It is relatively common for dogs to break or crack their teeth. It can happen from chewing on hard objects or from getting hit in the mouth. Breaking a tooth is a painful injury, especially if the nerve is exposed. You may notice your dog scratching the side of his face, drooling, or licking excessively. He may also only chew on one side of his mouth.
So if you notice your dog has a broken tooth, what should you do? Vet dental care is expensive, and some dogs break or loose a tooth without any ill effects. But there can be some dire consequences for leaving a broken tooth untreated.
Pain
Dogs are pack animals. In survival mode, showing any pain could be considered a sign of weakness. When your dog breaks a tooth they may act as if nothing is wrong. But that does not mean that they are not in pain. If the tooth nerve is exposed, that will be extremely painful to your dog even if they show no outward signs.
Infection
Once a tooth cracks or breaks, bacteria can enter the tooth. Infections are painful, but the larger danger is inflammation. Bacteria travels to the interior of the tooth and into the jaw bone. Inflammation strangles the root of the tooth, cutting off its blood supply. Until the nerves in the tooth are dead, inflammation is painful and uncomfortable for your dog.
Abscess
Once an infection spreads to the jaw or sinuses, it will start to kill the surrounding tissue. The result is an abscess. Puss quickly fills up the area, and you may see a squishy lump on the jaw or right under the eye. If a broken tooth has had time to become abscessed, you not only have to deal with the tooth itself, but treat the infection and diseased facial tissue as well.
Spread of infection
Infections in the mouth can easily be carried through the blood to other body organs such as the heart and liver. Prolonged exposure to bacteria can cause damage to the heart and other organs, making them weak. In extreme cases, oral infections could even lead to the death of your dog.
Blindness
While it’s important to treat any broken tooth in your dog’s mouth, a break in the carnassials is especially risky. The carnassial teeth are the 4th premolar teeth in the back of your dog’s mouth. Breakage and infection of these teeth happen just like they do in other teeth, but the position of the carnassials may lead to blindness if an infection goes untreated, based on their location in the mouth.
Sources:
Canine Tooth Abscess: Signs, Symptoms, and Treatment
What To Do When A Dog Breaks A Tooth
American Veterinary Dental Society Broken (Fractured) Teeth
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