• Discussions taking place within this forum are intended for the purpose of assisting you in discussing options with your vet. Any other use of advice given here is done so at your risk, is solely your responsibility and not that of this forum or its owner. Before posting it is your responsibility you abide by this Statement

Dental Teeth Filed Down?

Status
Not open for further replies.
ellyinexile

ellyinexile

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
Aug 24, 2014
Messages
67
Reaction score
48
Points
215
Location
Belfast, Northern Ireland
Hi

Some of you already know, Yogi was at the vets today to have his back molar filed down under GA, he came through it fine but when I picked him up the vet had also filed down his front teeth as they weren't straight due to the way he was eating caused by the molar over growing...
Now though he is struggling to pick food up and chew it at all, he wants to eat but is getting v frustrated. We syringe feed him about 4ml of liquidised nuggets but then he had enough. He can eat a little but nowhere near what he's used too..

Is it normal for the vet to file the front teeth at the same time? And how long usually before his teeth grow down again?

I have read the hand feeding guide, every 4 hours he should get some syringe feed? How many mls is recommended? He only seemed to want the 4 and then he refused some more.

Sorry for all the questions, this is my first dental situation with my piggies and me and my boyfriend are seriously anxious :help:
 
@furryfriends Excellent Adventure Sanctuary can you help advise?

It can be normal to have to file the front teeth too. Once the back teeth overgrow they have a knock on effect on the front teeth which should then sort themselves out once the rear teeth have been returned to the correct alignment. The front teeth grow relatively quickly so if the back teeth are now correct the front ones will sort themselves out soon.

It is normal for them not to want to eat much but they need to. You need to keep trying to get more into him. 4mls isn't enough. He will be pretty uncomfortable (think about your own trips to the dentist) so he should really have been given some pain relief to take home. Pain will also stop them from eating. It takes them a while to get over the anaesthetic too but you need to keep him comfortable and get him eating, little and often as soon as you can....

I've tagged Furryfriends who's the expert for dental care. There's a hand feeding guide on here too that might be helpful....
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/complete-hand-feeding-guide.115359/

Good luck! I've been there too and it is worrying but just keep him going.... Make sure there is food going in and poo coming out!
 
ellyinexile said:
Hi

Some of you already know, Yogi was at the vets today to have his back molar filed down under GA, he came through it fine but when I picked him up the vet had also filed down his front teeth as they weren't straight due to the way he was eating caused by the molar over growing...
Now though he is struggling to pick food up and chew it at all, he wants to eat but is getting v frustrated. We syringe feed him about 4ml of liquidised nuggets but then he had enough. He can eat a little but nowhere near what he's used too..

Is it normal for the vet to file the front teeth at the same time? And how long usually before his teeth grow down again?

I have read the hand feeding guide, every 4 hours he should get some syringe feed? How many mls is recommended? He only seemed to want the 4 and then he refused some more.

Sorry for all the questions, this is my first dental situation with my piggies and me and my boyfriend are seriously anxious :help:
Click to expand...

You adjust the frequency to how much food you get into him in one go - little but often, round the clock. Please look up the advice under "acute crisis/immediate post op" in the hand feeding thread; he is currently not your typical healthy piggy that just cannot chew at the moment.

Did your vet give you painkillers or tell you how soon you can give him painkillers? Right now, his mouth is very sore and you have to brace yourself that you have to hand feed for some time. Hopefully, he'll pick up again and eat more in one go.

Sometimes, if the front teeth have been impacted by the overgrowth at the back, they need a bit of filing, too, but often general vets file them a bit too short.

I am keeping my fingers crossed right for Yogi.
 
Right now little and often syringe feeding can make a huge difference. Be guided by Yogi and give him what he is happy to take, and then give him a break of about 15 mins and give him a little more. His mouth is probably feeling sore and he won't want to take too much in one go, but you do need to make sure you get enough in over the period of the day. I find that by noting down how much I give at each time, so you keep a running total, you will be able to see how much you are getting in. You do need to aim for around 100 to 120 mls over a 24 hour period. Hopefully, as he starts to feel better, he will take more each time and you can start to space the feeds out a little more. Don't worry too much about the slightly short incisors as they will grow quickly. He will find a way to pick the food up as he gets used to his slightly shorter than normal teeth. Cut leafy veg into strips and grate carrot. When does your vet want to see Yogi again?
 
