Debbie writes:
>Talked to one vet and he said brown teeth can come from medicine given to
a ferret or food....
 
In my experience, staining from medications usually is only right at the
gumline - and usually only on the canines.  The only time I've seen food
cause something like this is due to tartar, but that can be removed and
isn't part of the tooth itself.
 
>The one year old has one partially brown tooth.  The 4 year old has one
>totally brown... They were fed Purina Cat Chow..  Not sure how long this
>was fed.  I did read 2 archieves that this food will cause brown teeth.
 
If the tooth is entirely brown, in my opinion the tooth is dead and
certainly needs to be looked at as to whether or not the tooth needs to
be removed.  The ferret we have now with a dead canine is doing okay, not
great - but the tooth has nothing to do with it - even though it is dead,
the canine is still firmly rooted in the gum and causing no problems that
the vet could ascertain.
 
Lisa Leidig, Head Ferret
The Ferret Haven "By-the-Sea"
http: www.ferrethaven.org
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[Posted in FML issue 2928]