Teeth Filing - Mandatory? Recommended?

[MariaLovesPiggies]

Hello and thanks for reading my post. It's been a while since I've been here.

Do all guinea pigs need their molars filed regularly? When is it recommended?
Thank you.

 

[LisaAli]

They shouldn't need regular teeth filed regularly with proper diet, We will tag @furryfriends (TEAS) who can give you more information..

 

[Wiebke]

Hello and thanks for reading my post. It's been a while since I've been here.

Do all guinea pigs need their molars filed regularly? When is it recommended?
Thank you.

Guinea pigs only need their back teeth filed if they are not chewing properly and the pre-molars are growing spurs. With the right diet (up to 80% of hay), only a very small proportion of guinea pigs will ever need dental treatment. Front teeth are self-sharpening and do not need any intervention in healthy guinea pigs. Any unnecessary intervention is bound to upset the fine balance in the mouth!

Signs of tooth trouble are: front teeth that are unevenly ground down, slow but increasing loss of weight, slow eating, picking up food and dropping it again, wet chin.
When dealing with signs of dental problems you need to ask your vet to also check for mouth rush (fungal), which can present with similar symtoms, or a dental root abscess, which can be the cause for sudden irregular chewing.

 

[Bluebell]

I have never touched any of my piggies teeth! Is it vets saying they should be filed?

 

[Freela]

No, it isn't routine maintenance and it should only be done if there is an issue. In nature, the teeth are self-filing as they rub against each other during normal chewing. Only if there is an underlying issue (i.e. maloccluded teeth, pain on one side causing abnormal chewing motion and uneven wear) should teeth be filed. Most guinea pigs will never need their molars filed.

One of my pigs had dental filings because she had an abscess that was causing her to chew improperly and the molars were overgrowing on one side. Her main symptoms were gradual weight loss, being interested in food but not eating it, and an abnormal chewing motion (she would pull her lips back and paw at her mouth while chewing- if you've ever seen a dog with something stuck in its mouth, it looks something like that.) As part of general keeping track of the piggies, I weigh them regularly, watch them eat occasionally to catch any weird facial motions, and feel along the sides of their jaws when patting them to make sure there are no lumps on the jawline. Beyond that, I don't do any checking of the teeth themselves (I can't see the molars anyways!)

 

[MariaLovesPiggies]

Thank you for your help. One of our guinea pigs is showing signs of decreased eating and is now starting to show signs of gradual weight loss. We saw the vet on Friday. She recommended critical care over the weekend and said there may be a need to file his molars. She doesn't do the procedure though, so we are researching alternatives. I'm also not sure of the cost. She said likely $550 CDN for the worse case scenario, but we would have to pay for an initial assessment with a vet who can do the procedure (another $110 CDN). I'm just researching other possibilities other than molar filing which could be causing his decreased appetite.

 

[Wiebke]

Thank you for your help. One of our guinea pigs is showing signs of decreased eating and is now starting to show signs of gradual weight loss. We saw the vet on Friday. She recommended critical care over the weekend and said there may be a need to file his molars. She doesn't do the procedure though, so we are researching alternatives. I'm also not sure of the cost. She said likely $550 CDN for the worse case scenario, but we would have to pay for an initial assessment with a vet who can do the procedure (another $110 CDN). I'm just researching other possibilities other than molar filing which could be causing his decreased appetite.

I am very sorry; it is so much harder in the US and Canada where vet bills are astronomical. However, if there really are overgrown spurs, then you do not have an alternative in the long run, as the spurs will continue to grow and either trap the tongue or burrow into the cheeks.

There are other causes for decreased eating. Most of it is caused by pain; sadly none it is likely going to be good news although some things are more treatable than other. Did your vet check for lumps and internal growths and has a scan/x-ray been done?

 

[MariaLovesPiggies]

Thank you, @Wiebke for your response. Tyreese is having some laboured breathing now. He has passed some stools, as we are still syringe feeding the Critical Care. He also peed on me last night, so that was good. I know I'm suppose to mash up the good poops and re-feed them, but what is the best way to tell which ones he can eat? - or should I assume a sick piggy doesn't have any "good" poops?

The vet did not feel any lumps or internal growths. Sadly, we cannot afford the x-ray

 

[Wiebke]

Thank you, @Wiebke for your response. Tyreese is having some laboured breathing now. He has passed some stools, as we are still syringe feeding the Critical Care. He also peed on me last night, so that was good. I know I'm suppose to mash up the good poops and re-feed them, but what is the best way to tell which ones he can eat? - or should I assume a sick piggy doesn't have any "good" poops?

