Right side showing the lower canine tooth puncturing the roof of the mouth.

Pre-op right side 9/26/06

Pre-op left side 9/26/06

Left side showing the lower canine tooth is puncturing the roof of the mouth (palate).

This patient was a 6 month old Labradoodle in whom the lower canine teeth were puncturing the roof of the mouth. Ordinarily, the crowns of both lower canine teeth should occupy the space between the upper third incisor tooth and the upper canine tooth. This condition is referred to as linguoversion (toward the tongue) of the mandibular canine teeth or "base narrow" canine teeth. Options for treatment include either extraction of both lower canine teeth, crown-reduction therapy, or orthodontic movement. In this case, the owner elected orthodontic movement. Movement was accomplished by placing an apparatus on the upper arcade which was designed to tip the lower teeth out to the side, away from holes in the palate.

Holes can be visualized (arrows) in the roof of the mouth created by the crown cusps of the malpositioned lower canine teeth.

Pre-op palatal view 9/26/06

Post-op palatal view 9/26/06

This apparatus was temporarily applied to the upper teeth to cause the lower canine teeth to tip laterally, away from the roof of the mouth. The dog wore this device for 6 weeks.

Appearance of the right side of the mouth, ten days after the orthodontic appliances were removed. The lower canine tooth is now in the correct position.

Right side 11/13/06

Left side 11/13/06

This is the left side of the mouth, 10 days after the orthodontic appliances were removed. (The appliances were left on for six weeks.) The lower canine tooth is now in the correct position.