Norman's Black Teeth
Norman is a beautiful, strong, tall, white and brindle greyhound in beautiful condition. But don't ask Norman to smile, because if he does, you'll see that from his canines going back to his and molars were covered in black muck with little white tips. Dr. Berman had Norman's case and once Norman was unconscious on the table and we could get a really close look, she asked me how many teeth I thought he would have to be extracted. I answered that sometimes not as many as we might think.
In Norman's case, there was no surprise. After cleaning his teeth, we concluded that sixteen teeth needed to come out and his two upper canines needed to be bonded. Dr. Berman was really lucky. When you get a dog with teeth like Norman's, with so much root exposure, nature has done some of your job. Much of the root is no longer being held in by the jaw. The jaw-line is gone and only extensive exposure remains. It's easier to pull those teeth out.
Also, in many cases like this, we don't even have to suture the cavity wound. We go into the cavity where the tooth has been removed and laser it, cauterizing and killing all surface bacteria at one time. Norman bled very little because there wasn't very much holding the teeth in.
Photos show Norman before we started, after we cleaned his teeth and then after we removed all of the teeth on the right side. No sutures, no bleeding. I am unaware of any other facility that is quite as advance as ours in dealing with this issue.
Above: Black Discoloration.
Above: Root exposure on the molars, premolars and canine. The tips of the canines were worn.
Above: After extractions. In this case they were mostly lasered.
Above: One day after surgery. Note that the tip of the canine has been bonded.
