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long term dental problems

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becks

becks

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before i start can i beg you please do not use this thread to debate if guineapigs should receive anisthetics for dental work or to judge me for the course of action that my vets suggested (feel free to start a thread about it or something if you feel so strongly) as i got to the point where i was too upset to even post on my last thread about rocky and don't want that to happen again, i just want people with experience of long term dental problems to share their experiences with me (mods sorry if i'm wrong for making this request i just don;t want the same thing to happen as did to my last thread)

rocky as a number of you know recently lost quite abit of weight, he was already a very small pig but he recently became extremely small (talking under 600g)

we visited my vet who ruled everything out barr dental problems, and tried for a further week to tempt with other foods incase a change in diet was all he needed, but with no joy yesterday he underwent treatment.

the vets kept him in last night (amd let rolo go stay with him bless them) so that they could see him eat and poop before discharging him.

on collection they explained to me he has poor quality teeth, and his mollars have grown on slants which has meant they trapped his tongue underneath.

they have taken the teeth down as low as they can, but can't take them right down as he needs to be able to use them to chew.

they therefor can't predict how long this will last fro an dhow long til he will need it all doing all over again, so is a wait and see game.

they said it is very unusual for a pig of rockys age (2 year old) to have such bad teeth - which as his brother is fine doesn't suggest it is diet etc (we feed wagg as they don't liek excel, hay, and a mix of carrots green beans, cucumber, red pepper, parsley, broccoli, sweetcorn, amongst other bits).

so it very much is a wait and see game now. whilst he has eaten a little he is still very wary so we have left the bets armed with science recovery aswell incase i need to do abit of syringe feeding at the same time. rocky is due back for a check up on wednesday.

has anyone else ever had long term dental problems with their piggies?

how often did they tend to need their teeth doing (no matter what method was used ie anisthetic or not)

did it effect the piggies over all quality of life?

has anyone had the problem and then it miraculously gone away at some point?

we are just trying to get some idea of what may lye ahead of is in the future.

at the moment we are having to feed rocky seperatly to rolo to ensure he really is eating, i'm using a (no laughing) hamster cage for this, so that we can monitor what rocky eats whilst in there!)

any tips on tempting rocky with food are much appreciated.

thanks in advance,

becks
 
Hi, I've had piggies and bunnies witi dental problems, my bunnies both had long term problems witi ongoing treatment, but my guineas were much more short term. Because of that I can't really advise on the long term nature of it, but in my experience the one thing I picked up was to make sure he really is eating before he leaves the vet, and keep making sure after. If in any doubt keep getting back to them. One of my bunnies came back and ate normally but all my other pets have come back from dental treatment with eating issues, despite being told they were eating. I'm not criticising the vets, I think it's difficult to monitor them accurately maybe when ** looking after so many ill animals! It sounds like ** keeping an eye on him really well, and I probably didn't need to say all that, it's just in my experience that's so so important. Best wishes to rocky from me and my piggies, hope he feels better soon.
 
Hi Becks, sorry to hear Rocky has such poor teeth.

I had a four year old sow who required dental work routinely; her dental problems started with slanted incisors, which were corrected only for her to develop end-on occlusion a few weeks later. End-on occlusion is where the ends of the incisors are flat against each other, rather than the lowers sitting slightly behind the uppers. If you look at a side view of a pigs' incisors, there is a small curve behind the uppers called the caudal notch, where the lower incisors meet the uppers. There is no notch with end-on occlusion.

This put pressure on the roots of the teeth, and after many weeks of frequent corrections one of her lower incisors cracked at gum level, loosened and was finally extracted. Her missing incisor never grew back as the root was also extracted, and over the following months she developed molar problems due to her reluctance to eat. (She was a stubborn pig, very feisty and independent. Losing her tooth was not something she wanted to deal with! The strongest characters of pigs can seem to take it the worst when they get ill!)

In answer to some of your questions:

how often did they tend to need their teeth doing (no matter what method was used ie anisthetic or not)
Click to expand...

