[Gpdd] (Care) Re: Teeth problems

Stacy Harvey ckrtsqrl2000 at yahoo.com
Sat Mar 22 11:31:27 EDT 2008


All--sorry about the flurry of posts, but I am on Spring Break and  finally have a little time to spare. 
   
  I just wanted to add my two cents about teeth problems, as I have had two piggies with it. Max has since passsed, but now Willie is experiencing something as well. When we had his abscess removed a month or so ago, we also got a good look inside his mouth, as my vet thought that perhaps he had a root abscess. What we found was, his mandibular (lower jaw)molars are actually growing inward toward the tongue--and I don't mean just spurs on the molars (which he gets), but the whole alignment of his jaw is changing. She did some x-rays; his roots are slightly elongated, but not enough to cause any abscesses or grow through the bone just yet. The vet said that sometimes, because all their teeth are hypsodontic (grow continuously), their jaw can change shape over time as the piggy ages. I think part of the problem (if you can call it a problem) is that with better veterinary care and more knowledgeable owners, our piggies are living considerably longer than they used to and are
 thus encountering more age-related health problems. But that's just my theory.
   
  On to anesthesia during dentals--I have mixed feelings about this. *IF* the vet is very eperienced with doing piggy dental trims and proper restraint, and has the right equipment, then they really don't need to use anesthesia most of the time. I had a newly graduated veterinarian one time tell me they got ONE DAY of training about guinea pigs in vet school. Very unfortunate. I wish there was someone like Vedra and the CCT here in the States. My vet in Maryland did a lot of dentals, and almost never used anesthesia unless he thought the animal would be worse off from the stress of being handled than from the anesthesia. Sometimes just stress can kill an animal that is feeling poorly. Happens a lot with birds. 
   
  Having said that, anesthesia does also provide analgesia (pain relief) during the trimming process, which can be painful if the piggy has especially problematic teeth issues like my Willie, and it relaxes the piggy so you can get way back into that tiny little mouth where the problem spots usually are. My vet uses anesthesia, and she lets me assist with the procedure--you can bet I watch that machine and his breathing and body temperature like a hawk! (But I also treat every animal that I anesthetize like it's my own.) She hasn't done a whole lot of piggy dentals, because, quite frankly, piggies and other pocket pets seem to be "disposable" to a lot of folks here in Fayetteville and they just don't want to pay for it. But I trust her--- I also trust her to tell me that she hasn't done a procedure before or doesn't feel comfortable doing something, so she'll consult with the exotics vet in Raleigh and let me decide what I want to have done. Now that we know what is going
 on with Willie, we may be able to get in and out in just a few minutes; maybe we won't need anesthesia at all.
   
  ANY medication carries a risk, as does any anesthesthia-- whether it's piggies or people. Most vets use Isoflurane or Sevoflurane, and both are very safe in the right hands. Most of the gas is exhaled out of the lungs as the animal recovers, and only a small amount that's left gets metabolized through the liver, so most animals can tolerate it well. Animals with suspected kidney or liver failure, pneumonia, or congestive heart problems are not good candidates for any type of anesthesia and most sedatives, and a good vet should tell you this. It's a tough call--trust your gut. If you think the vet doesn't know what he or she is doing, do not hesitate to look elswhere. It's all about the well-being of our precious furbabies.
   
  Hope this helps--I'll stop babbling now.
   
  -Stacy and the Squee Squad
   

       
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