Regional Veterinary Surgery

CONGENITAL OR DEVELOPMENTAL ANOMALIES

Abnormal number of teeth

• Supernumerary incisors and molars are frequently seen and it must be differentiated from retained deciduous teeth.
• There may be one or two extra teeth or a complete extra row of teeth 
• Due to lack of wear by not coming in contact with any apposing teeth, these extra teeth show abnormal prominences which cause injury to soft tissues are to be shortened or removed.

Irregularities in the shedding of temporary teeth

• The temporary teeth may persist for a longer period. This may in turn delay the eruption of the permanent teeth or may alter their direction.

Abnormalities of the position and direction of teeth

• When the teeth grow in an abnormal position or direction, they fail to come in contact with their counterparts in the opposite jaws. This causes lack of wear and the teeth become excessively long, causing injury to the soft tissues they come in contact with.
• Periodical shortening of the overgrown teeth is indicated in such cases.

Abnormalities due to alterations in the substance of the teeth

• Dentigerous cysts
  • A dentigerous cyst is one containing a tooth from the bone over which it is situated. It is seen occasionally in the horse and rarely in cattle, sheep and dogs.
  • It develops soon after birth, along with tooth eruption and is usually noticed by about two years old. It appears initially as a soft painless swelling towards the front of the base of the ear.
  • Later the wall of the cyst ulcerates and then ruptures, leading to the escape of the fluid.
  • Passing a probe through the opening may confirm the diagnosis. As a rule, the teeth are not firmly fixed, but embedded deeply in the temporal bone. Several teeth may develop successively, following removal of a tooth.

Treatment

• Surgical excision of the lesion and try to extract the teeth without fracturing the skull.