Old Man. Ongoing Teeth Issues Am I Doing The Right Thing?

[laura1989]

Hi I'm looking for some advice from some well knowledged owners about the best course of action for my poor old man. Apologise in advance for how long this post may end up being but I know the more information the better.

The piggie in question is my 6 year old little man Alfie. He has been having problems with his teeth since last October. One of his bottom teeth broke off and has never grown back therefore the one that is left is more vulnerable and keeps breaking and so is not wearing his top teeth down properly. He has been seeing our local cavvy savvy vet every 4-6 weeks to get the top teeth trimmed and until his last visit 3 weeks ago was keeping his back teeth in check. At his last appointment though she broke the news unfortunately his back teeth are now meeting in the middle. She said although she could put him under a GA to file them down we would be in the same position in another 4-6 weeks time and that at his age in her opinion it wasn't right to put him through it. Now since he has been having these issues despite hand feeding of mashed pellets and long skinny strips of veg he has lost a lot of weight, at his heaviest a few years ago he was 1300g he has the last 6 months been hovering between 750g (at his lowest) and up to 900g. My vet cannot find any obvious under lying causes and puts it down to old age and the upset of losing his cage mate at Christmas. Alfie and Charlie had a love hate relationship but 5 and half years together is a long time. I got him 2 little girls as company just after xmas and this seemed to cheer him up slightly, but they live in another cage next to him and they can always see each other but can't live together as the baby girls are ganets and eat for England. He wouldn't stand a chance also one of the girls is clearly more dominant even when out having floor time she is the boss of Alfie.

Anyway back to the point until this weekend he would happily eat a bowl of mashed up pellets twice a day being hand fed and would graze on bowls of this and dried food in his cage during the day. This weekend he seems to have gone off everything. He will eat mashed pellets if we syringed into him but fights me and mum off. He sniffs the air when food is around but not interested in actually eating it. He still seems lively in himself, chatty and cuddly but I am at a loss what to do to help him and what is right. Am I forcing him to eat when he has had enough? What is right for him?

I hope I've remembered everything this seems to have ended longer than I meant it to but I'm looking for any experienced advice on the right next move for my man and thank u to anybody who made it down this far.

 

[Merrypigs Sanctuary]

Oh wow, what a really tough situation! I am feeling for you right now This is quite a personal decision I think, you know him best. It's great that, up until now, he's been munching away! Sadly the way piggies teeth are it sounds like they've met over his tongue which is quite restrictive Could you contact Simon Maddock at TEAS? He's experienced in Guinea dentistry with no GA! Good luck!

 

[DM030819]

If his back teeth are meeting in the middle that means that his tongue is trapped and he can't eat even if he wants to.

You will have to get his back teeth trimmed as soon as possible. If you are worried about the anaesthetic then there is a vet called Simon Maddock at the Cat and Rabbit Care Clinic in Northampton who can do dentals with great success whilst the pig is conscious.

 

[laura1989]

Oh wow, what a really tough situation! I am feeling for you right now This is quite a personal decision I think, you know him best. It's great that, up until now, he's been munching away! Sadly the way piggies teeth are it sounds like they've met over his tongue which is quite restrictive Could you contact Simon Maddock at TEAS? He's experienced in Guinea dentistry with no GA! Good luck!

My vet tells me his tounge sits above his teeth? His tounge is definitely still very mobile as he is currently fighting me off at the moment.

 

[DM030819]

@Merrypigs Sanctuary Simon is at the Cat and Rabbit care clinic, not TEAS

 

[Merrypigs Sanctuary]

@Merrypigs Sanctuary Simon is at the Cat and Rabbit care clinic, not TEAS

Oh crud, I muddled Thanks Jaycey!

 

[Merrypigs Sanctuary]

My vet tells me his tounge sits above his teeth? His tounge is definitely still very mobile as he is currently fighting me off at the moment.

That's good, at least he can still use his tongue! I think he could do with one more chance before you decide <3

 

[DM030819]

If his tongue is mobile then you should be okay with handfeeding. He doesn't have as much a risk of choking.

He's not going to get better by himself unfortunately, so if he were mine I would definitely get his teeth done.

 

[Merrypigs Sanctuary]

I just found some interesting molar info on Peter Gurney's site!

"THERE IS NOW NO JUSTIFIABLE REASON TO USE ANAESTHETICS UPON GUINEA PIGS TO TRIM THE PREMOLAR AND MOLAR TEETH. TO DO SO IS TO ENDANGER THE OF LIVES OF THESE ANIMALS UNNECESSARILY!
What can be seen is, more often than not, are the pre molar teeth arching over, or beginning to arch over the tongue. In more extreme cases the molars may be arching as well."
And these great pics of overgrown molars before and after! These ones are over the tongue, but you can picture the tongue over the top too!
His site is ace, perhaps take a look? There's loads more dental info on there ^-^

 

[laura1989]

He was untill this weekend happily being hand fed twice a day with access to extra mash all day. We saw the vet and his back teeth were grown together 3 weeks ago, I can't work out what has changed this weekend....

 

[Merrypigs Sanctuary]

Hmmm, maybe they've been rubbing him or something? Hope he picks up soon

 

[Wiebke]

I just found some interesting molar info on Peter Gurney's site!

"THERE IS NOW NO JUSTIFIABLE REASON TO USE ANAESTHETICS UPON GUINEA PIGS TO TRIM THE PREMOLAR AND MOLAR TEETH. TO DO SO IS TO ENDANGER THE OF LIVES OF THESE ANIMALS UNNECESSARILY!
What can be seen is, more often than not, are the pre molar teeth arching over, or beginning to arch over the tongue. In more extreme cases the molars may be arching as well."
And these great pics of overgrown molars before and after! These ones are over the tongue, but you can picture the tongue over the top too!
His site is ace, perhaps take a look? There's loads more dental info on there ^-^

Can we please qualify that - it depends on the underlying issue. Simon uses anaesthetics (not vetergesic, which is the one that causes the problems) whenever necessary. My Nesta needed her abscess incisor removed by him, which was a full blown operation.

The problem with Peter Gurney's issue is that the rodentologists have then taken it on; with sometimes disastrous results (ask @furryfriends (TEAS) about some of the piggies that have fetched up at her sanctuary for guinea pigs with chronic dental issues). The reaction from the vast majority of regular vets is that they now will not under any circumstances do conscious dentals.
Simon Maddock is bridging the gap. He uses his in depth vet knowledge, but does the aftercare which is necessary to rebalance the dental system once the underlying problem has been identified and adressed with conscious burring whenever possible. The problem with the vet stance is that dental treatment under full anaesthetics does not allow for corrective after-treatment in short intervals to prevent the teeth from overgrowing again very quickly, so they only treat teeth when they have gone wrong again, but never get to the point where guinea pigs are free from dental problems and only need a yearly check.

Here is the cntact for the clinic: The Cat and Rabbit Care Clinic