loss of baby teeth

Archived Message

loss of baby teeth
by Linda R.
ORIGINAL MESSAGE:
My puppy is 5 months old today and seems to have all his baby teeth. He is scheduled for neutering next month and the vet said that he would remove any remaing baby teeth. I don't want him to remove all of my baby's baby teeth! We will be seeing the vet in a couple of weeks and will of course check with him. Does the age of baby tooth loss vary widely? Could a lot be lost in the coming month? Should I not have the vet remove remaining baby teeth (if it is an option the vet agrees to?). Should I postpone the neutering? Any comments on this is appreciated. Thanks.

DISCUSSION:

I'm not an expert on this but it's common for the baby teeth to be removed. My friends maltese had almost 2 complete sets of teeth, and the baby teeth were removed when she was spayed. I understand that this can cause a problem with there bite if not removed and that it is quite common in small dogs. Mandie did lose a few just before she was spayed. I know it seems awful to you but it is OK, mandie didn't even seem to notice her baby teeth were removed.
Gloria

Linda, Lucy had the same problem when I took her in to be spayed. The Vet pulled 5 teeth. Poor thing was sore at both ends. The vet told me that if we didn't go ahead and pull them now and they didn't come out, they would end up having to put her back out again to pull them later. I chose to have it all done at one time. Lucy was only feeling off for a couple of days then was back on her feet and eating as usual.
DeeDee

My 11 month old male baby still has a few of his baby teeth and they are on top of the adult teeth. Beau was neutered at 6 months and his adult teeth hadn't come in yet. Now, the vet must put him under anesthesia in order to pull the remaining baby teeth. Otherwise they might cause problems with the adult teeth. My advise is to get the teeth out now. Now I have to undergo additional risk to Beau because they didn't pull them when he was neutered.
Tricia

My Lucy also kept some of her baby teeth, so had two sets going. My vet removed them when she spayed her to avoid a 2nd anesthesia and also didn't charge very much to do it. If your vet thinks they should come out they probably should. Lucy didn't seem to have much mouth pain after the extractions, if that makes you feel any better about doing both together. Good luck. I know it's hard to make these decisions.
cathy brown

Let the vet pull the teeth. It's common for small breeds to retain baby teeth while the adult teeth come in and this can cause a shifting of the adult teeth. At five months your pup could start losing his teeth any day and the adult teeth can start coming in. The easiest thing you can do for your dog is to have any teth that need to come out removed while he is already under anesthesia. The new teeth come in rapidly once the baby teeth are gone. Phoebe had to have four baby teeth pulled at fourteen weeks, her bite was off. When I had her spayed at six months she still had several baby teeth and they removed four of them & left a few others that were not in danger of causing problems, but we went back for a follw up dental check a few weeks later and the remaining baby teeth - two by this time, were simply pulled by hand right there on the table. I also kept her on her regular dry food, at the vet's suggestion, as the harness would aid in the new teeth coming in and soft food may get into any open area and cause bactieria... Phoebe had no problem eating her normal dry food, though it took her longer to do so!
Leslie R

My two guys, didn't have a problem. They used to chew on nylabones and I think this helped. I would suggest that you wait a month or two and then have your baby neutered. Hopefully he'll have less baby teeth left by then.
JP

Thanks all for your comments. I am a bit confused. It is not as if my puppy has the adult teeth coming in with the baby teeth still in place. I am familiar with the need to remove baby teeth in that situation. He has no secondary teeth! I cannot imagine pulling all the baby teeth without leaving something! I have a vision of him toothless! Leslie, you mentioned that the second teeth come in once the baby teeth are gone. So even if he is toothless, perhaps this stimulates the second teeth to come in. I guess I still have a month to worry! Maybe he will start losing or even getting teeth soon.
Linda R

Linda, you are right - you still have a month to worry about it. I know Phoebe rather surprised me with how fast the baby teeth started getting loose and the new teeth came in! If your baby is chewing everything in sight then he is teething, whether or not you actually see new teeth. Hang in there!
Leslie R

Gizmo started losing his before he was 5 months old and the vet pulled 4 of them when he was in to be neutered, but Niki didn't start losing hers until she was about 8 months old! When I took her in to have her checked the last time, the vet said that many of them were getting loose and, because she was such a late bloomer, to wait until her annual shots were due before deciding to do anything about them. So we're still waiting...
Tricia R.

Tricia,It sounds like the same vet who removed Gizmo's teeth during neutering did not remove Nikki's when she was spayed ( was she spayed?). Maybe the vet has to determine how far along the secondary teeth are....I do not want to have to put my puppy under anesthesia a second time, but neither do I want to wait too long to neuter him. Thanks all for your very helpful inputs. I hope some teeth come out soon! Still got a month to go!
Linda R

Because of other medical problems Arthur isn't able to have anesthetics so I can tell you about his baby teeth. He was 8 months old before he got his adult teeth. At one year he still had his 4 baby canines and became known as the great white shark puppy. By 2 years he had lost the bottom baby teeth and when he was 3 he snagged 1 of the top ones in a friends sweater and lost it. He's 4 now and still has 1 baby tooth left. It takes extra cleaning and we're really hoping he won't get a cavity. You can wait a little longer to see if they come out on their own but one way or another they really have to go.
Dottie Starr

LindaOur maltese lost teeth like crazy, one a day sometimes. Even then, all the baby teeth weren't out when she was to be spayed. The vet took them out then and she was OK. They have to go ahead and remove them because if they're not lost by a certain age, the puppy could develop problems with its bite. Don't worry, I'm sure your baby will be fine.
Missy

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