rotten tooth

Question
I have no money to get my shitzu/lhasa apso; 10 year old dog's tooth pulled. It is rotten. he is on antibiotics. I have a friend who used to pull sheeps teeth. he said he would pull out my dogs tooth with pliers. Is this safe???

Answer
You have money for antibiotics but not to get the tooth pulled? How much is it for one tooth? And is it just one tooth? In my experience as a small animal dental specialist, it is never just 'one tooth.' Usually many teeth are affected.

I have no idea if it's safe for your friend to pull your dogs tooth out. Sheep and dogs are vastly different as is their dental structures. Some dog teeth have two roots, some have three, some have one. Not only that, but pulling out a tooth that isn't falling out all ready is extremely painful!! Do you want to cause that kind of pain to your dog?

Most dog's teeth just fall out if they are that bad and most owners never even see them since the dogs usually swallow them.

I can't imagine that if you were able to get antibiotics for this dog that you cannot have his teeth properly taken care of. Bad teeth cause much more then bad breath, they can also be the cause of heart, kidney, liver and other diseases. Some studies even show that they can be linked to dementia. A friend of mine was so sick for 3 yrs they thought he was dying until he had a dentist pull out his rotten teeth and he made a total recovery.

So get your dog to the vet where they will do this correctly, safely and with the dog under an anesthetic so he won't feel it. That is the responsible pet owner thing to do.