Tuppence needed weekly trims when she had issues with her incisors.
After the extraction, I rasped/filed her upper incisors once or twice weekly, as I found they were not wearing evenly when they only had one opposite incisor to work with.

did it effect the piggies over all quality of life?
Click to expand...

Tuppence was a feisty pig. After the loss of the only pig she ever got on with (despite living with others as well) she became very withdrawn anyway. Her dental problems seemed to make her more depressed, although I believe had she not lost her companion a few weeks before the extraction, she would have coped a lot better with her subsequent difficulties. I feel that she only took it so hard because she was an incredibly independent pig who was unfortunately grieving in the midst of her problems.

has anyone had the problem and then it miraculously gone away at some point?
Click to expand...

Unfortunately not in my Tuppy's case, and I'm not sure I have heard of any pigs with severe malocclusion to have their problems cured. Genetics can play a part in malocclusion, although why Rocky's brother would not be affected might suggest it's less likely to be so.

Once the pig is on a spiral of not eating due to dental trouble, you have to keep right on top of both problems - keep encouraging the pig to eat hard food and keep the teeth in check. I found Daktarin Oral Gel to be very useful when pigs have dental problems. If the teeth have grown and rubbed/cut into the cheeks or tongue, the mouth will be sore, so correcting the teeth will, in itself, not instantly allow the pig to eat. 0.5ml Daktarin given twice daily for a couple of days after dental work seems to soothe the mouth, thus encouraging the pig to eat hard foods sooner.

Keeping a good supply of Science Recovery/Critical Care is worthwhile. I'm wary of recommending using it to bulk him up as, if he is eating on his own, you don't want to give him the chance to become "lazy" and refuse to eat hard foods. Sweetcorn (corn on the cob or babycorn) is fattening, as are rolled/crushed oats, and some treats like dried peas can also be useful to help a pig gain weight.

Weigh Rocky twice a week (instead of once) to monitor his weight and ensure he is eating well enough to maintain his weight, and keep a record of his weight so you can track it as time goes on.

Good luck, I hope things improve for him and you're able to keep on top of this!
 
I've got a piggy who has had long term dental problems. In fact it started in June 2008 and for about 5 months she was unable to eat anything on her own, and was entirely syringe fed. Through trial and error we have found that little and often works best for work on her teeth. Poppet has been going to the vet weekly for almost a year and has continued to eat more and more food on her own, until she began to eat entirely independantly a few months ago. She still needs a little work doing on her teeth regularly, and probably will need this for the rest of her life, but we have recently changed to fortnightly visits to the vet. At the lowest her weight plummeted to under 600g and she is now just about topping the kilo, so although very disheartening at times, dental problems can be sorted, but it does need dedication, a strong willed piggy and a first class vet.

Please feel free to pm me with any questions you may have, as if I can help at all I would be more than happy to do so.

I've got the living proof here, shouting very loudly and demanding more food, that dental problems can be controlled if not completely cured.
 
Chronic dental problems are quite common in guinea pigs. I currently see a friend's gp every four weeks for dental treatment.
I once had a pig who needed treatment at least twice a week. I have not forgotten the day where I needed to treat him five times. (That was not due to incompetence on my part) His teeth were, not to be scientific, an absolute mess. His brother also had the same condition, albeit not quite so severe.
You are correct that GA is never necessary.
 
i'm sad to say that the one thing we didn;t have was a strong willed pig :-(

rocky gave up on himself, and despite our attempts to syringe feed etc he passed away in his sleep last night. it was between 2.30am and 5am, i know as i was getting up every few hours to check on him and make sure he had food in his belly, feed him if need be, and administar water if required (though he was drinking til the very end).
 
I have just seen this thread and am in shock by your last post as I really didn't imagine to read that Rocky had passed :( Poor Rocky had just had enough and gave up. You did everything your could for him and he will always thank you for that.
(((hugs))) to you and his brother Rolo x
 
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