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Archived Message

Undershot bite?
by Leslie R
ORIGINAL MESSAGE:
Undershot bite? Phoebe is six and a half months old, a very beautiful little girl who is healthy and loving. When she was a baby we had to have four of her teeth pulled and the vet said we should keep an eye on her bite, it was completely level at that time and she thought the extraction of the teeth would aid in the proper growth of permanent teeth. Hoowever, when her puppy teeth started falling out her bite started to slip, when I had her spayed they checked her teeth and pulled a few more to allow the rest of her adult teeth to come on in and want to see her again next week for a full dental evaluation as her bite is now slightly undershot. I am wondering if any of you have dealt with this problem and how was it handled and what were the results? Any advice/suggestions or comments are greatly appreciated.

DISCUSSION:

Hello! My Ellii had an good bite as a puppy. Teeth meeting edge to edge. But now as an adult, her teeth came in strange. On the top and in front she is actually missing a tooth altogether. The bottom teeth are off center, like you just picked them up and shifted them over one place. Isn't it weird? She has all her adult teeth now and they still meet edge to edge, but the alignment is so off that I was actually worried that she would be able to bite down on things alright. She seems to be doing fine though. Another thing that changed with her was her coat. As a puppy it seemed straight and silky. As she got older it got more cotteny and kinky. It started matting so bad that I finally got her a puppy cut, which is as cute as could be. I had hopes at one time of breeding her, but my husband and I decided to have her spayed. The condition of her coat and teeth would not be something that I would want to see in a litter of puppies. And the more I read at this site, the more I realize that I am totaly unprepared to breed anyway. I think the smart thing is to leave that to the people that have the experience! I have talked to the vet about spaying her. I just have to set up the time to do it. I am a little nervous to tell you the truth. But it is a whole lot better than her having a litter of puppies! Anyway, back to the teeth problem...I don't know that there is anything that a person can do to straighten them out. Doggie Braces???? I don't know. I guess I would be surprised if there was. As long as they can eat etc. without any problems I guess I would just leave them alone. I wonder if this is a normal problem with these little ones. I will be curious to see what other responses you get. Well, God Bless!
Jeannie


Yes, there are "doggie braces"! I saw a picture of them once. I'd say most people wouldn't spend the money if it is just an appearance issue, but in some cases the teeth are so far out of line as to make eating hard or cause damage to the mouth. I don't think they would help much with a under/overbite though, but I believe there are surgical corrections for severe cases. I would have the vet evaluate them as suggested, and you can go over the options at that point. Let us know what they say.
Aimee

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