Please note:
Treatment has been carried out at Penmellyn Veterinary Surgery in St Columb Major (Cornwall). The Instruments are specially designed for Treatment of Dogs or other Animals. We don't treat animals in our surgery :)

Case Report

A 8-year old dog female dog "Berras" was referred for the restoration multiple fractured teeth.

It was thought that the fractured teeth was the result of excessive chewing of hard objects (wood, bone) in combination with underdeveloped enamel.

The procedure was carried out by the Dentist Peer Nelz and the Vet Pat Lockett at Penmellyn Veterinary Surgery in St Columb Major (Cornwall)

Special Root Canal Instruments:

As Dog Canines can be up to 55mm (twice the length of human roots) special root canal files are needed. The treatment protocol is similar to human root canal treatment. Technique of the choice was the lateral condensation technique with Sealer (Endomethasone) and Guttaperchapoints.

The procedure was carried out under general anaesthesia and some local anaesthesia (for the root canal work). Intraoral X-rays have been taken and upper left, lower right and upper right canine have been root canal treated and filled.

Upper right and lower right canine were prepared for stainless steel crowns and impression was taken.

The Crowns have been fitted 7 days after impression.

Procedure:
A single dosage of 20mg diazepam was administered 5 hours prior to the cementation of the crowns .

The Crowns have been fitted on the 22nd of October 2007. Until now the crowns are in place and there are no problems to report.

Why Crowns?

1.) Root canal treatment weakens the tooth due to dehydration and the extend of the preparation.

2.) There's also a risk of re- infection due to leaking or breaking of simple fillings.

It is therefore advisable to fit stainless steel crowns to avoid these complications which often lead to the extraction of the tooth with a compromised bite and chewing function as result.

The shape of the crowns should be different from the natural shape of the tooth:

The Crowns should be much shorter then the original tooth to avoid stress and fracture (Lever shortening). Titanium or stainless steel seems to be the ideal material for crowns for animals. Ceramic Crowns or Bonded Crowns require more preparation and might fracture more easily although zirconium crowns might be an option as well.

questions are welcome:

peer@atlanticdental.co.uk

next case: Izzy the Policedog

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