Dental Dental

[Jesse's pigs]

So Steve is going to have his teeth trimmed tomorrow. I know for sure his two bottom incisors need doing...his back molars I’m not too sure they feel okay to me but he isn’t the easiest to check as he tries to take your fingers off

Now, I am taking him to my practice as they do bunny and piggy dentals and I’ve never seen a client have an issue with their work before or had the animal come back in mor distress than they were before. Furthermore, they did Bigwigs teeth for me and he was fine (at 11) however I cannot help but worry a little.

His teeth aren’t horrendous, but I know if I don’t do it then they will get that way eventually. I only really looked today because he was chewing his teeth a little more than normal and getting a bit ragy with Stitch which he hasn’t done since I bought him home. I have critical care feed at home and he has still increased in weight so I’m not too worried about that but what should I look for?

I feel a little like a terrible pigmum because I don’t know why they’ve gotten long. He has toys to chew, he has unlimited hay and pellets. He often tries to eat my wall so I don’t know how they’ve got long

 

[Jesse's pigs]

Some screenshots of a video I took and sent to the vet to check I wasn’t just worrying over nothing. They said they’re not horrendous but are longer then they should be

 

[piggieminder]

Aw bless him. Xx

 

[Jesse's pigs]

Aw bless him. Xx

I’m freaking out a bit I’m not gonna lie. I know his bomb proof and won’t be freaked out by the visit too much hopefully. And I’m gonna take stitch so he’s not alone.

 

[Jesse's pigs]

Aw bless him. Xx

They aren’t that bad tho are they? I feel cruel as if I should’ve noticed sooner but apart from chewing a little more today I never really worried because he is always eating really hard things etc

 

[piggieminder]

I'm no expert but they don't look bad to me. I don't think I would have noticed unless mine were losing weight, don't be hard on yourself. You're vets sound like they know what they are doing, try not to worry too much.

 

[Little Ones]

His incisors look fine to me. When you look at piggy teeth like that, they can seem to look extremely long.
Guinea pig incisors are self-sharpening as long as they meet and as long as they eat their hay (eating hay is what keeps their back teeth fine unless they’re genetically predisposed to dental issues), which your piggies do. I personally wouldn’t mess, honestly as someone who has had 2 dental piggies that went to see Simon, it seems like it’ll create more issues.
Are you sure your piggy even needs a dental at all? If your vet is happy to trim the incisors when they look completely fine and show no signs of a dental issue, then are you sure they know what they’re doing?
Is your piggy eating hay fine? Is he losing weight? If he’s eating his hay, then that indicates no problem with the back teeth and a dental would just mess everything up entirely.
Sorry, I’m just confused as to why your piggy is having a dental?

 

[Jesse's pigs]

His incisors look fine to me. When you look at piggy teeth like that, they can seem to look extremely long.
Guinea pig incisors are self-sharpening as long as they meet and as long as they eat their hay (eating hay is what keeps their back teeth fine unless they’re genetically predisposed to dental issues), which your piggies do. I personally wouldn’t mess, honestly as someone who has had 2 dental piggies that went to see Simon, it seems like it’ll create more issues.
Are you sure your piggy even needs a dental at all? If your vet is happy to trim the incisors when they look completely fine and show no signs of a dental issue, then are you sure they know what they’re doing?
Is your piggy eating hay fine? Is he losing weight? If he’s eating his hay, then that indicates no problem with the back teeth and a dental would just mess everything up entirely.
Sorry, I’m just confused as to why your piggy is having a dental?

The two bottom incisors dont meet the top. Compared to Bellamy’s and Stitche’s teeth they are double the length in terms of the bottom. I trust my vets so far as they got my boy through a very nasty episode of bloat which honestly he shouldn’t have lived through. I’ve only sent them a video across today and they’ve said to pop him up when I go into work tomorrow and they’ll have a proper look but from what they see yes the bottom are longer then they should be.

