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Dental procedure

Zorro1

Zorro1

Adult Guinea Pig
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My piggy, Zorro, is going to have his incisor teeth filled down tomorrow.
Any tips for care after his dental procedure would be very much appreciated.
 
Is the issue confirmed to be his incisors and that there is nothing wrong at all with the molars?
Incisors can have their own issues but usually incisors are self sharpening and are kept in check by the proper action of the molars. If the molars go wrong then the incisors can slant but the issue is actually the molars and not the incisors so the incisors don’t need to be touched. Incisors filed too short or filed unnecessarily can stop them from being able to pick up food and if the issue with the molars then obviously filing the incisors won’t cure the issue

After care is daily weight checks and syringe feeding. Other information relating to recovering from anesthetic etc can be found in the guide below

Tips For Post-operative Care
 
What are the problems with his incisors?, I would tread very carefully before you decide on this procedure as most vets file their incisors far too short and this can unbalance all their teeth

Is he not eating normally and losing weight?
 
Zorro1 said:
My piggy, Zorro, is going to have his incisor teeth filled down tomorrow.
Any tips for care after his dental procedure would be very much appreciated.
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Is he having a full anaesthetic?

Good luck tomorrow.
 
He is going to have a second check up before the procedure, to make sure he needs it. I'm not sure if he will be under full anisthetic. From what I understand from the first check up, his jaw is naturally, slightly misaligned. This caused a problem with his back molars which then affected his incisors. The vet said that getting his front teeth filed would fix the issue for a couple years, until his teeth grow back incorrectly again.
Again, I'm still not crystal clear on what the issue is. Hopefully the vet visit today will make things clear.
 
Zorro1 said:
Yes, we've had to syringe feed him as he stopped eating. He sometimes could eat a bit of veggies if they are chopped very finely, but around eight times out of ten he won't accept vegetables.
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Oh poor you! dental problems are the worst in my opinion. Hope your vet can get him sorted 🤞
 
I would say after any dental procedure, make sure you are given pain relief (his mouth may be sore and he may be hesitant to try to eat) and make sure you have Critical Care and a syringe on hand in case he can't eat well. I would also weigh daily and make sure he's maintaining in the aftermath. I know there is a sticky at the top about syringe-feeding in emergencies that you may find helpful.

It's been a few years since I had a dental pig, but I'm a little confused at what the vet is attempting here. Are they filing his molars as well? Typically by the time you can see issues in the front, there are worse problems in the back. Dental problems move from the back to the front. Filing the incisors won't address any issues in the back and can make it hard for pigs to pick up food. I'm also not too sure on the vet's timeline of fixing the issue for a couple years... my experience is that piggie teeth grow much faster than that. I would just go in being prepared that this might not be a long-term fix and that if you see any signs of uneven teeth or difficulty eating in a month or two, it could very well still be teeth.
 
Freela said:
I would say after any dental procedure, make sure you are given pain relief (his mouth may be sore and he may be hesitant to try to eat) and make sure you have Critical Care and a syringe on hand in case he can't eat well. I would also weigh daily and make sure he's maintaining in the aftermath. I know there is a sticky at the top about syringe-feeding in emergencies that you may find helpful.

It's been a few years since I had a dental pig, but I'm a little confused at what the vet is attempting here. Are they filing his molars as well? Typically by the time you can see issues in the front, there are worse problems in the back. Dental problems move from the back to the front. Filing the incisors won't address any issues in the back and can make it hard for pigs to pick up food. I'm also not too sure on the vet's timeline of fixing the issue for a couple years... my experience is that piggie teeth grow much faster than that. I would just go in being prepared that this might not be a long-term fix and that if you see any signs of uneven teeth or difficulty eating in a month or two, it could very well still be teeth.
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Sadly I agree, piggies teeth grow wrong again so quickly especially molar spurs. It’s a horrible situation to be in. I don’t think trimming the incisors will make a blind bit of difference to any back teeth problems from my experience. So sorry for you
 
:agr:
If the issue is the molars, then doing anything to the incisors will not fix the problem.
Piggies with dental issues can need dentals every 4-6 weeks so I’m also unclear why filing the incisors would mean the issue is resolved for a couple of years. Doesn’t sound plausible to me.

I hope he is ok
 
Zorro1 said:
From what I understand from the first check up, his jaw is naturally, slightly misaligned. This caused a problem with his back molars which then affected his incisors. The vet said that getting his front teeth filed would fix the issue for a couple years, until his teeth grow back incorrectly again.
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This was my rough idea of what the problem was. We had since been referred to another vet for the teeth filing and a check up. We had his teeth filed yesterday and got the full story of exactly what is happening in his mouth.

