Mandel Vet's DVM Notebook

This is a radiograph of the jaw of a dog who came in for a routine teeth cleaning. The year before the dog had had a molar extracted. Upon examination this dog had a swelling and tenderness at the area where the tooth had been extracted but nothing that had been noticed by the owner. X-rays show two distinct tooth root fragments. The root tips had fractured from the tooth when it had been extracted. Teeth should always be extracted intact as root tips can and will cause chronic pain and infection as it did in this case. These tips were surgically extracted and a picture of them is shown below.