Guinea Pig Has Teeth Growing Over His Tongue

[Troy Morgan]

Hi,

We have a guinea pig named Ben. We noticed a while ago that he had stopped eating and drinking, and when we took him to the vet, they put him under anesthesia and looked into his mouth. They found that his back teeth are growing over his tongue, making it hard to eat. They shaved his teeth down, but they said that there may be an infection in one of his teeth that is making them grow this way. (They don't know for sure, though.) The vet he doesn't know which tooth it is, though, so he doesn't know which tooth to take out. We just brought Ben home after his operation, and he still won't eat or drink, so we have to syringe feed him Critical Care. We are supposed to come back to the vet's in a few weeks to have Ben's teeth shaved down again, as they will grow back over his tongue, and we will have to do this for the rest of his life, but we cannot afford this. We need to know more information about whether or not there really is an infection in one of his teeth.

Thanks,

Troy

 

[Claire W]

Hello and welcome.

I am just tagging our dental experts for you but it may be a while before they answer as they both have full time jobs etc @furryfriends (TEAS) @MintyAndGarry (TEAS)

In the meantime, please carry on syringe feeding and try grating up some veg to see if he can eat that

 

[Wiebke]

Hi and welcome!

There are lots of reasons why premolars overgrow, and it doesn't always have to be a dental root abscess. As long there is no sign of one, there is nothing to be done.

Please continue to weigh your boy daily at the same time. Keep on syringe feeding and watering him. Dental guinea pigs are usually not able to eat immediately, and in some cases not even anytime soon after treatment. A lot depends on how skilled your vet is with guinea pig dentals. Did your vet give you painkiller for the next few days, as the mouth is going to be sore for a while? Please be aware that your may boy may require more dental treatment until the whole dental system is balanced again.

You may find our syringe feeding guide helpful; it has a section on caring for a dental guinea pig.
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide
Tips For Post-operative Care

Since we have got members from all over the world, we find it very helpful if you please added your country, state/province or UK county to your details, so we can always tailor any advice and recommendations to what is available and practicable where you are straight away.
@Claire W has already tagged our members with the most experience with dental guinea pigs for you.

 

[MintyAndGarry (TEAS)]

A lot really depends on where you are in the world. Unfortunately in the veterinary world, there is a severe lack of knowledge regarding dentistry in guinea pigs and many vets generalise about a subject they are unfamiliar with - it certainly sounds like this is happening here. The extraction of a molar in a guinea pig is a ridiculously difficult procedure and is likely to be unnecessary, should the correct course of treatment be given.

Once a pig's teeth go wrong, many vets will tell you that they don't need treating again for several weeks, but given the fact that their teeth grow at a rate of 3mm a week, the ideal scenario is to be able to go back into their mouths after a few days/a week, to be able to 'tidy up' regrowth. This cannot be done when using general anaesthesia, which is where conscious dentals come in.

The problem is, there is only one vet in the country who is firstly willing to do this type of procedure and secondly is incredibly competent and can achieve fantastic results. Simon Maddock at Cat and Rabbit Clinic, Northampton. Simon has over a decade of experience of carrying out conscious dentals. He sees several guinea pigs every day, knows exactly what he is looking at as soon as he looks at a pig's teeth and prescribes appropriate medications that will work. Initially, treatment would be fairly regular, with the hope that the time between dentals can be extended pretty quickly. Simon is the reason that our sanctuary for dental pigs exists and the reason why we are the only dental sanctuary in the country.

If you would like to discuss things further, you can find our contact details on our Facebook page: The Excellent Adventure Sanctuary (for guinea pigs with extra needs) | Facebook

 

[Troy Morgan]

Thank you so much for all of the feedback. We really love our guinea pig, and want to help him. We live in the USA, Maryland state, so we are unable to take advantage of going to see Simon at the Cat and Rabbit Clinic, Northampton. Is there someplace in our surrounding area where we can take Benjamin (our guinea pig)?

Ben shows interest in his food and water, but looses interest after he has tried to consume it without success. We took Ben back to the vet on Thursday (today is Friday). They discovered that he is having trouble eating and drinking after his initial operation on Monday to shave his teeth because his jaw does not close. We do not understand why; neither does the vet. We are continuing to give him the pain medicine once a day, and the feedings (thank you so much for the above information). His not being able to drink is worrying us, because he does not accept water offered in a tube.

We were told to bring him back to the vet on Monday, if he still is not able to eat or drink. Again, thank you for any help.

Troy