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Over grown teeth?

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gogoguineas

gogoguineas

Adult Guinea Pig
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I was just wondering if anyone can advise me about length of toofies?
I was doing my regular checks after nail trimming and one of my young boars, Tyler who is 11 months definitely has longer top incisers than the others but how long is too long? I'd post a pic but mg lap top isn't working and I can't figure out how to do it on my iPhone.
Could anyone post examples? Ie bad v good?
And is clipping the top teeth to trim them down still the current procedure and the right way to go about it? That was how my vet trimmed one of my old piggies teeth but that was at least 4 years ago and I haven't had a tooth issue since.
I'm just tryi g to figure out what to do and the right way to deal with it, thanks in advance! :)
 
Download the photo bucket app love... :)
I don't have any photos... But is he still able to pick food up...?
x
 
Ahh there's an app for everything lol!
Oh yeah he's eating fine but then I wondered if this ties in with his new crazy bar chewing habit? I might be paranoid but I just do t know when the length is too much...?:{
 
gogoguineas said:
Ahh there's an app for everything lol!
Oh yeah he's eating fine but then I wondered if this ties in with his new crazy bar chewing habit? I might be paranoid but I just do t know when the length is too much...?:{
Click to expand...

If hes eating I wouldn't be too worried...
Just keep a real close eye on him and give them lodes of stuff to chew... :)
Apple tree branches would be great if you can get hold of them... :)
x
 
I copied this directly from a site when I started to worry about one of my boy's teeth.

1. A healthy dental profile should look as such...
https://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r295/cavycareforum/HealthyDentalProfile.jpg
The curve behind the upper incisors is normal and allows for the lower incisors to meet the upper and wear down effectively. A sign of the incisors being significantly too long would be if they were to start to curve inwards.

2. If the caudal notch is missing (as below) the teeth meet flat against each other, which puts pressure on the roots of the teeth as the teeth are not meeting correctly.
https://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r295/cavycareforum/Tuppyteethweek4.jpg

3. One of the most common indicators of malocclusion is the slanting of the incisors (often suggestive of overgrown molars on one side).
https://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r295/cavycareforum/TuppysTeethWeek3.jpg

Photo 3 looked just like my Peanut Butter's toofies so off to the vet we went. It did turn out he had overgrown teeth because his jaws don't align.

PB had not lost weight and was still eating fine. What triggered my concern was his sudden, constant and noisy chewing of anything he could get his toofies on. I then prodded his mouth open and was alarmed to see how much longer his teeth were compared to my other much older boy.

PB needs regular dental treatment and I monitor his teeth and chewing closely. I really don't want him to get to the point of not eating and losing weight before I take action.

However, I can't stress the importance in such cases of going to a vet who specialises in small animals such as piggies (pocket pet vets they're called here). And from my experience they are few and far in between.
 
I took one of my guinea pigs to a vet who was sadly very misinformed and told me the teeth were too long. They proceeded to cut them WAY too short, actually causing more problems and I ended up going to see Debbie's vet to get it all sorted out. I'd also stress don't take chances by going to any old vet, always seek specialist treatment if in doubt. I won't be making the same mistake that's for sure! My guinea pig is absolutely fine now, very healthy still for such an old girl but I was lucky to be able to travel and take her to Debbie's vet otherwise I think the prognosis might have been poor.

If he's eating fine I wouldn't stress anyway, make sure he has a diet rich in hay so he is able to chew and grind his teeth down naturally and continue to monitor his progress.
 
Thanks everyone , very much appreciated! I shall watch him carefully tonight with both dry food and veg, I saw him eating hay fine just now, I make sure their hay rack is permanently full anyway :)
 
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