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Military working dog receives 'canine' treatment, sports gold crowns

  • Published
  • By 2nd Lt. William Powell
  • 325th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. (AETCNS) --  Most dentists here have performed dozens, if not hundreds, of root canals in their career, yet none have ever risked losing a limb for sticking their hand between the jaws of a patient.

That is, until now.

Enter Rex, a 5-year-old military working dog, who would have gladly removed a few poking and prodding fingers from his mouth as he received three root canals during a two-day operation recently here. Fortunately for the dentists, the German shepherd was sound asleep.

According to Army Capt. (Dr.) Leah Tingley, Tyndall veterinarian, military working dogs often need extensive dental work partly because excessive bite-work training can wear down their teeth. She said veterinarians are trained to perform root canals, but dentists are preferred.

"The dentists are the true subject matter experts," she said. "(Veterinarians) are trained for it, but we don't get to practice it a lot."

Dentists are root canal experts for humans, but Capt. (Dr.) Michelle Getz, 325th Aeromedical-Dental Squadron general dentist, said this was the first time she's seen a dog in the dental office in the year she's been here. When she was asked to perform the time-consuming operation, she knew she would have some studying to do to ensure her first canine root canal was successful.

"I did a residency program at Keesler AFB, Miss., and there was some training on dogs - mostly lectures - but it was my first time, so I was a little nervous," Dr. Getz said as she prepared to begin. "I read the veterinary dentistry book to really make sure I was prepared."

In addition to the bite-work training, Rex needed the operation because of a bad habit he has, said Tech. Sgt. Jake Burkett, 325th Security Forces Squadron kennelmaster.

"As soon as he's done eating, he just tears into his metal food pans and throws them across the room," he said.

Over time, chewing on his food pans and kennel cage wore down his four canine teeth, which are the sharp extenders, or fangs. If left untreated, the area could have become prone to chronic infection. A rotten tooth has little to no blood supply, which limits the body's ability to kill the festering bacteria in that area. The teeth could have become a gateway for toxins and different poisons to enter the body.

And Rex's sore teeth were already becoming a major interference with his job performance, said Staff Sgt. John Russum, 325th SFS MWD handler.

"I think he was a little hesitant to bite down during bite work, so we should see an immediate improvement," he said.

Performing a root canal on a dog is similar to operating on a human, except a normal dog's canines can be up to 55 millimeters long, nearly twice the length of an average human tooth, and the tooth and root is curved in a dog, said Maj. (Dr.) Orlando Colon, 325th ADS general dentist. The extra length and curvature adds strength to the dog's bite, but it also takes more time and steady nerves for the dentist to perform the operation.

The dentists began by drilling a hole on the front side of each canine tooth that needed a root canal, and then they removed the tangled nerve and pulp using a sharp file.

"The only way to save a tooth is to remove the nerve," Dr. Colon said.

Once the debris inside the cavities was removed and the cavities were dried, the holes created from the excavation must be sealed. The dentists placed tiny orange rubber strings as thin as angel hair pasta into the holes until the cavities were perfectly filled.

"This process is very time consuming and tedious because you have to keep filling more and more," Dr. Colon said.

The process took two days, nearly a month apart, to complete all three teeth.

The average person wouldn't have been able to tell Rex had multiple root canals, except the canines were crowned with shiny gold metal.

"We made gold crowns just like for a human because root canals can make teeth become brittle and break easier," said Tech. Sgt. Michael Edwards, 325th ADS NCO in charge of the dental laboratory, who made the gold crowns from a plaster impression. "Now if the dog is going to bite you, you'll see three shiny gold teeth."

According to Dr. Getz, crowns last about 10-15 years in people, which should last the length of Rex's life.

"We'll have to see how the cement holds up during his bite work," she said. "The gold metal will hold, but the cement might not."

Dr. Getz added she was pleased with the results and for experiencing what may be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for her.

"I feel this went much smoother the second time," she said after finishing Nov. 10. "It was great (getting the experience), and I'll probably never get to do it again."

Capt. (Dr.) Lawrence Horne, who helped with the complex root canals on the second day, agreed.

"If I can do this on a dog, I can do anything," he said.