Puppy with lingually displaced canines and retained deciduous teeth.

RE: Puppy with lingually displaced canines and retained deciduous teeth.

Evelyn Barbour-Hill — Wed, 12 Aug 2020 19:03:25 GMT

To add to the above replies. On practical matters.

My test with deciduous teeth that look like being persistent is this. Pick at it with your fingernail. If there's any slight give, get the owner to pick at it frequently (not forcibly, just pick!) which will increase the chances of natural shedding. If it's rock solid at this age, I reckon it's almost certain to stay rock solid. In which case I'd be advising extracting them without any further delay.

I don't believe for one moment that a deciduous tooth failing to shed as the permanent erupts somehow forces the permanent into an unnatural angle. But, and this is not quite the same thing, certainly the light influence of the presence of the deciduous can affect the angle taken by the permanent as eruption proceeds.

203 is indeed being tipped labially, so extraction of 103 and 203 could be an important part of the solution. On the other hand, unless you are a skilled extractor, the conformation of the roots of the upper 3s makes it more tricky than you might think.

RE: Puppy with lingually displaced canines and retained deciduous teeth.

Rachel Perry — Wed, 12 Aug 2020 16:25:04 GMT

I would agree that by 8 months these deciduous teeth should have gone. I've seen a Russian Toy before with persistent deciduous so I wonder if there's a genetic pre-disposition like some other breeds we're familiar with. My rule of thumb that if the canines are essentially the same length then they're unlikely to exfoliate naturally, but as Norman says, hopefully they're on the verge....To me it looks as if 203 is being labioverted already so it may help by extracting this to give 304 more room. closed mouth views are always best for assessing occlusion, lips parted, one from left, one from right and one straight on. If you are anaesthetising, remember to assess occlusion before tracheal intubation!

RE: Puppy with lingually displaced canines and retained deciduous teeth.

Norman Johnston — Wed, 12 Aug 2020 14:06:14 GMT

At 8 months these decid teeth should be gone or maybe loose. If not they may become persistent and need removed. Breed variation may still have them gone naturally within a month.
The bite is undershot or class 3. I don’t think Val therapy had much chance given the location of the 304 and 404. The tipping pathway is too unnatural.
I would give it a month at least then review with the intention of rads and removing the persistent deciding teeth

At the same time good photos can be taken to repost, especially mouth shut. The rads will also show the status of the permanent canine apices to see if they still have eruptive potential. There will be options that you can then discuss.