I took Saber for a walk last night and we were almost home when I kind of hurried him across the street. Well, he ended up falling mouth first into the sidewalk. His upper lip was a little bloody but nothing too bad. It wasn't until 9 last night that I thought I would check his teeth. Turns out one of his upper front teeth is broken. I would say 70% of the tooth is gone. I can't be 100% sure that he broke the tooth last night as I don't check his teeth everyday but it's highly likely. He wolfed his food down and ate some hard treats without a problem so I'm not sure if it hurts him or not. But, as we all know, animals are notorious for hiding pain. I wish I could get a picture but he won't hold still. I'm lucky I got to look at it for five seconds.

Anyway, between his back and his dementia he hasn't been doing real good the last couple of weeks so now I'm freaking out about this. I'm going to call my vet later (they don't get in until 4pm today) and see if I can get him in tonight. I'm worried about infection and the fact that his white blood cell count is almost non-existent to fight any infection. I'm also worried the tooth will have to be pulled. I don't want to put Saber under anesthesia if I don't have to because of how old he is. I've also read anesthesia can make dementia worse. I also feel like a jerk. If I hadn't been hurrying him across the street maybe this wouldn't have happened. So, I'm basically driving myself nuts over here.

Any suggestions, advice or experiences? Moral support lol?  Sorry if my post is all over the place and I rambled on, I'm just upset and stressed about the whole situation.

Can he handle antibiotics? My parents golden retriever had an abscessed tooth and were in a similar situation with his age. They didn't want to put him under because of the risk of anesthesia. I suggested fishmox antibiotics, and after several weeks of cipro (fish flox) the abscess was completely gone. I can't remember if the tooth fell out on it's own or not, I asked my mom and am waiting to hear back from her. At the moment, I would just leave it alone and wait to see if any signs of infection develop, redness, gum swelling, pain etc. Is it one of the tiny teeth in the front, or one of the bigger canines? If the root is exposed, maybe the vet can smear a little something on it to protect it.

Also, don't blame yourself, it sounds like he's fine. I have accidently hurt/stepped on Diz so many times, sometimes things just happen. Once, we were wrestling in the house and I acted like I was gonna chase him and he whipped his head around and banged it super hard on our coffee table. Started bleeding like crazy and looked completely dazed! Poor guy had a cut on his tongue because he bit it and was probably seeing stars. He gave me the most confused sad look, and I just felt like the worst person ever! Stuff happens and it's not your fault! Who knows, he may have fallen in the middle of the road if you hadn't hurried him.

It's a small upper tooth in the front, not a canine. Compared to the other ones in the front, this one now looks like an uneven stub. And yes, he would be able to handle antibiotics. I can't tell if the root is exposed, but I'm assuming it must be with how stubby it is now. That's why I want my vet to take a look at it. He might just put Saber on antibiotics because he knows how fragile Saber is.

My mom told me the same thing, that I shouldn't blame myself. He could have fallen anyway or some other time. Rationally, I know this but the neurotic part of me insists on making me feel bad!

Yeah, I completely understand! I hope everything goes well at the vet.

good luck at the vet, if it does not need to be pulled maybe they can put a sealer on it just to protect it. when Sierra was under for her dental she had 2 pulled and like 11 sealed with this white stuff that helps the tooth heal on its own. she had her front one almost worn to the gum before we pulled it so there is a chance he will be just fine with how it is. and do not beat your self up over it, like your mom said it could have happened a while ago

That's good to know, Jenn! If Sierra's tooth was worn almost to the gumline that gives me some hope Saber might not need his pulled. I know my vet would only suggest pulling it if that was the only option left so we'll see what happens.

Danzig had his upper front tooth removed last January. Not sure how it happened but he's a fence biter so that's probably how. The tooth was about half way broken and upon further inspection noticed part of the pulp was out. We took him to the vet and they put him under to remove the tooth completely. Then when they were in there they found a chipped tooth that they ended up bonding. He was totally fine but the first time he woo'ed you could hear air coming through. It was hilarious.

Don''t feel bad. Danzig hurt his paw on our last hike and I had no idea what happened until it was really bad. They can't communicate their aches and pains and there's nothing we can really do about it.

this was her front one we removed after years of it looking at it. she came to us with it messed up. you can see where the root ends and where the tooth starts to see how short it was.

Thanks for the info, everyone.

I took Saber in last night and right now my vet doesn't want to do anything as long as he's eating and drinking okay. He says he's seen a lot worse and there is of course a small risk of infection but he's not too worried about it. He's more worried that it's painful and then we'll have to figure something out then. He doesn't want to pull it unless that's the only option left. So, right now I have to keep an eye on him and I'm going to check the tooth everyday for signs if might be inflamed or infected. The nice part was that my vet didn't charge me anything so that's $35 I didn't have to spend for the office visit. Probably because I'm there every two weeks for Saber's shot as he's a "special case". The vet's words, not mine though I tend to agree. I feel a lot better now and just hope it doesn't end up being a problem.

Yeah as long as the pulp isn't exposed you should be fine. I hope Saber gets to feeling better!

My Sadie chipped her tooth we have no idea how she did it but it is her top front tooth. We freaked out when we found it had the vet look at it and he said not to worry as long as she was eating and chewing like normal. But it keep an eye on it if the gum gets red or starts to bleed to worry. That was a year ago and we have not had any issues or any more chipped teeth.