The vet did not feel any lumps or internal growths. Sadly, we cannot afford the x-ray

If he has got laboured breathing, he may be developing either a respiratory tract infection or heart problems. In either case, this needs to be seen by a vet as soon as possible. If either lungs or the chest cavity are congested, you may want to ask your vets additionally for a diuretic to help ease the breathing as much and as quickly as possible; this helps in turn the appetite as the need to breathe comes before the need to drink and only thirdly the need to eat. Until he can be seen, you can place a bowl of steaming water next to the cage, to help ease the breathing a bit. Keep on weighing.

Poo soup only works with fresh poos from healthy guinea pigs. But you can start topping him up with syringe fed mushed up pellets, especially if the weight is going down and also add a pinch of probiotics (a pet shop one will do in an emergency) and some vitamin C (about 1/8 -1/4 of a human tablet).
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide

It is a worrying time; you are a very observant owner, so you notice problems often as soon as they come on, but before they can really been diagnosed.

Wishing you all the best!

 

[Freela]

I am very sorry; it is so much harder in the US and Canada where vet bills are astronomical. However, if there really are overgrown spurs, then you do not have an alternative in the long run, as the spurs will continue to grow and either trap the tongue or burrow into the cheeks.

There are other causes for decreased eating. Most of it is caused by pain; sadly none it is likely going to be good news although some things are more treatable than other. Did your vet check for lumps and internal growths and has a scan/x-ray been done?

Where in Canada are you located? I'm in the Toronto area of Ontario and can recommend a couple of good dental vets in that area. Prices unfortunately vary based on the vet in question (they can set their own prices.) I can say that I'm not paying anywhere near $100 per consultation or $500 per dental filing. If you are anywhere near the Toronto/Durham area, my pigs see Dr. Bill Mingram at Clarington Animal Hospital (near Bowmanville.) There are three vets there who all treat guinea pigs, but only Dr. Bill does dental surgery. He's great... I'm very thankful at the work he's done with Sundae over the years. In Toronto, I would recommend the Links Rd Animal and Bird Clinic... I actually had hedgehogs at the time so they never treated my piggies, but they see a lot of small animals and exotics and were great with my hedgehogs and I would absolutely trust my piggies there too.

If he's showing respiratory symptoms now, it may not be teeth at all- he may need to be reassessed and treated for that. Were they able to see the back teeth on assessment? Sometimes it's hard to get a good look at the back teeth, especially since Canadian vets seem to see fewer pigs than in the UK and may not have the equipment to pull the lips back while the pigs are awake. I know that even my experienced vet has missed a molar spur on Sundae on an awake exam where she was struggling and not happy to have a scope jammed in her mouth!

 

[MariaLovesPiggies]

Hi @Freela Thanks for the post reply. I am closer to Ottawa, sadly, but appreciate the referral. Our vet noticed some slight growth of Tyreese's molars upon examination, but didn't notice any spurs. I can't believe the cost of Guinea Pig treatments here. We've checked three vets and they are all comparable, and expensive. I feel like a monster that I can't afford $600 to save Tyreese. It puts me to tears every time I think about it.

 

[biscandmatt]

Hi @Freela Thanks for the post reply. I am closer to Ottawa, sadly, but appreciate the referral. Our vet noticed some slight growth of Tyreese's molars upon examination, but didn't notice any spurs. I can't believe the cost of Guinea Pig treatments here. We've checked three vets and they are all comparable, and expensive. I feel like a monster that I can't afford $600 to save Tyreese. It puts me to tears every time I think about it.

would the vets consider a payment plan? alot will but obviously don't advertise the fact

 

[MariaLovesPiggies]

Thank you @biscandmatt . I never thought to ask. I will look into it.

Maria

 

[Freela]

Hi @Freela Thanks for the post reply. I am closer to Ottawa, sadly, but appreciate the referral. Our vet noticed some slight growth of Tyreese's molars upon examination, but didn't notice any spurs. I can't believe the cost of Guinea Pig treatments here. We've checked three vets and they are all comparable, and expensive. I feel like a monster that I can't afford $600 to save Tyreese. It puts me to tears every time I think about it.

I'm sorry you're further away. The cost of vet bills definitely is stressful. The same pig who had all the dental problems (Sundae) has also been treated conservatively for a bladder stone for years, even though the 'gold standard' is supposed to be surgical removal. The cost of the operation was going to be about $1500! It's not something within our budget, so we elected to just treat symptoms and watch to see that her quality of life remained good. Fortunately, she did very well and is now my old lady pig at 5 years and 9 months of age. But yes, the cost is ridiculous sometimes! Ask about a payment plan... also not sure how you feel about carrying things on your credit card, but at one point where I had several vet bills close together and was starting a new job, I simply charged them all and then budgeted my paychecks to pay off what was carried on the bill the next month when I had more cash flow.

 

[MariaLovesPiggies]

I'm a mess.