Dog in the Dental Chair: Shepherd Gets Gold Crowns

I have more than 45 years’ experience in the industry and have been collaborating with veterinary dental specialists for the last decade. Most of the animal restorations we do involve only one or two teeth, usually a canine or a carnassial tooth; carnassial teeth are the upper fourth premolar and the lower first molar and designed to shear flesh and bone.

This case involved replacing all four canines for this 10-year-old German Shepherd who fractured them on a metal cage; the interdigitation factor made it more complex. The veterinary dentist’s treatment plan began with a professional dental cleaning, root canal treatment and crown preparations. He sent a detailed impression and I fabricated four cast gold restorations.

~ Richard Masters, CDT, Owner, Masters Dental Lab, Williamsport, PA