His back molars have grown in the wrong direction where the teeth are misaligned. The side of the molars that don't grind/come in contact with the other teeth have overgrown, causing a couple of "spikey parts" on one side of some of the molar teeth. This likely caused some pain as it poked into his gums and discouraged him from eating. Also, one of his back teeth looked like it got chipped by picking up something hard and trying to chew it (probably picked up a small stone from being on the grass). When the vet filed the front teeth, he also chipped of the overgrown parts of the molars, so that they are flat again.

Because the back teeth are naturally growing incorrectly, the vet recommended that we come back regularly to check on his teeth and hopefully, over time, get them 'trained' to grow the right way.

Apparently, the front teeth still needed filing but the main problem is with the molars.
We were also advised to keep his jaws moving, trying to get him to chew veggies again. Thanks for reading my long reply. I appreciate all the help.
 
Zorro1 said:
This was my rough idea of what the problem was. We had since been referred to another vet for the teeth filing and a check up. We had his teeth filed yesterday and got the full story of exactly what is happening in his mouth.

His back molars have grown in the wrong direction where the teeth are misaligned. The side of the molars that don't grind/come in contact with the other teeth have overgrown, causing a couple of "spikey parts" on one side of some of the molar teeth. This likely caused some pain as it poked into his gums and discouraged him from eating. Also, one of his back teeth looked like it got chipped by picking up something hard and trying to chew it (probably picked up a small stone from being on the grass). When the vet filed the front teeth, he also chipped of the overgrown parts of the molars, so that they are flat again.

Because the back teeth are naturally growing incorrectly, the vet recommended that we come back regularly to check on his teeth and hopefully, over time, get them 'trained' to grow the right way.

Apparently, the front teeth still needed filing but the main problem is with the molars.
We were also advised to keep his jaws moving, trying to get him to chew veggies again. Thanks for reading my long reply. I appreciate all the help.
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Ok so he has some spurs. Chewing veggies will not keep his teeth in check. It’s only hay and fresh grass which contains the silica which is necessary for effective dental wear.

Is he on painkillers?
 
OK, I'm glad they got to the back teeth too- this sounds like molar spurs, which is when the back teeth grow long and pointy. The can cut the cheeks and sometimes grow over and trap the tongue. The best thing you can do is encourage him to eat lots and lots of hay- it's the most important source of nutrients and also effectively wears down the teeth. In the meantime, weight him daily and if he's not maintaining weight, step in with syringe-feeding. It can sometimes take awhile to get back to normal intake after dental issues. Hope he feels much better soon!
 
As Freela has said he needs to chew grass and hay to stop the spurs from coming back.
If he doesn’t start eating hay again properly on both sides of his mouth the spurs will reform hence the need for another treatment in a few weeks time. It can take a few treatments to bring things back properly and get them to eat on both sides properly. Spurs can regrow in as little as 2-4 weeks.
The front teeth then slant as an indication that they are not chewing properly at the back but the front teeth were never the issue in itself.
Be aware that a vet who has filed the front teeth too short will have caused a piggy to not be able to pick up food.
 
I've been trying to get him to eat grass and hay, but he won't accept it. Has getting his teeth filed just worsened the situation? 😟
He will eat a few slightly soggy pellets if I mix it with the critical care (he can't resist the critical care)
Since the pellets are hay based, will it help a little in filing his molars down?
 
He is probably sore for the moment and it can take time for them to get over the discomfort and gain confidence to eat again.
How much metacam is he on, is it dog or cat metacam and is it twice a day?
Was he under anaesthetic or just sedated?

We can’t say whether the filing has made it worse in this case or at the moment but we do unfortunately have cases come on here where a dental has made things worse due to inexperience of the vet

No the pellets won’t do anything for his teeth. They aren’t the long strand hay fibres containing silica which are needed to grind on.
 
He is on 0.2ml Meloxicam (for cats) once per day. -doesn't seem enough to me.
I'm not sure the difference between sedated and anesthetic, but on the receipt of the procedure it says it was an isoflurane anesthetic.
The vet didn't seem to be inexperienced so hopefully the filing hasn't made things worse.
Any tips to get him to eat hay/grass?
 
