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Teeth issues!

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sjpm

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My guinea pig George had spurs filed off his molars on Tuesday. It didn't really seem to make much difference, still wasn't eating etc, and today I had to take him back to the vet as he was grinding his front teeth together and they looked they were hitting together all the time. I'm assuming the issue with his front teeth happened as a consequence of having the back teeth done as they weren't long before he went in.

Anyway, he had the front ones clipped today and he has definitely perked up, but is it normal for him to still be drooling? He's begging for food and taking it off me with his front teeth, but he's still reluctant to actually eat it. How long does it usually take for the teeth to settle down again?

I have been trying to syringe feed him critical care but I'm finding it a bit traumatic so the sooner he starts eating properly again the better, and I'll do anything I can do to make him comfortable in the meantime.
 
Hi love whee are really sorry to hear George has toofie problems :(
furryfriends (aka Debbie) is VERY experienced in dental piggies, her vet is Simon Maddock, i'll let her know about George's problems and she maybe able to advise you.

George will need to be hand fed lots of meals per day to keep him going..... keep up with the critical care and also try mushing up his pellets and offering those too. Grate some food and offer this to him.

If he's still not happy eating he may have ulcers on his tongue? you said he had spurs filed down, they can cause ulcerations on tongues and their mouths.

GOOD LUCK XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
 
Hiya, I am so sorry to hear that George is having problems with his teeth.

As Glynis has already mentioned I have considerable experience dealing with piggies with dental issues and will do my best to help you.

I have taken in piggies from all over the country, some permanently and others fostered, who have dental issues as my vet is very experienced and knowledgable.

Did your piggie have his teeth done under GA?

Did the vet say if there was any ulceration to the mouth where the spurs had rubbed?

If so was any pain relief suggested?

Can he eat anything for himself?

I am rather concerned that the vet didn't pick up on the fact that the front teeth were too long after the back teeth had been done.

Whereabout in the country do you live?

The vet I use is:

Simon Maddock
Cat and Rabbit Care Clinic
1 Limehurst Square
Duston
Northampton.

Telephone 01604 877220

With regard to syringe feeding, why are you finding it traumatic? Is it because he's reluctant to take syringe food? It can be worth trying different things. I've had piggies who love CC and others who hate it. I also use the Wagg Optimum pellets and the Burgess Blackcurrant and Oregano, as they mush up really easily when you pour boiling water over them. I just let it cool a little and then feed, as my dental pigs love them warm.

How much syringe food are you getting into him?

It's important to find the most comfortable way, for both you and him, when syringe feeding.

I sit the piggie on my lap, on a towel, facing towards my right, as I am right handed. I use my left hand to hold the head steady, for those who try and dodge the syringe, and gently insert the syringe in the mouth. They all seem to have a preferance to which side of the mouth you put the syringe.

I use a 1 ml syringe, with the end cut off, and you can syringe the full 1 ml in each time. For a piggie who isn't eating anything for themselves I aim to get 120 mls in every 24 hours.

If you would like my phone numbers, so we can have a chat about any of this, just let me know.

Debbie xx
 
Thank you both for your help :)

He had them done under GA because he's a very nervous pig and the vet I saw at the time struggled to see the back teeth, I think because George was probably in pain, so recommended that they be done under GA. I was happy to do this because I've had other pigs go under GA with them so I usually trust what they're doing.

His spurs were growing over his tongue. They could see that his tongue was inflamed so he had an anti inflammatory injection a few days before and one the day after. They didn't suggest any pain relief. He has had 2 antibiotic injections so I'm just wondering whether this might be putting him off food?

He is picking at food, taking it out of my hand with his front teeth and then managing to eat some of it but not all which is what I was expecting him to be like after he'd had it done.

To be honest, they didn't tell me which vet was going to be doing his teeth and because the regular vet I see didn't know that much about it when I took him back in I had to make an appointment 2 days after it was done to see the vet that actually did them. I was quite annoyed because I told her that he was grinding his front teeth together and they didn't look right and she said 'well they were fine when I did his other teeth.' They obviously weren't OK there and then because she clipped them a little bit and now he can pick up food which he couldn't do before! She made me feel like I was a bit stupid and I was criticising what she had done.

I'm up in north Cumbria and I've done a bit of research but there don't seem to be any dental specialist vets around here. He is definitely better than he was, I'm just worried because he doesn't seem to be eating hay and pellets, only veg. I've been syringing water and critical care into him but i have actually got some Burgess Blackcurrant and Oregano that they don't seem to like so I don't know if it would be worth trying them as well?!

I'm just frustrated by it because it's upsetting not seeing him as normal and he just seems to struggle so much when I syringe feed him and when I put him back into the cage he tries to hide under his brother! :red I've been wrapping him up when i've been feeding him and I'm getting better at doing it, I just feel like it's not really doing into him.
 
