>Daisy has broken off one of her top two "fang" (incisor?) teeth, about 1/8
>inch up - so it appears like the tip is gone, plus just a little more.
>How do you tell if it bothers them?  Should we just have it pulled?...
 
Oh boy, have I been here before.
 
Yoda and Jawa both had broken fang teeth.  They did theirs by pulling on
the wire of the cage when they were kits.  Yes, I let them out often, they
just wanted out all the time.  Yoda actually has two broken fang teeth.
Jawa just had one.  In time the tooth may begin to discolor and this is
a sign that it may be getting to the bothersome point because decay is
beginining to occur inside the tooth...
 
There are two things they can do.
1.) is a root canal.  This is the more expensive answer, and the problem
with it as I have been told by my vet....is that all of the root may not
be gotten because of the smallness of the teeth and the root bed in
ferrets, so then it will be open to more infection and in the end the
tooth may have to be pulled anyway and
2.) is to just go ahead and pull the tooth.
 
We opted for number 2 on Yoda and Jawa both.  In hind sight, Jawa's
probably would have been okay to have left for a while and just to keep an
eye on.  Yoda's was broken pretty far up and it needed to come off.  After
the removal, he had problems eating for a few days..his lip would get in
the way.  We used a syringe my husband had obtained from an oral surgeon
when he had his wisdom teeth removed and we used that to irrigate the place
where the tooth used to be.  We also added water to his food for a few
days, just to help him be more successful with eating.  Oh and yes he was
put to sleep for his procedure..we had the rest of his teeth cleaned while
he was under.  He was probably sore for a day or so but other than that he
suffered no serious effects.
 
His other fang is also broken, but I haven't had it removed because he
sometimes has problems keeping kernels of food in his mouth without that
other tooth.  The poor thing would be in a sad state if we took out both
fangs.  I think if your girl just has one broken fang and it comes down
to having it removed I would just leave the other one.  Yoda has been
snaggletoothed for three years now and he has suffered no ill effects.  If
it appears the other tooth starts bothering him I will get a root canal
done so he can at least have the tooth to help him hold food in his
mouth....
 
I don't know if you should get the tooth pulled or not.  Yoda's I feel was
necessary, but I think Jawa's was pulled in haste.  You could discuss it
with your vet, and then wait and see if the tooth begans to discolor.
Yoda's was also starting to crack all the way up.  I know it had to hurt.
But I would only have the one damaged tooth pulled if I did get it done.
She needs the other one to eat well.
 
Hope this helps,
 
Melissa and Master Yoda
alabama,usa
[Posted in FML issue 3282]