Zorro1 said:
He is on 0.2ml Meloxicam (for cats) once per day. -doesn't seem enough to me.
I'm not sure the difference between sedated and anesthetic, but on the receipt of the procedure it says it was an isoflurane anesthetic.
The vet didn't seem to be inexperienced so hopefully the filing hasn't made things worse.
Any tips to get him to eat hay/grass?
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That is a very low dose of painkiller. Piggies need pain meds twice a day as they metabolise them in around 12 hours. A low dose once a day is nothing more than cosmetic.

A key question is how many piggy dentals have they done before.

Ensuring he isn’t in pain is a big first step to getting him to eat - a piggy in pain won’t eat.
The other thing is to gift him some syringe feed then offer some grass/hay; then continue with syringe feed and offer some more grass/hay at the end of the feed.
 
yes, I agree he needs a bigger dose of the pain meds particularly because it’s for cats which is lower in strength than the one for dogs. My Ted was given 0.4 ml of the dog strength at 1.5 mg (twice a day) while the cat is 0.5 mg in strength so it’s really low and the base line dosage which many vets start with. Ask for it to be given twice a day and increased if you can

Ted’s weight was around 1200 - 1300 gm. the vet will work dosages out by the weight of the patient

Grass is your best option, it’s very unlikely that he will eat hay unless he is in no pain and the procedure has been done perfectly but he may in time nibble some. You need to do lots of hand feed and give encouragement. Offer some plain porridge oats in a bowl, offer any of his favourite treats, it’s as much a confidence thing as they do loose it and need to see that they can eat again in my experience. Molar spurs usually need addressing every 6 weeks unfortunately as there is no easy fix

Good luck
 
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Zorro1 said:
Thank you very much @Piggies&buns and @Bill & Ted 👍
Your advice has really helped me understand what the problem is and what I need to do.
I will have to ring the vet tomorrow and find out how much more meloxicam I should be giving Zorro.
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I am so sorry for you and Zorro. They key is a really experienced vet who can perform the procedures well, but to be honest there’s not many around who get that experience and perfect it. Sorry I can’t be more positive for you :hug:
 
My piggy had some spurs on his molar teeth, we went to the vet and got the spurs filed off as well as his incisors filed down (as they needed correcting too). Now, I'm trying to get him back to eating hay and veggies but no matter what I try he still won't settle for anything other than his critical care. I know he can't live of critical care, but I'm finding it so difficult to get him to eat veggies. I've tried smearing the critical care on the veggies, but that doesn't work. I've chopped up some grass and mixed it in with the paste but he doesn't always eat it. I would very much appreciate some tips!
 
Getting them to eat after a dental isn’t always quick fix. Any issue still present with the teeth or any pain means they won’t eat.
I think, if I remember correctly, from your other post (which I’m going to merge with this one so that all the information is in the right place and in the correct forum section for monitoring) his pain relief is likely insufficient so that really won’t help at all - if he is in any pain then he isn’t going to want to eat.
Any chance the dental hadn’t been done properly and he also won’t eat.

Veg is merely supplementary so the fact he won’t eat them doesn’t matter at present.
The important part is that you are giving enough critical care to keep his weight stable as it is doing the job of replacing his hay intake at present.
When he can eat again, he will do so.

All you can try is to give him half his syringe feed then offer blades of grass (no point in needing it in with syringe feed), strands of hay and veg cut into matchsticks. Then continue with the rest of the syringe feed. Offer more grass/veg/hay at the end.
 
Sorry you needed to move my post, I wasn't sure where to post it.
Zorro1 said:
I will have to ring the vet tomorrow and find out how much more meloxicam I should be giving Zorro.
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I emailed the vet and they said to continue with the same dosage (0.2ml of the Meloxicam for cats). If pain is the reason he still won't eat, should I give him a little more anyway? Like 0.25ml - 0.3ml? I don't want to overdose, but also the amount of pain killer may not be enough.
 
Zorro1 said:
Sorry you needed to move my post, I wasn't sure where to post it.

I emailed the vet and they said to continue with the same dosage (0.2ml of the Meloxicam for cats). If pain is the reason he still won't eat, should I give him a little more anyway? Like 0.25ml - 0.3ml? I don't want to overdose, but also the amount of pain killer may not be enough.
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All you can do is monitor and return to the vet if he doesn’t start eating soon.
We cannot tell you to give more than that which the vet has prescribed.
All we can say is that 0.2ml of cat, even 0.3ml of cat once a day isn’t much.
 
Sending Xorro loads of healing vibes, it’s early days and his mouth will be a bit sore, so for now concentrate on getting plenty of CC into him and offer his favourite herbs/veggies to encourage him to eat. Weigh daily too and keep a note of his weights. he won’t put weight on atm but try and keep it stable if you can
 
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