I'd go back to your vets and ask for some pain relief and/or anti-biotics (remember to give him a probiotic as well), poor lad probably can't eat because it's so sore!

grate all his food and mush up his pellets, as others have said, also if you can get any bran (crushed) mix that with a bit of warm water and leave to cool, and plenty of hay :))
 
Still no improvement :( I've been syringing critical care and pellet/oat mush into him and he's seems bright within himself but I've not seen him eat anything on his own since Thursday night. His mouth looks a bit off, like his bottom jaw isn't in line with his top jaw? I've seem him trying to drink from his bottle and he's like he can't open his mouth wide enough to get the spout in. I've put a bottle with a thinner spout in but he still can't get his teeth round that either. His front teeth look alright to me now so I'm assuming it's still something with his back teeth. If she's opened his mouth too wide and damaged his jaw I'm going to be mad!

Luckily my vets is open tomorrow so I'm going to try and get an appointment but it's not looking good.
 
It might just be that a back tooth has been left too long and is stopping his mouth moving into alignment. Totally unacceptable though if that is the case. I just hope it isn't something worse. I find it so upsetting and frustrating that so few vets have a clue with teeth. I can really why so many people travel hundreds of miles to come and see my vet, Simon.

Did your vet arrange a follow up appointment to see how he was getting on? I know so many vets just do the teeth and think that's it with no recheck after a couple of weeks.

See what the vet says tomorrow and please feel free to call me if you want a chat about all of this.
 
Oh poor George :( I had trouble after one of my piggies had dental work. Unfortunately they never supplied me with pain relief, and I couldn't get him eating again. I got pain relief soon after, but like you it got very frustrating and upsetting trying to feed him. I took him back to the vet for the day so they could feed him for me, it was worth every penny, as everything went well after that. Hope your visit goes well tomorrow, get well soon George xox
 
Saw a different vet this morning, probably the best one I've seen recently, and she said his jaw doesn't feel right, it's moving more than it should and he's not happy with anyone touching it. He going into tomorrow to have an x-ray to check both teeth and jaw and then they're going to try and sort the issue. She said that he's just got enough weight to go under GA, if he was any thinner she wouldn't risk it. I'm hoping that it is just a missed tooth as I doubt there's anything they could do for a jaw issue?

He still seems quite bright, I'm syringing a mix of pellets, blackcurrant & oregano pellets and oats and he seems to like this more :) getting quite good at the syringing now.

I'll be keeping everything crossed tomorrow. I won't be able to pick him up til I finish work tomorrow (if he pulls through) so it's going to be a long day!
 
My vet is very experienced in dental and jaw issues. If your vet would like to speak with him I know he would be more than willing to advise.

His contact details are here:-

Simon Maddock
The Cat and Rabbit Care Clinic
1 Limehurst Square
Duston
Northampton

Telephone 01604 478888
 
Been back at the vet today for another teeth check and and x-ray. The vet said that his teeth were in a bit of a state but they've tidied them up the best they can and burred away any sharp bits. They were more concerned about his jaw, apparently his jaw muscles are just getting weaker and that's why his top and bottom jaw are a bit off. It's why he's been eating so slowly over the last couple of weeks.

The options were to keep syringe feeding him and see if he picks up or put him to sleep if he doesn't improve. I'm not giving up! He's had some Metacam today and I've seen him attempt to eat kale, coriander and broccoli as well as having his syringe feeds. I've also seen him drink out of his bottle! Is there any chance his jaw might get stronger if he starts eating again? I really don't want to give up on him yet as he's still very bright, standing up at the cage door and trying to eat his brother's poo?! rolleyes. He's 900 grams which isn't terrible.

Debbie I might give Simon a ring in a few days if I don't see any improvement. Would he be happy to speak to me and give some advice? I don't want to bother him if he's busy.
 
I'm sure Simon would be happy to speak with you. Obviously it will be hard for him to advise too much without seeing the piggie, but I know he will be as helpful as he can be. It may be that he won't be available when you phone but if you leave your details he will phone you back when he can. Is there any way you could bring your piggie to see him? He goes on holiday on Saturday and then won't be back in work until Thursday 4th August.
 
I've been syringe feeding George for two weeks now, and he's still bright and lively. He's only lost 40g between then and now, 900g to hovering around 866g. He's taking the syringe feed through the bars now so he's obviously realised what I'm doing, but it's heartbreaking to see him get excited about food in the cage and then he can't actually eat it.

I went to see another vet who I've dealt with in the past with other pigs, and are usually quite good, but the vet basically read the notes from the original vet and spoke to me as if I was stupid to think that he might recover. The original vets had said that he'd had a massive infection in his jaw and that's why his jaw is out of line/bit of a mess, and he won't recover from it. So why did they tell me that he might improve? It seems like they've just tried to sweeten it when telling me how ill he really was, thinking that I'd just have him put to sleep after a week. But I can't bear to do it, he doesn't even look ill. Yes he looks a bit thin and he's quite drooly but he's still bright and coming to see me every day when I put food in. I just don't know what to do. Obviously I can't keep taking him in to have his molars done as it's too much money and too much stress on the poor boy.

Even if I did speak to Simon he too far away for me to see, and now I'm worried that if I do see a good vet they'll just look at the notes and reiterate what the second vet as said, that there is no hope for him.

I just don't know what to do for the best. He might get better and start eating, but at what point do I make the decision that he won't? I'm in a pickle :(
 
If you would like to get Simon's advice and opinion on this, I am more than willing to have George here to stay for a while to enable him to see Simon.

Dental issues don't have to be a death sentence, but you do need a good experienced vet, and unfortunately they are so few and far between.
 
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