Common causes of tooth extractions

In this interview with dvm360, Heidi Lobprise, DVM, DAVDC, a senior pet advocate and veterinary dental specialist at Cibolo Creek Veterinary Hospital in Boerne, Texas, discusses the leading causes of tooth extractions in pets. Periodontal disease, Lobprise explains, is the primary reason for extractions, but is largely preventable with good home care and regular cleanings beginning at 1 year of age. Tooth injuries, including blunt trauma or fractures that expose the pulp, are another common reason for extraction.

The following is a transcript of the video, lightly edited for clarity and cohesion.

Heidi Lobprise, DVM, DAVDC: Probably the most common reason for extractions is periodontal disease, which is a little on the sad side because it's pretty preventable in most cases. If you know you're going to have a small dog that's going to live lots of years and have more chance of periodontal disease, with good home care and regular cleanings from age 1 [and] on—and taking it from there as a prevention—you can keep that mouth much healthier than, say, the little dog I saw yesterday. And while certainly now he's going to be much healthier, if he had never gotten to that state, with that stage 3 to 4 periodontal disease, he would have been healthier all along.

So, periodontal disease is certainly number 1. Number 2 would be some type of tooth injury that either fractures the tooth and exposes the canal itself—the pulp—which exposes [it to] bacteria. The pulp dies, and then we have issues there. Or even blunt trauma, where it gets pinkish and purple. So endodontic disease is another big reason.

Occasionally, we're going to do some extractions for young pets if they have malocclusions, and that might help them from having an uncomfortable bite—it will take away that tooth that is causing pain.