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Dental Molar Issues, Not Sure What to Do

Kids0519

New Born Pup
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Hi all. I have 2 female piggies about 4+ years or so. One of them has been having some issues with her teeth. I knew after googling that it was most likely her back teeth, due to her pawing at her mouth, chewing funny, her lack of interest in her hay(but she can still eat her veggies ok), and some weight loss. She also just does not look well. Oh and she isn’t drinking water as much which is why I was trying to up her intake of cucumber to hydrate her. She still shows interest in foods but some she just struggles with. Anyway we had a vet visit today and of course she confirmed it was her moles but also her front teeth are misaligned as well. She said she has spurs growing into her poor cheeks. No blockage of the tongue as of yet. She said she can put her under and fix the teeth and that would be a most likely lifelong process at $200.00 a month or every 6 weeks, or many GP owners ultimately choose to euthanize by the first to second month in because GP isn’t thriving or it gets too costly. I don’t know what to do here. She doesn’t look well to me and I HATE to see her suffer and the thought of monthly surgeries for her sounds awful to me. She said there’s a slight risk of them going under as well. Then again, I don’t want to make the mistake of not trying the surgery and giving it a chance to see if it can work. Truth be told I don’t think I can afford 200.00 + a month or so on surgery. It adds up when things are already tight. Anyone been through similar and what did you choose in the end? We just had to put my cat down almost a month ago exactly so I’m super emotional about possibly losing her too. I love my animals so much and it breaks my heart to think of being without one them.
 
Hi all. I have 2 female piggies about 4+ years or so. One of them has been having some issues with her teeth. I knew after googling that it was most likely her back teeth, due to her pawing at her mouth, chewing funny, her lack of interest in her hay(but she can still eat her veggies ok), and some weight loss. She also just does not look well. Oh and she isn’t drinking water as much which is why I was trying to up her intake of cucumber to hydrate her. She still shows interest in foods but some she just struggles with. Anyway we had a vet visit today and of course she confirmed it was her moles but also her front teeth are misaligned as well. She said she has spurs growing into her poor cheeks. No blockage of the tongue as of yet. She said she can put her under and fix the teeth and that would be a most likely lifelong process at $200.00 a month or every 6 weeks, or many GP owners ultimately choose to euthanize by the first to second month in because GP isn’t thriving or it gets too costly. I don’t know what to do here. She doesn’t look well to me and I HATE to see her suffer and the thought of monthly surgeries for her sounds awful to me. She said there’s a slight risk of them going under as well. Then again, I don’t want to make the mistake of not trying the surgery and giving it a chance to see if it can work. Truth be told I don’t think I can afford 200.00 + a month or so on surgery. It adds up when things are already tight. Anyone been through similar and what did you choose in the end? We just had to put my cat down almost a month ago exactly so I’m super emotional about possibly losing her too. I love my animals so much and it breaks my heart to think of being without one them.
Hi one of my male guinea pig had their problem and I was told that it would be 150 pound every couple of month he had his operation last year on his teeth to shorted them and never had a problem since the vet are just telling you that cause that what could happened but I have never had a problem with it if I am honest I would just get the operation done and see how it is from there cause guinea pig teeth constantly grown so make sure she has pellet and things to chew on would not want you to go through a loss of a guinea pig when you not need to I was told the same and never had a problem since surgery last year
 
And I not been rude or anything cause thank god for vet out animal would not be here to day with out them but I personal think they tell you these thing so they get more money out of you and so they do have to do long operations xx
 
I'd have one (or two) of the surgeries and then decide. Your piggy might do better than expected, might not need that many ops, or it might help clarify that she is generally on the downturn and not thriving. Any decision made out of love would be fine in my book.
 
Thank you for all the feedback so far. I think I’m going to have her go through with the first at least and see if she pulls through and how she does and we’ll go from there. I got them some new hay and pellets today and she’s eaten more of that hay than she has all week of the other hay. I think I’ll give my vet a call and see if I can’t get her on the schedule for Saturday. If she doesn’t make it or declines then I think it wasn’t meant to be, and I hope that doesn’t sound horrible, but then at least we’ve given it a shot.
 