 

[Little Ones]

The two bottom incisors dont meet the top. Compared to Bellamy’s and Stitche’s teeth they are double the length in terms of the bottom. I trust my vets so far as they got my boy through a very nasty episode of bloat which honestly he shouldn’t have lived through. I’ve only sent them a video across today and they’ve said to pop him up when I go into work tomorrow and they’ll have a proper look but from what they see yes the bottom are longer then they should be.

Right gotcha. So the teeth are growing way up behind the top incisors? I had a piggy who had really long top incisors compared to the bottom and compared to my other piggies, Simon didn’t see an issue though, it was just how he was.
If your piggy is eating hay fine, then I’d recommend asking them to leave the back teeth alone and only do the incisors. Guinea pig vets aren’t properly trained in doing dentals on piggies, hence why Simon is a god send to us dental piggy owners. They require a whole other skill set that isn’t taught, unlike issues like bloat which all exotic vets should be able to treat for example.
You mentioned they did your other piggies teeth before and they were okay which is a good thing. Be aware that if incisors are cut incorrectly, you’re looking at a whole other boat of issues. If they’re too short, they won’t be able to pick up anything including hay some of the time. This means they’ll rely on you to syringe feed them round the clock (which can lead to back teeth other growth due to not eating hay). When this happened to one of mine, he could only eat grass for himself. Incisors also need to be cut with grooves and not just straight across or you can have the same issues. Just some heads up for what you could be seeing after the dental.
But again, to reiterate that if your guinea pig is eating hay, don’t let them mess with the back teeth. They should be able to burr incisors consciously, if that’s not what you’re already doing, as they do this consciously for rabbits. Most vets anyway don’t burr the back teeth consciously.

Edit:
Also to note, piggies without dental issues don’t get incisors like this. So this likely could be a reoccurring problem. Incisors grow quite quickly in my experience. My Little first had to have his incisors burred every 2 weeks but now we manage every 3 weeks.
I should also add that guinea pigs with dental disease have teeth which are more brittle, so as a precaution I’d remove any hard chews. Basically anything aside from toilet roll tubes. Anything else, including bar chewing, can cause incisors to snap. And when you have dental piggy, their incisors don’t grow back easily, but rather it can lead to quite a nightmare that I won’t get into, lol.

 

[Jesse's pigs]

Right gotcha. So the teeth are growing way up behind the top incisors? I had a piggy who had really long top incisors compared to the bottom and compared to my other piggies, Simon didn’t see an issue though, it was just how he was.
If your piggy is eating hay fine, then I’d recommend asking them to leave the back teeth alone and only do the incisors. Guinea pig vets aren’t properly trained in doing dentals on piggies, hence why Simon is a god send to us dental piggy owners. They require a whole other skill set that isn’t taught, unlike issues like bloat which all exotic vets should be able to treat for example.
You mentioned they did your other piggies teeth before and they were okay which is a good thing. Be aware that if incisors are cut incorrectly, you’re looking at a whole other boat of issues. If they’re too short, they won’t be able to pick up anything including hay some of the time. This means they’ll rely on you to syringe feed them round the clock (which can lead to back teeth other growth due to not eating hay). When this happened to one of mine, he could only eat grass for himself. Incisors also need to be cut with grooves and not just straight across or you can have the same issues. Just some heads up for what you could be seeing after the dental.
But again, to reiterate that if your guinea pig is eating hay, don’t let them mess with the back teeth. They should be able to burr incisors consciously, if that’s not what you’re already doing, as they do this consciously for rabbits. Most vets anyway don’t burr the back teeth consciously.

I don’t know how to attach the video because it is a lot clearer on there but yes basically the two incisors go behind the top and are just a bit longer. Not massively longer but enough that I think they are causing him discomfort- though thankfully not enough to stop him eating. I read and realise that in theory the top and bottom incisors should be of equal ish length which is why they meet; I think those pictures show that the bottom is longer then the top.

