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Root Canal Therapy

Understanding Endodontic Disease in Pets

Endodontic disease refers to disease of the pulp, the soft tissue inside the tooth that contains nerves, blood vessels, and connective tissue. When the pulp becomes damaged, inflamed, or infected, it can cause significant pain and discomfort for your pet—even if they don’t show obvious signs of distress.

What Causes Endodontic Disease?

In humans, dental cavities (caries) are the most common cause of endodontic disease, often requiring root canal therapy to treat. However, in dogs and cats, cavities are rare. Instead, the most common causes of endodontic disease in pets include:

✔️ Fractured Teeth – Teeth can break due to chewing on hard objects (bones, antlers, nylon toys), trauma, or accidents. A fracture can expose the pulp, leading to infection and pain.
✔️ Concussive Pulp Damage – Even if a tooth isn’t visibly broken, blunt force trauma (such as catching hard toys or impact injuries) can damage the pulp, leading to internal tooth death.
✔️ Tooth Discoloration – A discolored tooth (pink, purple, gray, or black) is a strong indicator of pulp damage or infection, even if the outer tooth appears intact.

🚨 No fractured or discolored tooth should ever be ignored! 🚨

Why Is Treatment Necessary?

Endodontic disease is painful and, if left untreated, can lead to:
⚠️ Severe infections & abscesses
⚠️ Bone loss & damage to surrounding teeth
⚠️ Chronic pain that affects eating and overall well-being

Unfortunately, pets rarely show obvious signs of dental pain, so it’s important to proactively address damaged teethbefore they lead to more serious complications.

Treatment Options for Endodontic Disease

Once the pulp is damaged or infected, treatment is required to prevent pain and infection. The appropriate treatment depends on the severity of the damage and the pet’s overall health. Options include:

Vital Pulp Therapy (VPT) – If a tooth fracture is identified immediately after injury (typically within 48 hours), vital pulp therapy may be an option to preserve the tooth’s vitality. This procedure involves removing a small portion of the exposed pulp, applying a medicated dressing to encourage healing, and sealing the tooth to prevent infection. VPT is typically only an option in young animals with open root canals, where preserving the tooth’s natural development is beneficial.

Root Canal Therapy – If the pulp is infected or dead, but the structure of the tooth is still strong, a root canal can save the tooth. This involves removing the diseased pulp, disinfecting the root canal, and sealing it to prevent future infection. Root canal therapy is ideal for functionally important teeth such as the canines and large chewing teeth (carnassials).

Crown Placement (Post-Root Canal Therapy) – After a root canal, we may recommend placing a protective crown over the treated tooth, particularly for working dogs, active pets, or those prone to chewing on hard objects. A crown reinforces the tooth, reducing the risk of future fractures and preserving function for years to come.

Tooth Extraction – If a fractured or diseased tooth cannot be salvaged, surgical extraction is necessary to remove the infection and relieve pain. While extractions are effective, they do alter the pet’s bite and chewing ability, which is why we prioritize saving teeth whenever possible.

Advanced Endodontic Care at Pet Dental Center

At Pet Dental Center, we specialize in advanced diagnostics, endodontic treatments, and pain management, ensuring your pet receives the highest level of care. If your pet has a fractured, discolored, or painful tooth, don’t wait—schedule an evaluation today to explore the best treatment options for their long-term oral health.

Pet Dental Center can offer advanced endodontic treatments like root canal therapy, vital pulp therapy, apexification and hemisectioning (multirooted teeth) to salvage teeth with fractures and endodontic disease.

Each tooth with endodontic disease will first need to be assessed with dental radiographs to determine if root canal therapy is an appropriate treatment option.

These three pictures represent root canal therapy and full metal crown restoration of a fractured fourth premolar in a dog.

Pet Dental Center

EMAIL

Contact@petdental.center


VISIT OR CALL

Pet Dental Center

9250 Corkscrew Rd.
Suite 18
Estero, FL 33928

(239) 888-6761

HOURS OF OPERATION

8:00am-6:00pm M–Thurs
9:00am-4:30pm on Friday
CLOSED Saturday
CLOSED Sunday

Commonly Asked Questions

Does My Pet Need A Dental Cleaning?

Dental cleanings should be recommended based on each individual pet’s level of plaque and calculus build up and gingivitis. For some pets, cleanings may be necessary every 6 months, for others it could be every couple of years. More importantly, pets need to have routine oral evaluations with dental probing and full mouth dental radiographs no less than every 2 years and in some pets every 6 months. This includes pets who may have minimal plaque, calculus or gingivitis. It must be understood that clean teeth are not always healthy and therefore could be causing you pet pain or discomfort.

My Dog Has Bad Breath.

Bad breath is the number one symptom of advanced dental disease in pets. In most cases, bad breath in pets originates from disease causing bacteria. When pathogenic bacteria begin to flourish in the mouth, bad breath develops. It is important to have your pet’s oral health fully assessed with thorough oral examination and dental radiographs as soon as bad breath is noticed to prevent severe infections and tooth loss. These bacteria can also negatively affect other parts of the body and contribute to cardiac or renal disease.

My Pet Has Increased Risks For Anesthesia, How Can They Get The Dental Care They Need?

It is not fair to make a pet live with chronic dental pain and infection because they are considered an increased risk for anesthesia. At Pet Dental Center, we specialize in providing high level anesthesia care for geriatric pets and those with increased risks such as heart, kidney, liver, neurologic, diabetes and Cushing’s diseases. Because of our reputation for providing the highest level of anesthesia care possible, we average treating one high risk patient each day. Trust your pet with the ones who perform the most anesthesia procedures in high risk patients, Pet Dental Center.

Is It Normal For My Pet’s Teeth To Fall Out?

Baby or deciduous teeth are supposed to fall out when dogs and cats are teething, between 3 and 7 months of age. Adult or permanent teeth are present for the life of a dog and cat as long as they are healthy. If your pet is losing adult teeth there is severe dental disease. Advanced periodontal disease is the most likely cause for a pet losing teeth although dental fractures and tooth resorption are other likely causes.

What Kind Of Chews Are Good For My Pet’s Teeth?

Brushing your pet’s teeth is the best way to prevent dental disease at home and should be performed daily. When your pet does not accept brushing or for supplemental dental care in those pets who are getting their teeth brushed, dental chews can be a good choice. We recommend using dental chews that have the Veterinary Oral Health Council (VOHC) seal of approval. This verifies that the product has been tested in clinical trials and was shown to significantly reduce plaque or calculus. We also recommend slowly introducing dental chews by offering a reduced amount of the chew and observing your pet while chewing. This is to make sure he or she does not swallow a large portion of the chew that could lead to choking or digestive complications. Hard chew objects such as bones, hooves, antlers, thick rawhide products and plastic toys often lead to dental fractures and should always be avoided.