Common Dog Dental Diseases and Conditions, and How to Treat Them

Most dog owners think "doggy breath" is just part of owning a pet. It isn't. That smell is the first sign of bacteria attacking the gums.

By age three, 80% of dogs have some form of dental disease. It is the most common health issue veterinarians see.

The real danger is that dogs hide their pain. They will continue to eat and play even with a mouth full of infection. By the time you notice a problem, it often requires expensive extractions or surgery.

This guide explains the specific diseases that affect dogs, the stages you can spot at home, and the professional treatments available.

Broken teeth and traumatic injuries

Dogs have powerful jaws, but their enamel is actually thinner than ours. When a dog bites down on something too hard, the tooth often loses the battle.

The most common injury is a "slab fracture." This happens when a piece of the tooth shears off, usually creating a flat surface where the break occurred. It almost always affects the upper carnassial tooth, which is the large premolar used for shearing food.

These fractures frequently expose the pulp canal. This is the nerve center of the tooth. Once the nerve is exposed, bacteria enter the tooth and cause intense pain and infection.

Watch out for these common symptoms:

• Chewing on only one side of the mouth
• Drooling more than usual
• Dropping food while eating
• Shying away when you touch their face

The main culprits are usually harder than the tooth itself. Avoid giving your dog elk antlers, dried cow hooves, ice cubes, or hard nylon chew toys. If you cannot indent a toy with your thumbnail, it is too hard for your dog's teeth.

You cannot ignore a broken tooth. It will not heal on its own. Veterinary dentists typically offer two solutions. You can save the tooth with root canal therapy, or you must extract it completely to remove the source of pain.

Tooth root abscesses and infections

A tooth root abscess in dogs is a severe infection that forms around the base of a tooth. It happens when bacteria invade the root canal, usually through a crack or deep periodontal pocket.

The body sends white blood cells to fight the invaders. This battle creates a buildup of pus. Since the tooth is rigid, there is nowhere for that pressure to go. It builds up in the jawbone and causes throbbing pain.

The most confusing part for owners is the location of the swelling. You might not look in the mouth at all.

The roots of the large upper premolars sit directly below the eye socket. When these roots become abscessed, the infection pushes outward. You will often see a sudden lump or swelling appear right under your dog’s eye.

Many owners rush to the vet assuming their dog has an eye infection or a spider bite. But if you look inside the mouth, the tooth often looks normal on the surface. The trouble is happening underneath.

If left untreated, the abscess will find its own way out. It will burst through the skin on the face or through the gum tissue, releasing pus and blood. This relieves the pressure, but the infection remains.

Antibiotics can temporarily reduce the swelling, but they cannot cure the problem. The infected tooth is dead. It must be extracted or treated with a root canal to remove the source of the bacteria.

Retained baby teeth and developmental issues

Puppies are a lot like human babies. They have a set of sharp deciduous teeth that fall out to make room for their adult set. This switch usually happens between four and six months of age.

But sometimes, the baby tooth refuses to budge. The adult tooth erupts right next to it. Veterinarians call this a persistent deciduous tooth.

You will often see this described as a "double row" of teeth or "shark teeth." It is almost exclusively a problem for small breeds. If you own a Yorkshire Terrier, Chihuahua, Poodle, or Maltese, you need to watch their mouth closely during puppyhood.

Two teeth should never occupy the same space. When they do, it causes immediate trouble:

• Crowding: The baby tooth forces the adult tooth into the wrong position. This creates a bad bite, known as a malocclusion, where teeth strike soft tissue or other teeth.
• Tartar buildup: The gap between the two teeth is tiny. It traps food and hair that you cannot brush out. This leads to periodontal disease at a very young age.
• Weak attachments: The adult tooth may not develop a strong attachment to the jawbone because the baby tooth is in the way.

The rule of thumb is simple. There is no room for two. If you see an adult tooth breaking through while the baby tooth is still firm, that baby tooth needs to go.

Most vets recommend extracting these stubborn teeth at the time of spaying or neutering. This saves your dog from going under anesthesia twice.

Stomatitis and immune responses

Imagine being allergic to your own teeth. That is essentially what happens with Chronic Ulcerative Paradental Stomatitis, or CUPS.

In a normal dog, a little plaque causes mild gum irritation. But for a dog with stomatitis, the immune system overreacts completely. It sees plaque as a massive threat and launches a nuclear attack on the mouth.

This creates painful, raw ulcers on the inside of the cheeks and lips—specifically where they touch the teeth. These ulcers are often called "kissing lesions."

The pain is intense. Dogs with stomatitis often refuse to eat, drool thick saliva, and paw frantically at their faces. Because this is an immune issue, simple cleaning rarely fixes it. For many dogs, the only cure is extracting the teeth to remove the surface that plaque sticks to.

Oronasal fistulas

Your dog's upper teeth have roots that sit just millimeters away from their nasal passages. When periodontal disease eats away the bone around these roots, it can dissolve the thin wall separating the mouth from the nose.

This creates a hole, known as an oronasal fistula. It effectively turns the mouth and nose into one shared cavity.

The symptoms are specific and often misdiagnosed as allergies. Every time the dog eats or drinks, water and food particles travel up through the hole and into the nose. This causes chronic sneezing and infection.

If you see discharge coming from only one of your dog's nostrils, especially after eating, you are likely dealing with a fistula. This will not heal on its own; a vet must perform surgery to close the flap and seal the nose off again.

Discolored teeth and what they mean

Not all dental stains are the same. The color of a tooth can tell you exactly what is happening inside the pulp chamber.

Brown or Yellow: This is usually external. It is a buildup of tartar and calculus on the enamel. While it causes gum disease, the tooth structure itself might still be alive.

Pink or Purple: This indicates "pulpitis." The tooth has been traumatized—perhaps by a blunt impact like catching a ball too hard. The tooth is effectively bruised. The blood vessels inside have burst, staining the dentin from the inside out. This is an active, painful inflammation.

Grey or Blue-Black: This is a dead tooth. The blood supply has been cut off completely. While the acute pain might be gone, a dead tooth is a safe harbor for bacteria. It eventually leads to a root abscess if not extracted or treated.

Professional treatments and prevention costs

Once you spot any of the symptoms above, home remedies are off the table. You need a professional.

Veterinary dentistry often comes with sticker shock. Many owners are surprised to learn that a "doggy dental" is not just a grooming appointment. It is a major surgical procedure.

To do the job right, your dog must be under general anesthesia. This allows the vet to clean below the gumline where the bacteria hide. It also allows them to take X-rays, which is the only way to see the 60% of the tooth hidden by the gums.

The cost varies wildly based on your location and the size of your dog. Here are the estimated price ranges:

Looking at those prices might make you wince. But the financial cost is nothing compared to the physical toll on your dog. Dental disease is a silent killer that damages the heart, liver, and kidneys.

The good news? You can prevent almost all of this at home.

Brushing is the gold standard. But wrestling a toothbrush into a reluctant dog's mouth every night isn't always possible. It often feels like a losing battle.

This is why many owners are switching to simpler alternatives. Bioactive seaweed supplements, like Caniclean for dogs teeth, work systemically. You simply sprinkle it on their dinner. The natural ingredients work through the saliva to soften tartar and prevent plaque from sticking.

The method doesn't matter as much as the consistency. Whether you brush, chew, or sprinkle, the goal is simple: Keep the bacteria at bay, and keep your dog out of the operating room.