Thanks for your reply, I took him back to vet the ye's today to get critical care food and a further painkiller injection. We got some syringes into him yes today as well as some fresh veggies. I grated some up like you said and it definitely made things easier for him. We are monitoring his weight super closely and hopefully can keep him a good weight until he's back to his old self again.
He's going back to vets for postop check up on Saturday morning as well
X
 
Echoing what many others have said, feed him as much as he will take. One of my boys had dental problems (Sadly no longer with us) & I used to syringe feed him Critical Care (as much as he would take), grated carrot, finely shredded lettuce, grass & finely diced cucumber.
 
Sorry to hear your piggy passed :(
Yogi is on critical care at the moment as well but he's doing better today thankfully, eating a bit more fresh veg too...one day at a time is all we can do and hope for the best

X
 
Pig update- yogi has been doing better but today he doesn't seem himself, it's been 5days since the op. He has lost a bit of weight but we're giving him critical care as he's not eating what he's used to. The only thing he wants to eat today are carrots? Is this weird? I'm a bit worried about him eating so much carrots, they normally wouldn't get carrot this often....
 
ellyinexile said:
Pig update- yogi has been doing better but today he doesn't seem himself, it's been 5days since the op. He has lost a bit of weight but we're giving him critical care as he's not eating what he's used to. The only thing he wants to eat today are carrots? Is this weird? I'm a bit worried about him eating so much carrots, they normally wouldn't get carrot this often....
Click to expand...
Personally I would give him whatever he wants, as long as he's eating something. Make sure you keep up with the Critical Care & try a Probiotic to stimulate his gut. Bubbles (who have his teeth filed down) went right off his cucumber as it seemed he had difficulty eating it so I sliced a circle right through the middle so he could bypass the green skin & eat the flesh instead (as obviously this helped with his liquid intake too) which he really appreciated, but if he's not fussing to much to eat his food HIMSELF, just keep topping him up with syringe feeds.
 
Last edited:
I agree, best to give him whatever he will eat at this stage.
 
Hi
He is doing better....he was on some medicine last week to kee his gut moving as he wasnt getting enough fibre. He spent the weekends at the vets and I just got him back so loads of cuddles will be had later. We are still going to monitor him to make sure his digestive system is working okay so I am hoping he is finally on the road to recovery properly.

Thanks for everyones help and advice.
X
 
I just got yogi back from the vets today, I left him at home but have come back to find he hasn't ate hardly anything again but what's worrying me is I can feel a tremble / spasm (dont know what other word to use) around his lower back and tummy area, have u heard of this before? Do I need to whip him back to the vets, feel I haven't left that place in two weeks :(

Please am once again freaking out
 
I had still had some of Yogi's medicine and I gave him some yesterday in case his gut wasnt moving well....he's ate a bit but I will be taking him back to the vets tomorrow for another tooth and ear check up because something still isnt 100% right and he is over sensitive about one of his ears being touched.

Please bear with me through my panics, I have been so stressed and bursting into tears every evening when I get home because I just want my bear to me back to his healthy and happy self and seeing him act the way he does upsets me so much :(
 
No problem :) You should have seen me when I first saw the little boy in my profile pic with an head tilt.. I freaked out. Poor boy is no longer with is though, miss him a lot. We get so attached to animals, I do a fair bit because I have social anxiety and would much prefer the company of an animal, so when something happens and they can't tell us what's wrong or we feel we can't help them, it makes us feel bad, also losing a pet can hit us hard.

There are some lovely people on this forum who know that people panic, worry etc. and they will do their best to try and ease that and give you advice. I must say @Wiebke was brilliant when Sheamus was pts and before it and @helen105281 has been brilliant with trying to advise me about Jericho's skin problem, both lovely people.

So don't worry, people are very understanding on here.

Oh I see your from N Ireland :) My Dad is/was from there, Derry. I've never been myself but would love to go as I have aunt's and uncle's there :)

I hope the vet helps when you go :)
 
Sorry to hear about your piggy :( losing them is so hard. I lost my baby piggy Bowie last year and its still so raw and upsetting. How is Jericho and your others pigs doing?

Thanks for putting my mind at ease, everyone on here has been really helpful and kind and aways have given me brilliant advice. I sometimes worry about annoying people lol I feel like I am harrassing my vet at the moment too but it is a neccessity. The vet I go to is really helpful and they are knowledgable about piggies which is good. I have gone to other vets who have told me things that were complete rubbish so I lost trust in a lot of others.

