Picture of a tortoiseshell cat with a tooth protruding into the opening of their nostril

To almost everyone except veterinarians, this is a very unusual cat photograph. It shows the closed mouth and the nose of a tortoiseshell cat with a tooth protruding from the upper jaw into the opening of the right nostril. And if you look to the right of the picture there appears to be two teeth side by side. Are these elongated incisors or canines?

But the tooth that interests me the one in the nose! That looks decidedly weird. I am not a dentist or vet so I’ll guess what has happened. This looks like a retained baby (deciduous) tooth that has been pushed upwards through the upper jaw and out in front of the nose by the adult tooth that replaced it.

Normally, at around 4-months-of-age the roots of baby teeth ‘resorb’ and disappear. The tooth itself falls out and is sometimes swallowed. If not, they share the ‘slot’ with another tooth. The outcome varies. There can be a variety of dental problems:

• malocclusion (misaligned jaws)
• malformed jaws
• teeth at strange angles and positions
• irritated and inflamed gums
• loss of appetite due to pain
• crowded teeth
• early loss of adult teeth and
• discomfort

It is believed that retained baby teeth is an inherited problem.

The picture appears to have been taken at a veterinarian’s clinic and so much the better if that is correct as she will be getting proper dental treatment to resolve this unsightly and probably painful condition.

There is an added point to make I feel. Let’s hope the cat’s owner noticed this early on, as soon as the tooth appeared in order to avoid unnecessary suffering. We don’t know if that happened.

Below are two more articles on cat teeth but there are many more which you might like to explore by using the search facility. Also please feel free to comment on this topic from first-hand experience. Thanks in advance.

At what age does a cat lose its baby teeth? Assessing kitten age.

Infographic on the routine care of a cat’s teeth and gums