New puppy, teeth problem, question

[HTP99]

Wonder if someone in the know could advise me about an issue that a friend has been made aware of regarding an imminent Portuguese water dog puppy arrival.

They have been advised by the breeder that their vet has noticed that the puppy has a lingual displacement of the mandibular canine; basically one of the lower canine teeth is digging into the upper gum, according to the breeder this is a relatively common orthodontic problem with adult teeth but it may not re-occur with her adult teeth.

They have been given the opportunity to pull out of the purchase and have all monies refunded, however they have also been offered a £100 discount on the original purchase price.

I guess as the puppy has milk teeth then the tooth in question will naturally fall out, however is this an issue that is likely to come back with adult teeth and is if so is it anything to worry about in terms of ongoing costs which may get out of hand if it does?

Thanks

[carinatauk]

Hi, is there a FB / website for PWDs? That might help check whether this is genetic etc; if so, responsible breeding needs to be considered if he is thinking that way.

Also check for over / under bite.

Or ask for photos and vets report and show to your vet / specialist.

[makaveli144]

I have no experience when it comes to dog dentistry or orthodontics. The only watch out from me would be insurance.

If they are planning to insure the dog and anything happens with regards to the mouth some insurers point blank wont cover it. Others may rule it out as pre existing if it gets logged at a vets.

[irc]

Have a read at this.

https://www.dentalvets.co.uk/common-cases/linguall...

https://ivc-lv-prod-ep-01.azureedge.net/mediaconta...

This can be a genetic condition. The severity can vary. We had a standard poodle pup where this condition was missed by the breeders vet. Our vet saw it right away. Both lower canines displaced. Our vet said it was fairly bad case.

While our vet has good facilities and does many operations he said this was a case for a specialist. Unless done carefully removing the baby teeth can damage the underlying adult teeth.

"Removal of the deciduous canines is complex surgery. In general terms the length of the root is three times the length of the visible crown. To successfully influence events all of the tooth must be removed without any resort to instrumentation on the lingual aspect. The reason for this is that instrumentation on the lingual aspect of the deciduous canine will severely damage the soon to erupt permanent canine. This damage is permanent and life long. "

While the baby canines could be removed there was a good chance the adult teeth would go the same way. The treatment for the adult would be cutting them down and root treatments.

The dental specialist was referral only so would have needed x-rays from our vet (taken under anaesthetic) and the cost for the baby teeth operation would have been £12 - £1300 plus our vets fees for x-rays. With probably higher costs at 6 months if the adult canines needed treated.

As for the free pet plan insurance supplied when we bought the pup - our vet was of the opinion that this was a pre-existing condition as it was a genetic flaw. I phoned Petplan who would only say that we would need to pay upfront then see if it was covered - but pre-existing conditions weren't.

Tough call. Our vet said that if it was him he would return the pup to the breeder. We did this and were refunded with no issues. It appears that as expected from a condition caused by a recessive gene around 1/4 of the litter were affected. Our pup and one other had the problem from a litter of 9.

[HTP99]

Cheers for the replies, my wife's family decided to go ahead with the purchase of the dog, they got off the cost of an initial op to have the tooth removed, as it is and will just see what happens when it comes into adult hood.