “is it safe? is not safe? could it be very harmful to my puppy?

 I am sure you might be having thoughts like that when you noticed your puppy’s broken tooth.

In this post, I would be teaching you everything you need to know about a broken tooth in puppies.

If your puppy has a broken tooth and the pulp is exposed, it could get infected up to the root through the pulp cavity which could cause an abscess and get serious if the infection is left unattended.

Causes of your puppy’s broken tooth

Puppies break their teeth when they bite and try to chew hard objects and bones.

Symptoms of puppy broken tooth

The puppy stops eating and shows signs of pain.

Treatments for a puppy’s broken tooth

There are two ways your vet would treat your puppy’s broken tooth which we would be looking at.

Dental cleaning, followed by a tooth extraction

This method of treatment involves removing the broken tooth. The goal here is to eliminate the cause of the pain, your puppy would be able to live a normal life without the tooth.

Root canal treatment

This method is used if you want to save your puppy’s broken tooth or if the vet suggests that you do not extract it.

This method involves going to a vet who is a specialist in dentistry, I know it sounds surprising but they are specialists in almost every category of medicine in the veterinarian world now.

This method is done mostly if it is the adult canines that are broken.

The specialist would take x-rays and see if the tooth is salvageable, then they would perform the root canal treatment to preserve the tooth.

In this procedure, the pulp from the tooth is removed, the infected canal is cleaned, and a temporary dressing is placed where the pulp once was.

The temporary dressing is removed in 6 to 8 weeks when it would have done its job in calming the whole environment and getting rid of all the bacteria.

Then, they place a permanent fill down the canal.

A metal crown may be made for the fixed tooth depending on the state of the tooth.

So, there you have it, the tooth could be saved but most vets would want to remove the tooth to solve the pain and prevent infection.

If you want the tooth to be saved and not extracted, you could talk to your vet and listen to his/her opinion.

Dogs have a lot of teeth, if they lose one or two, they would still live a good life.

Remedies for pain caused by puppy’s broken tooth

If you notice your puppy’s broken tooth on the weekend or during a busy day and you can’t visit the vet, you could use these remedies to ease the pain your puppy may be feeling.

Valerian tincture

It is used in animals for pain, muscle spasms and it slightly sedating.

The sedative properties of valerian make it helpful in creating rest, it also has anti-inflammatory properties which could prevent swelling of your puppy’s gum.

Dosage: ½ ml for 20 lbs of body weight, every six to eight hours.

Aspirin

This is a conventional treatment that you could use, it works by an enzyme that produces prostaglandins which are hormonelike messenger molecules that trigger many processes in the body, including inflammation and pain.

Do not give it to your puppy if it is on any other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug such as Metacom or If your puppy is on steroids such as prednisone.

Dosage: 325mg per 40 lbs body weight, twice daily.

Homeopathic drugs

Homeopathic drugs are safe for your puppy and a lot of puppies respond well to them.

I prefer arnica, it helps to assuage any nerve-wracking pain your puppy may be feeling around its tooth or gum.

Dosage: 4 arnica capsules, twice daily for two days.

95 % curcumin

Curcumin has anti-bacterial and inflammatory properties, it helps to reduce pain and fight infection.

Dosage: 100 mg per 10 lbs body weight every 12 hours.

How to prevent broken teeth in puppies

Because puppies break their teeth while chewing on strong objects, we can’t prevent our puppies from breaking their teeth.

But we can take some measures such as making sure the bones we give our puppies are not very hard and their toys are not too hard.

I also suggest you check your puppy’s teeth regularly and get their teeth examined by the vet every six months.

What foods can you feed puppies with a broken tooth?

I recommend you give your puppy with a broken tooth anything soft.

What I do is, I soak their kibble in chicken broth, beef broth, or bone broth and I allow it to get soft before serving it.

If you would want to give your puppy chicken, you should let it cook for a long time, remove the bones and serve it to them.

Frequently asked questions about puppy broken tooth

Is a broken puppy tooth an emergency?

Yes, it is. There is a high risk of the tooth getting infected when broken because bacteria could enter the pulp cavity.

If the infection is left unattended, it could get very bad.

Can a puppy’s broken tooth heal on its own?

They cant heal on their own and I advise that you don’t leave your puppy’s broken tooth untreated for long because it could get infected.

How much does it cost to extract a puppy’s tooth?

It depends on the type of extraction, a simple extraction would cost between 10 to 15 dollars per tooth, elevated extractions cost between 25 to 35 dollars per tooth, and using drills to perform multiple root splits can cost up to $ 100 per tooth.

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