Oh yes we do dentals with them conscious (they sedated my Bigwig only because he is a massive stress head and would have probably died from the stress before we even started on his teeth!). They’ve x-rayed and ultrasounded my boy for me before and he isn’t fazed. I will admit they aren’t as experienced as Simon, but for an independent practice they do pretty damn good. They’ve done some big surgeries on piggies since I’ve stated there, eye removal and c-section.

I don’t believe his molars need doing but I’ve-just asked if they’d help me have a feel and see where they are at as I also know only to well that piggies can hide their discomfort and if there is any issues with them I’d rather hit it all in one to then worry him on another visit.

 

[Little Ones]

I don’t know how to attach the video because it is a lot clearer on there but yes basically the two incisors go behind the top and are just a bit longer. Not massively longer but enough that I think they are causing him discomfort- though thankfully not enough to stop him eating. I read and realise that in theory the top and bottom incisors should be of equal ish length which is why they meet; I think those pictures show that the bottom is longer then the top.

Oh yes we do dentals with them conscious (they sedated my Bigwig only because he is a massive stress head and would have probably died from the stress before we even started on his teeth!). They’ve x-rayed and ultrasounded my boy for me before and he isn’t fazed. I will admit they aren’t as experienced as Simon, but for an independent practice they do pretty damn good. They’ve done some big surgeries on piggies since I’ve stated there, eye removal and c-section.

I don’t believe his molars need doing but I’ve-just asked if they’d help me have a feel and see where they are at as I also know only to well that piggies can hide their discomfort and if there is any issues with them I’d rather hit it all in one to then worry him on another visit.

☺

I’m pretty sure some piggy incisors have a set which are longer than the other. As I mentioned above, Peanut had longer top incisors which came down over his bottom incisors.
It’s a hard one, if it’s only slightly then honestly it might not be anything at all unlike if it were more dramatic. I know piggies hide illnesses, but dental issues are very hard to hide quite frankly. As I mentioned above, if your piggy is eating hay and not losing weight then you aren’t typically looking at a back teeth issue and messing with them will probably lead you on a trip to Northampton. A guinea pig can’t hide a back teeth issue as a back teeth issue means they aren’t eating.
I think if the piggy is eating fine and not losing weight, if one of my dental piggies were having this issue, I’d probably not be overly concerned but instead monitor it. That may just be the incisors comfortable and natural position, and you may find they grow to that length no matter how many burrs you have. If it was extreme then I’d be concerned no question, but as you said it’s only slight it could easily be their natural position. I think I’d monitor it and take note on if the teeth continue to grow, which you should see in about a week, or if they aren’t growing continuously and are just naturally that long.
If it isn’t hindering his ability to eat, then I wouldn’t want to mess unless it was to see Simon as from personal experience I’ve gone to two other vets and it’s gone horribly wrong and I’ve gone to Simon with my tail between my legs.
As you’ve only just noticed it, it doesn’t seem to affect him that much. Obviously you don’t have to listen to me, but honestly if I were you, I’d wait a week and then if the teeth have gotten longer, then have a burr. But if they’ve stayed the same and there’s no key signs of dental issue (not eating, hay in particular, and weight loss) then it’s likely he doesn’t need a teeth burr.
That’s my take on it anyway

 

[Little Ones]

I wish I could look at my other piggies teeth right now for comparison but I don’t want to disturb them and the only photos I have of teeth are Little’s and I don’t think this would do any good, lol!

He always likes to flash his gums!

If you do go through with the dental, keep us posted I hope everything goes okay, dental issues in piggies give me such worries because of what me and my 2 dental piggies (one has passed away since) have been through. When someone goes to Simon, I don’t panic. But when someone is going anywhere but Simon, it definitely sets off an internal panic because I know how wrong it can go!

