Bonjour!
 
    I've been very busy fo a while and still trying to catch the back
issues of FML...  And there have been a lot of question about teeth.
So in response to:
 
David: re: broken tooth...
 
    As you say that your ferret doesn't seem to have any discomfort and
only a thin chip of the tooth is missing, you should not be anxious by
now...  If you see darker spot in the next weeks or months, it will be the
dentin who is is getting stained.  When a tooth breaks without pulp
exposition but with exposed dentin, a nociceptive reaction (pain) may
happens when cold, hot or sweet things come in contact to the fresh exposed
dentin.  But as the dentin becomes more mineralized with the mineral
components of the saliva, the incomfort decreases and no treatment needed
(for ferret not for human ;).  IF the pulp is exposed, an intolerable pain
will take place and you can see a small red spot (pulp) in the center of
exposed part of the broken tooth.  Treatment should be done rapidly to avoid
pain and subsequent infection.  It can be: extraction (too radical...),
pulpotomy (partial ablation of the pulp, medication and filling) or root
canal treatment...  More and more vets have some knowledge about dentistery
and dentists can help for special treatment like root canal...  One of my
collegue had performed a root canal treatment on an elephant!
 
John: re: falling tooth...
 
    Your baby is become an adult now ;) It's just normal that the teeth fall
like that because for ferrets, humans and all mammals, deciduous or baby
teeth fall after their(s) root(s) having been resorbed as the permanent
teeth coming.  But don't forget to put the tooth under the pillow of your
ferret to let "la fee des dents" take it and leave a raisin instead!!!
 
Anne et ses furets:
             @-"-@              @---@               o__o
            ( 0-0 )            <=*"*=>             (. . )
---------oOO--\Y/--OOo------oOO--\o/--OOo------ooO--\v/--Ooo--------------
 
            Victor 8>           Hugo 8>             Adele :>
 
Anne Charbonneau DMD MSc  [log in to unmask]   Tel: (514) 343-5924
Professeure adjoint       [log in to unmask]      Fax: (514) 343-2233
Faculte de medecine dentaire
Universite de Montreal
[Posted in FML issue 1376]