https://www.vetsurgeon.org/f/clinical-questions/6122/a-dental-question I saw a dog (Boxer) this morning, 8 years old, that has a chronic hx of periodontal disease and epulis+++. It looks to have a discharging sinus on the gum overlying the root on one of the upper canine teeth- with hair poking out of it. I am assumingen-USTelligent Community 10https://www.vetsurgeon.org/thread/24355?ContentTypeID=1Tue, 21 Sep 2010 17:39:11 GMT146601cc-3922-4be7-9974-7e1d4e45a66b:09e5d02a-2564-460d-8370-c3917e797632Rob Davis<p>I&#39;m no expert, but....</p> <p>I would think it&#39;s more likely to be a periapical abscess rather than a periodontal pocket, as pus in a pocket will simply overflow into the mouth, where as with a perioapical abscess, it needs to find it&#39;s own escape route (either into the nasal cavity or into mouth). If possible radiography would be useful to confirm what pathology lies hidden. Flushing will not resolve a periapical problem, nor will sealing the pocket, so I suspect extraction is likely to be the treatment of choice. Upper canine teeth are usually relatively straightforward to extract using a mucoperiosteal flap (if you&#39;ve never done this it is worth learning as it makes extractions soooooo much easier. I believe Alex Smithson wrote some good articles on this in UK vet journal). I would flush the site with sterile saline post-extraction and suture the flap in place. Once the tooth has been exracted, the sinus tract should heal quickly.</p> <p>If this is a typical boxer with generalised gingival hyperplasia, then gingivoplasty would be sensible at the same time.</p> <p>I&#39;ll wait for Evelyn to correct me...</p><div style="clear:both;"></div>