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Sid had a check-up with her primary care vet earlier this year after her carers noticed an unusual swelling on her jaw. Sid’s vet took dental X-rays and a biopsy, which revealed that the swelling was an odontogenic cyst, a pathologic cavity with a lining that contains fluid or semi-solid material. Some of these cysts can develop over a tooth that hasn’t come through (erupted) yet. Sid was then referred to our Dentistry team at The Ralph for specialist investigation and treatment.

Sid had a full oral examination under general anaesthetic, and the Dentistry team took X-rays of her mouth to assess the extent of the cyst. The X-rays showed that the cyst was located near Sid’s lower incisor teeth and extended back towards her third premolar. They also revealed that her left lower canine tooth had not erupted and the tooth was extremely displaced into the centre of Sid’s jaw (see X-rays).

Under the same general anaesthetic, Dentistry Resident, Valentina, extracted three of Sid’s teeth: two incisors and the left lower first premolar. The team also performed an operation on the odontogenic cyst using a technique called marsupialisation. This involves making an incision into the cyst to allow the contents to drain out. 

The displaced lower canine tooth also needed extracting, however, due to the significant bone damage revealed in the dental X-rays, extracting the tooth posed a high risk of jaw fracture. The Dentistry team decided to try leaving the cyst open to drain for three months to allow the bone to remodel and strengthen, and then extracting the displaced canine during a second procedure.

Three months later, Sid returned to our Dentistry team for the second stage of the surgery as planned. Repeat X-rays were performed under general anaesthetic, confirming the successful remodelling/strengthening: there was new bone formation around the canine tooth, which had even started to erupt from Sid’s gum. Valentina successfully extracted the tooth and removed the remaining cyst lining.

We have recently heard that Sid’s surgery site has healed well and she is now back to her normal shenanigans!

The Dentistry Service at The Ralph is provided by Simone Kirby (Dentistry Specialist and Head of Service), Residents Valentina Ferrarese and Charlie Tewson and Dentistry Intern, Karolina Piekos. For more information, email [email protected].

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Take care,

Team Ralph 🐾