Pine Creek Veterinary Associates

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Getting Down with Dr. Dubbs, 1st Edition

Down with Dr. Dubbs!

Each month we will be posting articles from Dr. Dubbs!

This way you can get information directly from the doctor!

The articles may be information or medical cases that Dr. Dubbs has seen.

(all cases are posted with permission from the owner)

MEET SOPHIE!

(and our veterinary assistant Rachael)

Sophie is a 6-year-old border collie that came to our hospital to evaluate a swelling on her jaw.

When I met Sophie, she jumped into my lap and gave me a hug. She is the sweetest dog. When I examined her, I found a small chip on the tip of her lower canine tooth. Even small chips can become a serious problem. In Sophie’s case, the chip exposed dentin and allowed bacteria to invade the tooth and work its way down to the root tip.

From there, the bacteria began to damage the jaw bone which caused the swelling. We put Sophie under general anesthesia and took radiographs of her teeth. The radiographs confirmed our suspicions. The only effective treatments for this problem are either a root canal, or removing the tooth. In Sophie’s case we removed the tooth.