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Dentals - how often to expect treatment?

EleanorS

EleanorS

New Born Pup
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Sep 30, 2019
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Dear all,
It appears we now have a dental piggy. Doughnut is 2 and a half.
First dental approx 6 weeks ago and no progress made from soft biscuits. Second dental on 29th Dec and back teeth had again overgrown, impeding tongue movement. She hasn't progressed from very soft biscuits and we're back to syringe feeding as she isn't maintaining weight (but perhaps still early days post GA?).
She has no other health issues, behaviour is normal, is excited about food, just not able to eat it.
My question to those of you that visit the Maddocks at the Cat and Rabbit Centre in Northampton (which I've read about on here, and is a 5 hour+ round trip for us) - I need to weigh up the pros and cons of asking for a referral to see them, so I wonder how often do your pigs need to visit the Maddocks for dentals? I understand this is probably different for every pig, but it will help us to come to a decision.
Hopefully she'll magically start eating again and I won't need to consider the referral, but I'm realistic ☹️
Any comments greatly appreciated, thanks in advance.
 
I’m sorry your girl is suffering with her teeth. I’ve no experience but will tag @Bill & Ted @furryfriends (TEAS) they have quite some experience of dental piggies going to Northampton. There are others but the names escape me!
 
Each case is different, so impossible to say. Generally a first appointment will be followed up with a second, 2 to 3 weeks later, to see how things are going. After that, it will depend on the progress and how the teeth are wearing. However, in almost all cases, the guinea pig will be eating for themselves either immediately, or within hours of that first appointment. If will definitely be worth getting a referral and taking it from there.

For information - I offer boarding, for long distance piggies, through my pet care business. I charge a reduced rate of £25 per week that covers everything, including transport to vet appointments and any supportive care (syringe feeding) needed.
 
furryfriends (TEAS) said:
Each case is different, so impossible to say. Generally a first appointment will be followed up with a second, 2 to 3 weeks later, to see how things are going. After that, it will depend on the progress and how the teeth are wearing. However, in almost all cases, the guinea pig will be eating for themselves either immediately, or within hours of that first appointment. If will definitely be worth getting a referral and taking it from there.

For information - I offer boarding, for long distance piggies, through my pet care business. I charge a reduced rate of £25 per week that covers everything, including transport to vet appointments and any supportive care (syringe feeding) needed.
Click to expand...
Thank you so much for your time in providing this info, very much appreciated. Email going to our vet now.
 
We were in a similar situation with our Ted who had a GA dental at a local vets and was still not eating hardly anything and being syringe fed for weeks. I found out about Simon and Kim Maddock from this forum when desperate to help Ted when our vet wanted him to be PTS and said there was no hope. Debbie and other forum members were so helpful and encouraged us to go, we never looked back.
We went up there, Ted had a conscious dental, took about 5-10 minutes, he was actually eating hay on the way out of the vets. A miracle, he had not eaten hay for months. Our round trip of 600 miles from Cornwall was a long way we involved an overnight stay but worth every penny. Simon gave Ted another 2.5 years of happy and healthy life, he died just before this 6th year of an unrelated health issue and out lived this sibling Bill by a year.
I thoroughly recommend a visit, they are both marvellous and you will know what you are dealing with, the dental will be done there and then and they are relatively cheap as no GA is evolved. Ask your vet to refer you, bet Doughnut will be eating away in no time. You may find like Ted you will need a regular tidy up like Ted did, we were lucky to be paired up with another couple who had a dental piggie in Devon so we took it in turns to travel up there, which may be an option for you
Good luck x
 
Thank you so, so much both of you. I've sent the email to my vet and will keep my fingers crossed for a speedy referral. It's breaking our hearts seeing her waste away in front of our eyes, yet she's still chirpy and excited about food (that she doesn't eat). Syringe feeding is a little hit and miss, as she wants to eat by herself, however she's clearly not getting enough in. Will keep persevering ❤️
 
Can you let her take a bit off a small spoon, then syringe feed her with the rest? Have you tried her on plain dry porridge oats? Put a small bowl in her cage and see if she can eat them, some dental piggies can and it’s healthy and a good filler too x
 
Thanks both, yep have read/watched both and am so grateful for this forum! You make it look so easy @furryfriends (TEAS)!
She took syringe feeding well last night, not so much today (determined not to have it!) Saying that, given some time with some mushy biscuits on a plate just now, she did well! Thanks for the oats tip @Bill & Ted, I'll try them next time I get her out and feed her separately (her pals are all plenty big enough already!)
 
@Bill & Ted @furryfriends (TEAS), I wanted to update you. My vet called me last night to get Doughnut in this morning. He explained that dentals usually result in piggies eating pretty much straightaway - the fact that this hadn't occurred after two dentals has led to the conclusion that the overgrown teeth were a symptom, rather than a cause of her problem. He took further x-rays and went through everything thoroughly. I don't need to go into details here, but I wanted to thank you both for your wisdom and advice. I probably wouldn't have contacted my vet quite so soon if it hadn't been for you both, and Doughnut would suffered for longer as a result. ❤️
 
Thank you for the update. There are actually very few vets in this country that can perform GA or conscious dentals with any success, after my experience the only two vets I could recommend are Kim and Simon Maddock, please get a second opinion from them before you make any decisions Good luck x
 
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