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bite starting to slip?
by Laurie & Emma
ORIGINAL MESSAGE:
I noticed yesterday that Emma's perfect aligned bite is starting to slip a bit. It is a little undershot. She is 4 1/2 mos. She still has all of her baby teeth. I am wondering if this will correct itself or will she now be undershot? What do I need to watch for?
DISCUSSION:
Well - when I got Phoebe at fourteen weeks I took her in for a checkup and they said four of her teeth needed to be removed because otherwise her bite would be off. We did that . Beautiful alignment. Back to visit the dentist a few weeks after that. At about five months I started noticing that her bite was off - growing? When I had her spayed at six months she also had a couple more baby teeth removed and the veterinarian wanted her to see the dentist in a few weeks. The dentist agreed that her bite was off and that there was nothing he could do - we have to watch one tooth in particular so that it doesn't hit the roof of her mouth. He said that sometimes people will spend the money to have braces put on their dogs, however when the jaw is undershot it's undershot and that's it. (although he did say that he has been asked to actually break a jaw to reset it on more than one occaision - refuses to do so - thank goodness) All in all we have seen three veterinarians and two dentists have all confirmed this same thought. It's not bad, only noticeable from certain angles or if she is in a certain mood. It's a character trait..... The biggest problem has been the fact that frequestn checking of where the teeth hit and how they grind...
Leslie R
Laurie, this is part of the reason why show breeders don't know if the pups will be show dogs until they're 6 to 8 months old. Their teeth aren't done moving till then and there's no failsafe way to tell what's going to happen before then. We got Rudy at 12 weeks because the breeder thought he was going to have an underbite and, low and behold, she was right, although his baby teeth seemed fine when we got him. As others mentioned, there are things you can do, but if it's not affecting Emma's chewing, why bother?
Marie
Thanks Marie and Leslie for your answers. I just wanted to see if maybe some of the show breeders who contribute to this site would tell me if this would correct itself before I call Emma's breeder to ask some questions. She was sold as "show potential" and I haven't decided if I am going that route yet. I know the teeth can be iffy until they are older, but sometimes they can be pretty sure about the bite, knowing the genetics of their dogs like they do.
Laurie & Emma
Be sure you have ALL baby teeth removed before the adult teeth come or the bite can be ruined. Some lines the teeth will drop early and then the adult teeth can come in straight. However if the lower jaw keeps growing and the upper does not then the bite will be undershot. Don't forget that an 'even' bite, that is with the teeth ends touching, is just as correct as a scissors bite. I have seen a slightly undershot pup go to a perfect bite by 2 years. Overshots are another story, I don't think they ever correct. You can't assume that every Champion in your pedigree has a correct bite = have seen many in the past who finished with bad bites. They were just more superior to the competition in other ways. Unless your vet sees tons of small Maltese he may not be familiar with their growth patterns and how they vary. I especially don't like the little nubbins type of teeth sometimes seen, but if the bite sits right that is all it takes. As noted a breeder cannot predict the future of each individual pup. If the bite is just a little off it may not detract from showing.
Mary Lou
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Please bear in mind when reading topics pertaining to health issues, that most of these questions were answered by helpful Maltese owners with no formal education in veterinary medicine. When in doubt seek a professionals advise.