Two of my pigs had dental issues... in the good case with a good outcome, we did a couple of dentals over a period of a few months and then one cheek puffed up in a huge abscess. It turns out that was the underlying problem. We had the underlying abscess lanced and drained and treated aggressively with antibiotics and she actually never needed dental treatment again. So I would keep running your fingers along the sides of her jaw to feel for any lumps... you also could consider an x-ray to look for signs of tooth root infection that may be precipitating the teeth to grow misaligned and could be treated to allow her to chew more normally and wear teeth down naturally on her own again.

In the sad case that didn't turn out well, we had similar symptoms (overgrown molars and abscess), but a MUCH less experienced vet who really mangled her teeth and gave her such a tiny dose of antibiotics that he might as well not have treated her at all. She could never eat again after the dental and passed away within a week or so despite our best efforts. The lesson learned here is that experience counts when it comes to vets, so I would encourage you to make sure the vet has a history of doing dental procedures on guinea pigs before you commit. Some vets will say they do dental work when they actually have limited experience... this is not something you want to gamble on, an experienced vet can make a HUGE difference.

I think it's worth giving it a shot a time or two with an experienced vet to see how she does and what develops. At least then you know you gave her to best opportunity, and if her general quality of life continues to decline, then you know it wasn't meant to be. I know it's never an easy choice!
 
So a little bit of an update. Sugar had molar surgery on Friday morning. She did good through the surgery they said. Showed no interest in the grass they gave her while they kept her there for the day. Said she could resume normal diet as she wanted as I took her home and she went home on Baytril and Metcam for pain. She did begin eating her veggies pretty quickly and bits of hay here and there that night. Yesterday again showed interest in veggies and a bit more interested in hay. I was expecting her to want to ounce right over and be all in her hay the way she used to be before all this dental mess as soon as she realized she could use her teeth again but being as were only 2 days out from surgery are they still a bit sore for her? Can they go back to using them right away or is it still hard to chew with them straight after? She seemed, at times today, like she was chewing like she had before surgery, but I don’t know how that would be at only 2 days afterwards when she seemed to be alright Friday and yesterday. This is all so stressful. I had high hopes when I saw her standing in her hay bin Friday night and now I’m losing hope that this was the right decision for her. She’s also been in her tunnel a bit today. I keep trying to remind myself how I’ve felt after having myself worked on but at the same time I feel like I’m just trying ti make light of the situation. Does this sound like familiar behavior for piggies just out of surgery? She HAS eaten some hay and her veggies and has drank water out of her bottle, it’s just not as much as I was expecting her to go back to eating.
 
They can be fearful of eating once they have had dental issues and if she is still experiencing pain she won’t want to eat. It can take them a while to regain their confidence

Weigh her every day so you can more closely monitor her food intake, syringe feed her critical care or mushed up pellets while she isn’t eating hay for herself. Cut veggies into thin strips and if possible offer some fresh grass. Fresh grass also helps keep the teeth filing and wearing down as well as hay does and many piggies who can’t eat other things can still chew hay

How much metacam is she being given? Is it dog or cat metacam?
 
They can be fearful of eating once they have had dental issues and if she is still experiencing pain she won’t want to eat. It can take them a while to regain their confidence

Weigh her every day so you can more closely monitor her food intake, syringe feed her critical care or mushed up pellets while she isn’t eating hay for herself. Cut veggies into thin strips and if possible offer some fresh grass. Fresh grass also helps keep the teeth filing and wearing down as well as hay does and many piggies who can’t eat other things can still chew hay

How much metacam is she being given? Is it dog or cat metacam?
It is dog metacam, the dosage for a 5lb dog, I can’t tell what it is as they have it marked with a red line on the syringe. I also wondered if she got so used to getting so much veggies that that was all she wanted because she has no problems eating those, just the hay and I know that’s what she needs the most. I have ordered them some chewing sticks and toys to see if that helps but I’m doubtful that she will touch them. I will try the grass today and see if she will eat that too. I know the Baytril messes with their bellies too doesn’t it?
 
It is dog metacam, the dosage for a 5lb dog, I can’t tell what it is as they have it marked with a red line on the syringe. I also wondered if she got so used to getting so much veggies that that was all she wanted because she has no problems eating those, just the hay and I know that’s what she needs the most. I have ordered them some chewing sticks and toys to see if that helps but I’m doubtful that she will touch them. I will try the grass today and see if she will eat that too. I know the Baytril messes with their bellies too doesn’t it?
Hi! It is normal for them to be cautious about eating after dental surgery, they have to get used to their new teeth so to speak and can anticipate pain even if the problem is fixed. With mine it took 3-7 days for them to eat normally again, I had to syringe feed and lost hope too, but they did pick up so don't give up just yet!

