For those of you who don't already know, those are Kirby's teeth. Why are his pearly whites on my kitchen counter, you ask? I sent my intense friend to the vet on the morning of January 23rd to have a broken tooth looked at (slab fracture on an upper premolar, apparently the most common of dental breakages), and when I received him later that afternoon, he was that tooth, and a whole bunch of its friends. I was devastated. Kirby's toothy smile is part of Kirby. It makes me swoon. It is perfect.
Kirby is the picture of health. He has maintained great muscle mass over the years, he has never been overweight, I can count the number of times that his ears have needed cleaning in his lifetime on one hand, and he has not lost one ounce of drive. And I am crazy. I've always known that Beardy Little Creatures are prone to dental problems, so I give raw bones regularly, and carefully watch for proper chewing techniques; I provide a dental water additive, and inspect teeth for damage regularly. Kirby had NO tartar build up on his teeth, other than around the site of the break. I was actually under the impression that his teeth were perfect. Unfortunately, I've been fighting a losing battle, and Kirby's "loose gums" still took his smile away.
It's frustrating, feeling like you're doing everything right, then being blind-sided when the smile disappears.
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