It will come as no surprise to many pet owners to hear of a Yorkshire Terrier having 7 teeth extracted.These small dogs have a reputation for dental disease with the consequent loss of affected teeth.

What may interest some people is that this patient was only 6 months of age! The reason for their removal was not that they were diseased but that they shouldn't have been there.

Dogs, like humans, have 2 sets of teeth (not counting false ones!). A small set of temporary or deciduous teeth which are then replaced by a larger permanent set. As the larger teeth cut through the gums the smaller ones are pushed up and fall out.

However, in small breed dogs and Yorkshire Terriers in particular these temporary teeth can sometimes remain in place. This gives the appearance of 2 rows of teeth like a shark. A rather small shark admittedly when you bear in mind that "Toby" Cuppleditch weighs in at only 4 and 1/2 pounds!

As a consequence of overcrowding the mouth there are a variety of different "nooks and crannies" for food particles to accumulate and consequently the build up of plaque and eventually gum disease. Given the rate at which most small dogs teeth normally deteriorate this is one factor which can be easily rectified.

At Fairfield, we provide free adolescent health checks by one of our fully qualified veterinary nurses to our vaccinated puppies at 6 months of age. This provides an additional opportunity for any juvenile problems to be addressed including behaviour and body weight.

The pets also have the benefit of receiving some affection and treats from the nursing staff as opposed to a needle in the back of the neck which they most often associate with myself!

Having identified the problem the dental work can then be co-ordinated with other routine procedures such as castration as with "Toby" to avoid having to perform a second general anaesthetic.
Whilst "Toby" may not understand why he has treatment "at both ends" I'm sure he appreciates we mean well!

Terry Dunne BVMS, Cert SAO, MRCVS

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