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(Dental) Opinions, please?

tatals

tatals

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
Dec 20, 2018
Messages
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Location
Brazil
Hi, everyone.

Last October, my 2-year-old Oreo started drooling. I knew it would be a dental problem. After some drama with a bunch of vets, I finally found one who didn't refuse him. She was great, did the procedure right away and he went home that evening. It took him a full month to recover, but he was my happy boy again afterwards.

Until January. The whole thing started again, and in February he was in for another procedure. It's been 15 days, and he's still not eating by himself. I'm syringe-feeding him, and I don't mind that at all, but I'm concerned about it. He's happily taking the food, always asking for it, but I wonder what his quality of life will be from now on. I always knew that once a dental, always a dental, but I guess I didn't realize it would be at such short intervals.

The vet is great, again, but she's not a guinea pig specialist - there are no specialists in my area, and very few in my country, for that matter -; she's a wild animals vet. Other vets refused him for not liking to treat guinea pigs (that was a dental specialist) or on the grounds of 'they (dental piggies) always end up dying' - and I'm not even joking.

So I guess this is a bit of a vent, but I'd also like to hear your honest opinions. Is there anything I can do to help him? At this point, I'm trying to get used to the idea of letting him go if I start noticing too much discomfort. I don't want him to lead a miserable life. At the same time, I'm always impressed with how he hangs on. He's a little fighter. I know many of you have had several dental piggies, and I'd really appreciate your insight and honesty. I love him to death and want to make the best decision for him.
 
I know Debbie is really busy so also tagging in a couple of members with experience of dental pigs @Bill & Ted @Wiebke

I know quote often a good vet (not just specialists but ones that are specialists and experienced in guinea pig dentals) make a lot of difference and being in Brazil this isn't going to be possible for you to find. I hope that your vet is open to learning more and that some of our experienced members can give you some information to take to them
 
I run a sanctuary for guinea pigs with ongoing dental issues and we do have some who need very regular dentals, but live completely normal lives, as long as they get these regular dentals. Every case is different and some will only need very occasional treatment, but it isn't unusual for regular treatment to be needed. Our vet is able to carry out the dental work, without the need for general anaesthetic, which makes it easier to treat the piggies.

None of our guinea pigs need syringe feeding or food cut up differently and all eat like normal guinea pigs.
 
Thank you, @furryfriends (TEAS) . Do they have a long recovery period? Oreo took a whole month last time and seems to be going the same way now. But he does get GA for the procedure. Yesterday, he was able to chew some cherry tomatoes, blueberries and grapes, but today he doesn't seem very excited to eat by himself. He's still calling me for food all day, but is constantly looking for the syringe. Any suggestions?
 
tatals said:
Thank you, @furryfriends (TEAS) . Do they have a long recovery period? Oreo took a whole month last time and seems to be going the same way now. But he does get GA for the procedure. Yesterday, he was able to chew some cherry tomatoes, blueberries and grapes, but today he doesn't seem very excited to eat by himself. He's still calling me for food all day, but is constantly looking for the syringe. Any suggestions?
Click to expand...

No, our piggies are all eating well, immediately after dental work. None of our guinea pigs need syringe feeding and all eat normally, as long as they get their regular dentals.
 
Thank you, @furryfriends (TEAS) and everyone for responding. It turned out he actually had a tumor in his stomach. We spent a few days together, and he was put down today. I'm deeply heartbroken. He was a very special pig.
 
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