 

[Bill & Ted]

Some screenshots of a video I took and sent to the vet to check I wasn’t just worrying over nothing. They said they’re not horrendous but are longer then they should be

Why are you concerned about the length of his incisors? Piggies incisors are very long compared to rabbit incisors. I can not imagine how you can examine the back teeth with your finger. If Steve is eating hay and no weight loss then why are you concerned? Unless there is obvious weight loss or your piggie has stopped eating, or in obvious distress then I would leave well alone and monitor.
Does Steve do any of the following:
Drop food out of his mouth while eating
Making strange faces or gagging while eating
Not eating hay
Choosing soft foods
Act hungry, try and mouth food, but walk away
Drool
Paw at his mouth
Loosing weight
Stopped eating hardly any food at all

 

[Bill & Ted]

If you are still concerned about Steve then please go see Simon or Kim Maddock at the Cat and Rabbit Clinic in Northampton. They can take a look at his front and back teeth and reassure you or perform a conscious dental if required. It costs £60 for a dental plus a small registration one off fee.

Having had two dental piggies (completely different issues) I can only say it’s very rare that if you have a dental issue that that will be the end of it. You will need continued visits in which the intervals between visits become increasingly narrower. If you get a dental done by a vet with little experience then it may do more harm than good and you’ll be in for the long haul in time, anguish and finances.
I hope this doesn’t sound harsh or negative but sadly that is the reality x

 

[furryfriends (TEAS)]

I think you need to be very cautious in having any sort of adjustment to the teeth. As the saying goes 'if it aint broke, don't fix it'. Here at TEAS, we see many cases of dental issues that have been caused by adjustment of incisors, which have resulted in problems developing with the back teeth, due to the guinea pig not eating, after the incisors have been altered. I would say at least 40% of the guinea pigs who are signed over to us, due to severe dental issues, only started to have problems after over-zealous vets, made changes to the incisors, that were working perfectly normally, but in the vets opinion, looked a little too long. When the incisors are a little longer than usual, this can often be due to an incisor root abscess, that may not be visually detectable, but is causing some pain when biting down.

I would urge you to delay any treatment until you can get an appointment with Simon or Kim Maddock at the Cat and Rabbit Care Clinic.

 

[Jesse's pigs]

Why are you concerned about the length of his incisors? Piggies incisors are very long compared to rabbit incisors. I can not imagine how you can examine the back teeth with your finger. If Steve is eating hay and no weight loss then why are you concerned? Unless there is obvious weight loss or your piggie has stopped eating, or in obvious distress then I would leave well alone and monitor.
Does Steve do any of the following:
Drop food out of his mouth while eating
Making strange faces or gagging while eating
Not eating hay
Choosing soft foods
Act hungry, try and mouth food, but walk away
Drool
Paw at his mouth
Loosing weight
Stopped eating hardly any food at all

He does seem to chew/grind his teeth more than usual and in the last couple of weeks has gagged/coughed when eating either pellets or veg more than he used to as if it either gets stuck on his teeth or he swallows Before properly chewing. In fact one evening I very nearly rushed him as an emergency as he was choking, but once I offered him water via a syringe I must’ve flushed it back paired with his gagging.

I do appreciate your replies and I will monitor instead seeing as you all think they’re ok (which I’m glad about) though still in comparisons to my other two boars they are significantly longer.

I would just like to say, however, that my veterinary practice is pretty good with piggy dentals and tbh is one of the only ones in Cambridgeshire that does it without causing further issues to the piggy. We have several older piggies (7 upwards) who visits regularly for a quick burr. I understand Simon is a professional and expert (my vets openly state they are not) but my practice is better than most and I would trust them to do a dental tbh. Again I only sent them a rushed video yesterday so they probably would have agreed with you lot if I actually took him up-in fact they often stalk this page

 

[Jesse's pigs]

Why are you concerned about the length of his incisors? Piggies incisors are very long compared to rabbit incisors. I can not imagine how you can examine the back teeth with your finger. If Steve is eating hay and no weight loss then why are you concerned? Unless there is obvious weight loss or your piggie has stopped eating, or in obvious distress then I would leave well alone and monitor.
Does Steve do any of the following:
Drop food out of his mouth while eating
Making strange faces or gagging while eating
Not eating hay
Choosing soft foods
Act hungry, try and mouth food, but walk away
Drool
Paw at his mouth
Loosing weight
Stopped eating hardly any food at all

If you put your finger to the side of the incisors and in a little way you can feel the first set of molars, no it certainly isn’t the most accurate means of assessing their length (an x-ray or using a tool to hold the mouth open) but for a quick assessment you can see if there’s any sharp points on the molar.