I agree with the social anxiety and relating to animals better. Its easier and helps as well. I suffered from it quite a bit when I was a teen but I've overcome the worst of it now, but I too preferred the company of animals. I actually studied Animal Behaviour and Welfare at university but I specialised in Elephants, should have done domesticated animals in hindsight but I wanted to go back to South Africa and work as a ranger as I did that before university and loved it. How life changes.... I would still love to work in a zoo or any job with animals but getting them is so difficult and competitive.

I live in Belfast at the moment but have been to Derry many times. You should definitely try and make the trip over sometime, I wont lie and say we're the most exciting country in the world lol but we do out best haha lol

x
 
How is Yogi today?

Nursing a piggy through a major illness is difficult; it is very much an up-and-down experience. Sadly, you are too far away for us to help more practically. :(
 
No problem!

Well Jericho is the friend we got for Big E who lost Sheamus, all piggies are fine, just Jericho with his skin problem, we adopted him and got him like that so trying to sort him out.

I LOVE Irish people, I've always wanted to be Irish LMAO as daft as that sounds!

Ahh yeah knowing about exotics/small animals would have been handy!

I'll try and get there at some point lol, I was even considering moving there at one point, but need to stay near my Mum really.

If you ever need to natter feel free to private message me :D
 
I just feel I can't be much help as I truly believe that the way to get a good result is by conscious dentals, done regularly, and then as the piggy starts to eat, the time between dentals can be stretched out further. I am getting so frustrated by the reluctance, or rather total refusal, of so many vets to even consider doing conscious dental work. I really wish I could help you and your lovely piggy, but feel so helpless. My heart goes out to you! x
 
Wiebke said:
How is Yogi today?

Nursing a piggy through a major illness is difficult; it is very much an up-and-down experience. Sadly, you are too far away for us to help more practically. :(
Click to expand...

Don't worry..I truly I appreciate all the advice you have all given me, trust me sometimes just need another piggy owners advice. :)

He has bit eating a bit better after I gave him the medicine to help his gut move so we are going to see how much he ate from his breakfast feed. The vets didnt give me back my critical care stuff so calling in today to get some more. He is eating much better but not anything with a lot of fibre so he stll needs help there until he can get back to munching his hay.
I am worried that there is something more going on round his ear though, this whole process started with the ear infection and his reluntance to eat on that side. The infection cleared up and the head tilt left. Now the teeth had been filed down but there is still something going on....you know when you can just tell..
I will get him checked out again, (as many times as I have too)
X
 
furryfriends Excellent Adventure Sanctuary said:
I just feel I can't be much help as I truly believe that the way to get a good result is by conscious dentals, done regularly, and then as the piggy starts to eat, the time between dentals can be stretched out further. I am getting so frustrated by the reluctance, or rather total refusal, of so many vets to even consider doing conscious dental work. I really wish I could help you and your lovely piggy, but feel so helpless. My heart goes out to you! x
Click to expand...

Aww don't feel helpless, without ths forum I would be more of a mess than I already am. All the advice about dental and hand feeding has been invauable.
I wish our vet was able to do dental without the GA, but unfortunately most of the vets around me aren't even very knowledgable about gps so to find one that at least knows about the illnesses that afflicts them and the best way to deal with it, I guess i will take what I am given.
Something tells me he may need more filing or something done as when he was eating yesterday there was a weird clicking and slurping sounds...
 
That's great! Thank you... I will definitely do that. If its going to work better than Baytril definitely, can't say I'm a fan of Baytril at all. For abcesses would they have to xray his jaw? There was talk of doing this when he felt better but again they said they would have to do it under GA just to make sure he didnt move during it.
 
Kerrie74 said:
No problem!

Well Jericho is the friend we got for Big E who lost Sheamus, all piggies are fine, just Jericho with his skin problem, we adopted him and got him like that so trying to sort him out.

I LOVE Irish people, I've always wanted to be Irish LMAO as daft as that sounds!

Ahh yeah knowing about exotics/small animals would have been handy!

I'll try and get there at some point lol, I was even considering moving there at one point, but need to stay near my Mum really.

If you ever need to natter feel free to private message me :D
Click to expand...

Thanks I will do :D and same for you; message me anytime...I'm usually pottering about some corner of the internet lol
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top