Deaca gets a filling

This is Deaca (can you guess which ACC team her owner's cheer for?).  She is an extremely energenic and friendly one year old Standard Poodle.  She presented yesterday for treatment of an abnormal maxillary canine tooth.  The left upper tooth looked like this:

This tooth was missing a large area of enamel.  Enamel is the hardest and most dense biological structure in mammals.  Dogs have a relatively thin layer of enamel compared to people.  If the enamel does not form normally it can be weak and brittle.  Deaca's tooth was probably damaged during early development and the result was a an area of abnormal enamel.  In some cases the tooth will actually die because too much dentin is exposed, but Deaca's tooth still appeared to be viable.  So to prevent further damage the tooth was restored with a light-cured composite.  First the diseased enamel, tartar and plaque were gently removed:

Some staining of the enamel remained.  Next the surface was prepared by acid etching. 

The tooth was rinsed and the excess moisture was removed.  The restorative composite was applied in several layers and smoothed with finishing discs.

Deaca did very well during the procedure and was a pleasure to treat!

You can visit westsideanimal.com to learn more about pet dentistry.