Baytril is known for causing digestive upset so I always ask for fibreplex whenever mine are on any antibiotics, its a fantastic product and usually sorts minor problems quickly for mine, it has also been an appetite stimulant for them too. If she's not eating properly it may also be worth asking for a gut motility medication like cisapride or emeprid to get the guts moving and encourage appetite.

I'd also recommend supplementing with syringe feed to help her calorie and fibre intake. With my previous dental pigs they were often afraid to eat, a lot of the time syringe feeding and making them eat helps them realise they actually can eat now and it can help speed up the process.

I've also found cutting up their veggies into thin strips and pellets into smaller pieces can help, you can try hand feeding thinner pieces of hay and fresh grass/dandelions too, sometimes they will take it if its smaller. ❤
 
So another update lol. I stopped at a pet store and grabbed 2 more brand new kinds of hays, as her vet said some piggies are picky with fresh hay and such and I could also offer untreated grasses and I’m not sure if ours is treated or not, and after giving her the brand new hay she started eating that. I’m not keeping my hopes up that she will eat it for long, but it’s a start lol. She’s eaten that each time it’s been in there thank god!
 
Some of you may remember my post not quite 2 weeks again about my piggie Sugar. She just had a dental on her molars about 11 days ago. Her first night she started slowly eating some hay and that lasted until the next afternoon when she stopped. She would still take her veggies though. It was about a day and a half that she wouldn’t eat hay and I picked up some new hay, Oxbow Timothy, and she went right back to eating that. Not like crazy, how she was before her teeth problems, but, well, like she hasn’t eaten in days. She did great on that up until this past Saturday or Sunday, so maybe a week and then she was right back to making the same funny faces and dropping food, having a wet chin sometimes, just like she did before surgery. We aren’t even 2 weeks post op! She will still take her veggies and these hay chews but refuses hay. I’ve made an appt for her for Saturday but I’m sad. I was hoping we’d at least make it a month before she’d have to go back. I’m astonished that we’re going back 2 weeks after her surgery. She sits all puffed up in her igloo and hates us taking her out for her meds because I’m still giving her her Metacam and I’m giving it to her twice a day now because I think she was giving her a small dose just once a day. How maybe surgeries does this usually require? It seems as though you guys in the UK are better sorted with someone who deals with these and we just have to cross our finger and hope we find a good one to take them to. I can honestly probably only afford one more surgery, as they’re 200.00/each time, and then we’ll have to be done sadly. I’m afraid her quality of life may be 💩 by then anyhow. I want to cry every time I go in there and see her miserable. She IS happy when getting her veggies though. Thanks for letting me vent ❤️
 
I am so sorry to hear about Sugar's dental problems. I know most of UK members are in bed right now, but they will hopefully be able to give some advice when they wake in the morning. I have only had one piggy that needed dental help and it was rough.

Quick question, did Sugar have any spurs that gave her sores in her mouth? What did they find while doing the exam/trim? I know the UK members ask questions about the dental and more answers help them out.

Hoping Sugar will start eating and feeling better soon!
 
I am so sorry to hear about Sugar's dental problems. I know most of UK members are in bed right now, but they will hopefully be able to give some advice when they wake in the morning. I have only had one piggy that needed dental help and it was rough.

Quick question, did Sugar have any spurs that gave her sores in her mouth? What did they find while doing the exam/trim? I know the UK members ask questions about the dental and more answers help them out.

Hoping Sugar will start eating and feeling better soon!
She did have at least one spur from what the vet said. I cannot remember if she said she had more 🤔. But the vet did just say that her incisors were misaligned due to her back teeth and her molars were overgrown and she had at least one spur. Thank you for replying! I have a friend that lives in the UK, she sends me yummy treats sometimes ☺️, so I try to remember the time difference. You must be a night owl! 😉
 
She did have at least one spur from what the vet said. I cannot remember if she said she had more 🤔. But the vet did just say that her incisors were misaligned due to her back teeth and her molars were overgrown and she had at least one spur. Thank you for replying! I have a friend that lives in the UK, she sends me yummy treats sometimes ☺️, so I try to remember the time difference. You must be a night owl! 😉
Haha! No, I live in Indiana! I would love to go visit the UK, but someone would have to give me a tranquillizer before I get on an airplane for that long. 😁 It's about 9:45 pm here and I am about ready to fall asleep. Although, I do have small kids so staying up till 9:45 does make me a bit of a night owl.
 
