Hi all,
My 6.5 yr old boar, Alfie, has been having some dental issues over the past month or so. It started when I noticed what I thought was a piece of hay caught between his upper incisors. Upon closer examination, I noticed this was a small sliver of tooth coming off his incisor, almost as if the tooth had split vertically. The sliver was loose, but not so loose that it could be removed.
I took him to the vet and she seemed pretty unfazed. She trimmed it since it had grown longer than the incisor it originated from and the neighbouring incisor, and was now hitting his lower lip/gums. She suggested that it might eventually come in as one healthy tooth, and just to keep an eye on it for now.
I've since gone for two trimmings because the sliver grows back quickly. Still, the issue is not resolving itself. Today, the vet decided to trim the "tooth sliver" closer to the gum line to give us more time before the next trimming (the last few have been every 2 weeks!!) When I brought Alfie home and examined his teeth myself, I noticed that there appears to be another (different!!) vertical split - this one down the middle! See image below.
Now I'm at a loss... Should I keep going in and hope that it eventually grows back normally? Alfie is eating normally, hasn't lost any weight, isn't behaving differently. Because the tooth is discoloured (and has been since I noticed the issue), I'm slightly worried that there may be a root infection. But the vet hasn't said anything about the colour and hasn't prescribed an antibiotic. Should I be concerned here?
Has anyone experienced this? Any advice?
My 6.5 yr old boar, Alfie, has been having some dental issues over the past month or so. It started when I noticed what I thought was a piece of hay caught between his upper incisors. Upon closer examination, I noticed this was a small sliver of tooth coming off his incisor, almost as if the tooth had split vertically. The sliver was loose, but not so loose that it could be removed.
I took him to the vet and she seemed pretty unfazed. She trimmed it since it had grown longer than the incisor it originated from and the neighbouring incisor, and was now hitting his lower lip/gums. She suggested that it might eventually come in as one healthy tooth, and just to keep an eye on it for now.
I've since gone for two trimmings because the sliver grows back quickly. Still, the issue is not resolving itself. Today, the vet decided to trim the "tooth sliver" closer to the gum line to give us more time before the next trimming (the last few have been every 2 weeks!!) When I brought Alfie home and examined his teeth myself, I noticed that there appears to be another (different!!) vertical split - this one down the middle! See image below.
Now I'm at a loss... Should I keep going in and hope that it eventually grows back normally? Alfie is eating normally, hasn't lost any weight, isn't behaving differently. Because the tooth is discoloured (and has been since I noticed the issue), I'm slightly worried that there may be a root infection. But the vet hasn't said anything about the colour and hasn't prescribed an antibiotic. Should I be concerned here?
Has anyone experienced this? Any advice?