Treatment of traumatic dental displacement in dogs: six cases of lateral luxation.

In dogs and cats, the most common causes of dental injury are fights with other animals, car accidents, falls from a height, and chewing on hard materials such as bones or rocks. The trauma more often causes fracture of the teeth, but sometimes avulsion or luxation can occur. Avulsion is the complete displacement of the tooth out of the alveolar socket and luxation is the partial displacement of the tooth. Tooth luxation and avulsion represent dental emergencies. Time is an important factor for successful treatment; the prognosis becomes poorer the longer the tooth is out of the socket. This paper describes the guidelines for treatment of dental displacement in cats and dogs and presents six cases of dental lateral luxation in dogs seen at the Veterinary Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (VHUP) in the period from May 1996 to September 1997.

[Replantation and fixation of luxated canine teeth in the dog]. / Replantation und Fixation luxierter Canini beim Hund.

The alveolus of a (usually maxillary) canine tooth in a dog may fracture during fighting or in a car accident. The trauma loosens the tooth with resultant avulsion. Ten patients are reviewed, nine with maxillary and one with mandibular canine tooth avulsion, and a method for fixation and replantation is described.

Replantation of a maxillary canine tooth after traumatic avulsion in a dog.

An infrequent traumatic injury in dogs is avulsion of a tooth from its alveolus. The management of the avulsed tooth is complex. This report describes the treatment of a traumatically avulsed maxillary canine tooth in a dog. Replantation and splinting of the tooth was performed. Despite a protracted extraoral time, follow up clinical and radiographic assessment of the tooth indicated successful replantation.

Problems associated with the diagnosis and treatment of endodontic disease.

The diagnosis of endodontic lesions in animal dentistry is complicated and restricted by the use of objective diagnostic procedures. Human endodontics uses subjective symptoms to a large degree, as well as objective symptoms. Subjective symptoms include patient pain; sensitivity to hot or cold; percussion; and foul taste or odor. Veterinary dentists must receive input from clients, as well as using their own clinical and radiographic evaluation. Many endodontic lesions remain undetected because the client fails to notice broken or discolored teeth, facial swelling, drooling, difficulty in chewing, chewing only on one side, and general malaise. An increased awareness of the endodontic problems that can occur in animals increases the level of veterinary care. Numerous techniques, including apexogenesis, apexification, direct and indirect pulp capping, and conventional and surgical endodontic therapy, can be used to treat various endodontic problems successfully.