Chameleon teeth

[mcanham]

Can the dentition of a chameleon be fused if broken? I have a young male that was hurt by a cage mate. They are young but I should have known better. From my understanding there is no permanent fix. No signs of infection.
Thanks

 

[Carlton]

Can the dentition of a chameleon be fused if broken? I have a young male that was hurt by a cage mate. They are young but I should have known better. From my understanding there is no permanent fix. No signs of infection.
Thanks

Probably not worth the stress of handling, anaesthesia, side effects from a glue or epoxy in the mouth, etc. It may just be something to watch over time and shouldn't affect eating. Maybe our vets could weigh in on whether the broken surface should be coated to protect the tooth from decay? Do cham teeth have a live root? I don't think they do.

 

[mcanham]

They have acrodont dentition so the teeth don't have roots as far as I know. The jaw looks fine just the teeth are separated. Can't take pic as he won't cooperate just bites me. I think your right Carlton but I don't think he can stay like this indefinitely but I really would like to keep him healthy. He does eat without issue.
Thanks

 

[kinyonga]

Acrodont teeth sit on the jaw bone..are you meaning that the jaw bone is broken the teeth are broken off the jaw bone?

 

[mcanham]

I guess the jaw bone is broken. It looks as if the teeth are split or broke from each other but not broken out. Is each individual tooth separate or are the all teeth fused together like dentures?

 

[kinyonga]

Not positive since I'm not a vet but I think each tooth is separately fused to the jaw bone.

 

[JosieJobo]

Say Cheese!

Dose this help? Try and post a photo like this so its easier to understand what you mean hope hes ok xx

 

[Alexl]

I post a picture for better understanding...teeth in chameleons are actually part of the jaw bone. If the teeth are "separated" from the jaw, your chameleon is really far from being fine. In case of broken teeth or jawbone (= "separated" teeth") you should definitely visit your reptile vet as soon as possible. First of all, this is probably very painful, like any other broken bone. Chameleons don't show pain as long as they have any opportunity to hide it, so please don't think he's ok only because he behaves normally. Secondly, a broken bone is a great place for bacteria (which are always in a chameleon's mouth) to grow and infect the residual bone. In chameleon jaws, bacteria sadly tend to spread and soften/damage bone structure, which later on results in "mouth rot". Most cases of "mouth rot" I see originally began with small incisions in mucosa or bone fractures which the owner didn't recognize or just didn't consider of importance.

Edit: Picture's alread uploaded, you can find it here or another one here.