My dog's tooth is loose and painful. Is it a baby tooth or serious?

Thanks for visiting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I do see a baby tooth there (the really pointy sharp tooth) and that is likely the tooth you are saying is really loose. Usually pets lose their baby teeth by the age of 6 months, so Vader is a bit of a late bloomer. I would recommend having your vet take a look at the tooth in person to see if it can be manipulated to come out. It may just come out on its own, but again, usually by this age the baby teeth are already gone. No need to worry too much however. If it does not come out on its own, then it can always be extracted at a later date. It is best to extract them to avoid overcrowding of the teeth and advanced dental disease. I would recommend brushing Vaders teeth often (3 times a week) to help remove foodstuffs that might get stuck there. Otherwise, plan on seeing your vet soon for further care if it doesn't happen to fall out soon. Best wishes with Vader and good luck with his stubborn baby tooth. Take care.

It sounds like the tooth you are referring to is the lower left canine when I look at your picture, rather than an incisor. Because it is a canine tooth that is affected, I would recommend that you make an appointment and have your vet take a look. The canine teeth have very large, strong roots and leave large holes when they come out. I am glad that she is still eating, but it sounds like you do need to get her in. Even if she needs to have it extracted under anesthesia, this is a better option than opening her up to a potential infection, which could be very serious if it were to involve the bone of the lower jaw (mandible). There are also other changes your vet can look for that may have caused the tooth to become loose in the first place, such as a tumor of some kind in her mouth. Good luck with her, I hope this information is helpful for you!

If she has a tooth hanging out, it's not necessarily an emergency, but I would recommend taking her to vet in the morning. If it's a baby tooth, it is usually not a problem since they will fall out eventually. If it's an adult tooth that is hanging, she will likely need to be put under anesthesia to have it extracted as these broken adult teeth are very painful and prone to infection.

I think this looks like a baby canine tooth, which would normally be falling out around this age. Usually the adult tooth is already partially growing in, so if you truly feel like this may have been an adult tooth you may want your vet to take a look.

I'm so sorry that Smokey's teeth seem to be causing him some discomfort. Based on his age, however, this may be completely normal. It is common for dogs to loose their baby canine teeth around 5-6 months, so it sounds like he is right on schedule for having that tooth fall out. You can let him chew on a cold washcloth to see if that helps give him some comfort. You can also soften his food with warm water if he seems reluctant to eat because of his baby teeth. That being said, if it is his adult tooth that is loose, he needs to be seen by your vet as soon as possible. Also, if the baby tooth that is loose is at all discolored or broken, I would take him to your vet as well as it could be infected and could cause damage to the adult tooth. Best of luck to you and Smokey!

The picture is a little blurry but it does appear to look like a tooth. Makivali should have lost all his puppy teeth by ten months old but some small breed dogs can be late in development. If you don’t know what adult teeth look like vs puppy teeth, I would recommend to have him seen by his veterinarian to know if this is a normal tooth shedding or if this is a broken tooth, tooth root abscess or other pathological process. Many times pets don’t exhibit many signs of dental pain so you can’t base a decision off how he is acting. If it’s a normal puppy tooth, no reason to change his food. If it’s related to disease, you need to address that and may temporarily change him to a soft diet. I hope this helps and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

It looks like he chewed something hard enough to loosen them or injured them otherwise. Maybe he was chewing something, got his teeth caught, panicked, and tore loose. From his expression he doesn't seem to be in any pain but I would call your vet and describe the problem and see if they recommend coming in. I feel this would probably heal okay on its own, but it's best to check with your vet and get their opinion.