The Carolinas Animal Hospital and Dental Clinic

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Case of the Month Archives::
July 09
"Little itchy"

"We Care For Your Pets As If They Were Our Own"

13331 York Center Drive - Suite A
Charlotte, NC 28273 | 704.588.9788

Case of the Month - December 2009

Charlie is a 1 1/2 year old Mountain Lion we recently saw at Carolinas Animal Hospital and Dental Clinic 1 day after he sustained a fracture to his canine tooth.

The pulp (blood and nerve inside of the tooth) was exposed and due to his young age and how recently the fracture occured, we elected to do a Vital Pulpotomy procedure to save his tooth.

Essentially, with a patient under anesthesia, part of the pulp is removed and the tooth is filled with several materials to minimize the potential for infection in the tooth. Then, the crown of the tooth is restored with a bonding material. This is a procedure we routinely perform on domestic cats and dogs with recent tooth fractures (optimally less than 72 hours), especially if they are young animals.

A Vital Pulpotomy keeps the tooth alive and allows the dentin (tooth material) to strengthen over time. The other options for a tooth like this are extraction or sometimes a root canal is performed.

The most appropriate procedure is based on the nature of the fracture, the animal's age and the duration of time from when the fracture occured to when we see the patient.

It is NEVER appropriate to "watch" a tooth that is fractured into the pulp - one of the above-mentioned procedures should be performed as soon as possible after the tooth is injured.

Charlie did great and went home about an hour after waking up from anesthesia. We all enjoyed having the opportunity to work with such a beautiful animal!

Click here for more info on the Vital Pulpotomy procedure.