Haha! No, I live in Indiana! I would love to go visit the UK, but someone would have to give me a tranquillizer before I get on an airplane for that long. 😁 It's about 9:45 pm here and I am about ready to fall asleep. Although, I do have small kids so staying up till 9:45 does make me a bit of a night owl.
Hahaha. I feel that! I work early so 9-10 pm is definitely pushing it for me lol!
 
I’m sorry to hear she is struggling again. Unfortunately it can take multiple dentals in close succession and then further dentals with the gap between extending to solve issues, but it depends what the issues are.

Are you still syringe feeding critical care?
Did you try to give her some fresh grass? Fresh grass also helps wear the teeth like hay does and of course without eating grass/hay, there is nothing for the teeth to wear on so they will overgrow again.

I’ve merged your newest post with your previous thread. As we can offer ongoing support, it’s much easier if all the previois information is together in one place so we do ask that you use the same thread for the same issue rather than starting a new one. You can find your threads by using the ‘find my threads’ option at the top
 
I’m sorry to hear she is struggling again. Unfortunately it can take multiple dentals in close succession and then further dentals with the gap between extending to solve issues, but it depends what the issues are.

Are you still syringe feeding critical care?
Did you try to give her some fresh grass? Fresh grass also helps wear the teeth like hay does and of course without eating grass/hay, there is nothing for the teeth to wear on so they will overgrow again.

I’ve merged your newest post with your previous thread. As we can offer ongoing support, it’s much easier if all the previois information is together in one place so we do ask that you use the same thread for the same issue rather than starting a new one. You can find your threads by using the ‘find my threads’ option at the top
Thank you! I wasn’t sure if I should keep on the same thread or start new as some places they hate when you “bump” your thread 🥴. I’ve given her SOME grass and she picked at it. It wasn’t much since we live in a community and I was told the grass didn’t have chemicals but it had recently been fertilized and I read that was not good for the pigs either. She took literally 2 pieces and ignored the rest. I knew if they didn’t keep on the hay or grass the teeth would grow again, I just didn’t think they’d grow as fast as a day and half. She did great on the new hay and then she stopped when it seemed her teeth hurt again. I’m just new at all this.
 
Thank you! I wasn’t sure if I should keep on the same thread or start new as some places they hate when you “bump” your thread 🥴. I’ve given her SOME grass and she picked at it. It wasn’t much since we live in a community and I was told the grass didn’t have chemicals but it had recently been fertilized and I read that was not good for the pigs either. She took literally 2 pieces and ignored the rest. I knew if they didn’t keep on the hay or grass the teeth would grow again, I just didn’t think they’d grow as fast as a day and half. She did great on the new hay and then she stopped when it seemed her teeth hurt again. I’m just new at all this.

We don’t work like that here - we definitely prefer to stick to the same thread! We see so many issues come through the care sections that having all the background information and previous advice there to look back on is much easier. It’s also less time consuming for the poster as they don’t have to repeat everything again

The teeth won’t overgrow in a day and a half - it takes longer than that but if she isn’t able to pick up food again and seems to be struggling then maybe the issues were not completely dealt with during the dental. We can only make guesses.
If you think she is in pain and she is struggling again, then speaking to the vet again to check the dosage of metacam and having the teeth checked again would be a good idea.
 
Thank you! I wasn’t sure if I should keep on the same thread or start new as some places they hate when you “bump” your thread 🥴. I’ve given her SOME grass and she picked at it. It wasn’t much since we live in a community and I was told the grass didn’t have chemicals but it had recently been fertilized and I read that was not good for the pigs either. She took literally 2 pieces and ignored the rest. I knew if they didn’t keep on the hay or grass the teeth would grow again, I just didn’t think they’d grow as fast as a day and half. She did great on the new hay and then she stopped when it seemed her teeth hurt again. I’m just new at all this.
If she deteriorated that fast I would be thinking along the lines of infection, abscess or oral thrush.
Can you let us know what medication she is still on?
And also is she on a probiotic and being syringe fed at all?
How is her weight?
 
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