Chipped Tooth

I noticed several days ago that Denali had chipped an upper incisor, one of those little bitty top teeth. The tip of the tooth was gone, and some gray-ish material was visible. No redness or blood. I ran my finger across it and she didn't seem to mind, but the inner gray-ish part felt soft and loose. The tooth itself was not loose. I have no idea when the chip occurred. Her teeth were looked at closely about a month ago while we on vacation and I was showing Zebulon's crooked front bottom tooth to my husband's relative. That lead to me checking the teeth in Everest's mouth as well as the dogs, and all was fine. Being a front tooth I see them often so I doubt if it had been chipped more than even a few days before I noticed.

It hasn't been bothering her at all. She still eats normally, drinks normally, she's not licking her lips a lot or rolling her head around, pawing at her mouth, none of that. I have no idea what caused the chip. I have fed them outside a bit recently and there are very small rocks in the dirt that could have done it. I'd already decided no more eating outside until the grass is more grown in before I'd noticed the chip. It could also very well be from the raw diet, I don't deny that. It's a risk. The hardest bones they've had lately are from chicken and turkey, which are very soft, the hardest being turkey drumsticks which they did have pretty recently. I've never seen her use her front teeth on a drumstick though, just her back molars like all other bones. My general rule is that I don't give them any bones that aren't easily chomped because the risk of chipping, cracking, and breaking teeth on hard bones is very real. Or it could have been she knocked her teeth on Kaytu or another dog while playing, or into a wall or something. I'll never know!

Despite it not being a visible bother to her, I didn't know if she was hiding her pain or if she was ok. I don't know anything about the structure and formation of teeth and didn't know how bad it was to be seeing the gray-ish material. I posted pics asked around the all-knowing internet and determined a vet visit was needed. It's possible for chipped teeth to lead to infections and a much bigger problem. Best to get a vet opinion.

Click to enlarge

Click to enlarge

Click to enlarge

The vet said it will likely seal over on its own and not be a problem but to keep an eye on it. I'd hate to have it pulled and it may need to be down the road, but probably not. Likely she will be completely fine with it the rest of her life. We also have one of the best doggie dental specialists in the world in my area so if I wanted a root canal, crown, etc it could be done. Costs a small fortune, but it can be done. In the end, she's a dog, so I'd get it pulled opposed to fixed if the time came. Hopefully she'll never have any further issues with it though.