 

[furryfriends (TEAS)]

If you put your finger to the side of the incisors and in a little way you can feel the first set of molars, no it certainly isn’t the most accurate means of assessing their length (an x-ray or using a tool to hold the mouth open) but for a quick assessment you can see if there’s any sharp points on the molar.

Often there are little spurs, right at the very back, that can so easily be missed, due to how fleshy their mouth is. I recently had a guinea pig to stay, who had been seen by exotic vets, who could find absolutely nothing wrong with the guinea pigs teeth and were looking into other issues. Kim Maddock immediately found the tiniest little spike, at the very back of the mouth, that she said she only detected, due to how many guinea pig mouths she looks in every day. She said she could fully understand why the previous vet had missed it. As soon as that was filed away, the piggy was immediately eating well.

 

[Jesse's pigs]

Often there are little spurs, right at the very back, that can so easily be missed, due to how fleshy their mouth is. I recently had a guinea pig to stay, who had been seen by exotic vets, who could find absolutely nothing wrong with the guinea pigs teeth and were looking into other issues. Kim Maddock immediately found the tiniest little spike, at the very back of the mouth, that she said she only detected, due to how many guinea pig mouths she looks in every day. She said she could fully understand why the previous vet had missed it. As soon as that was filed away, the piggy was immediately eating well.

Exactly! Yes, my vets have been quite good with finding little spurs etc that others haven’t. Again, we aren’t specialists and again the finger technique aint the best but so far it hasn’t failed us!

 

[Bill & Ted]

Unfortunately I have suffered from two vets on two separate occasions that have cut my Ted’s incisor teeth too short and missed the spurs that needed filing down. The second time was in lockdown done by an exotic vet, which made such a mess, that then led to us having to visit Simon Maddock at two week intervals.
I am in no way underestimating your vets professional experience and if you feel a check up is necessary then please do so, you know your piggie, I just wanted to advise great caution when doing so as furryfriends has said there are many dental piggies who have become dental piggies purely by vets preforming unnecessary incisor burrs and unbalancing the mouth.
Hoping it all goes well for Steve x

 

[Jesse's pigs]

Unfortunately I have suffered from two vets on two separate occasions that have cut my Ted’s incisor teeth too short and missed the spurs that needed filing down. The second time was in lockdown done by an exotic vet, which made such a mess, that then led to us having to visit Simon Maddock at two week intervals.
I am in no way underestimating your vets professional experience and if you feel a check up is necessary then please do so, you know your piggie, I just wanted to advise great caution when doing so as furryfriends has said there are many dental piggies who have become dental piggies purely by vets preforming unnecessary incisor burrs and unbalancing the mouth.
Hoping it all goes well for Steve x

Oh no i totally understand that you are trying to help and offer advice, I’m very sorry that the you had that experience with your piggies. Honestly, I rather vets just say they can’t do it then try and mess it up. So I appreciate you making that remark because if I had just on a whim chosen a practice you’d be correct and probably saved my boy some pain! So don’t apologise.

the practice I was mentioning is where I work (I’m a student vet nurse) which is the only reason I advocate for it as it is rather piggy friendly tbh and they don’t shy away from helping the little furry potatoes. We haven’t made our name on the piggy savvy practices yet but perhaps in the future will!

 

[Bill & Ted]

Thinking of you both, hope the dental goes really well for Steve x