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Edward: dental problems

Claire W

Claire W

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Whist giving Edward his metacam, I've noticed he has broken his two bottom incisors :( He hasn't broken them down to the gumline but they're jagged :( will they grow back ok? He broke his bottom incisor a few months ago and I'm wondering if it has left the teeth weak? He's had some veg cut in to thin strips and a bit of grass but he's struggling to eat :( I'm reluctant to take him to the vets as I don't want them to have good intentions and make the problem worse. My poor boy, first his penis and now this :(
 
Claire W said:
Whist giving Edward his metacam, I've noticed he has broken his two bottom incisors :( He hasn't broken them down to the gumline but they're jagged :( will they grow back ok? He broke his bottom incisor a few months ago and I'm wondering if it has left the teeth weak? He's had some veg cut in to thin strips and a bit of grass but he's struggling to eat :( I'm reluctant to take him to the vets as I don't want them to have good intentions and make the problem worse. My poor boy, first his penis and now this :(
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Hi

You can offer him a mix of recovery formula and mushed pellets for a few days to make up for any lost hay but he should be still able to pick up enough food between his tongue and upper incisors. The teeth will even out again when they meet although the edge will take a little more to even out again.
 
Wiebke said:
Hi

You can offer him a mix of recovery formula and mushed pellets for a few days to make up for any lost hay but he should be still able to pick up enough food between his tongue and upper incisors. The teeth will even out again when they meet although the edge will take a little more to even out again.
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Thank you. I'm just so worried as as you know, dental problems are my worst nightmare along with bladder problems :( I've put some mushed pellets in a bowl to see if he'll eat it but the girls are eating it despite having normal pellets. I don't want to mess with his too much tonight as he's stressed out by todays vet visit but I shall offer him some syringe food tomorrow if he doesn't eat from the bowl and chop his veg up in to matchsticks tomorrow morning and feed him separately if I have too
 
Check on his weight every 2-3 days first thing in the morning but I would not worry too much.
See a vet if the teeth are lose in the gum or if the sharp edges cause problems with the tongue.
 
Claire W said:
Thank you. I'm just so worried as as you know, dental problems are my worst nightmare along with bladder problems :( I've put some mushed pellets in a bowl to see if he'll eat it but the girls are eating it despite having normal pellets. I don't want to mess with his too much tonight as he's stressed out by todays vet visit but I shall offer him some syringe food tomorrow if he doesn't eat from the bowl and chop his veg up in to matchsticks tomorrow morning and feed him separately if I have too
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You have to take him out and serve the pellets outside while the girls have their own firm ones. You cannot do that inside the cage.
 
Ah bless him…. it’s happening eh!
Good advice here from Wiekbe and try not to worry
 
Hoping they grow back really quickly Claire. My old boy Bill used to break his teeth regularly, once they break once I think it leaves them a bit brittle. After saying that Bill never had any problems eating. Just monitor his weight for a week or two to make sure he’s eating enough. You can alway supplement with some recovery food x
 
Aw sending hugs @Claire W to you and naughty Edward who is causing you all this worry with his willy and teethies!
You know you are a very experienced and diligent piggy nurse/servant and his teeth will probably go back fine in a couple of w(h)eeks and I'm sure you are already micro-chopping his veg and feeding him mushy pellets and if he loses significant weight you'll have him straight to the vet. These piggies do like to scare up with improbable combinations of illnesses (Blod did that to us last week, when a suspected minor UTI was actally suspected kidney failure plus a very random abscess on her back that sprang up overnight once she heard there was a vet trip lol!).
You are doing more than most piggy keepers outside of the forum ever would to make sure your old boy is healthy and happy, try not to worry too much x
 
Thank you everyone. I have cut his veg in to thin strips this morning and he has eaten it although slower than normal. I’ve also seen him eat a pellet and he’s been in the hay. His mouth was moving so I assume he was eating the hay? He’s also had some grass and dandelions x
 
Claire W said:
Thank you everyone. I have cut his veg in to thin strips this morning and he has eaten it although slower than normal. I’ve also seen him eat a pellet and he’s been in the hay. His mouth was moving so I assume he was eating the hay? He’s also had some grass and dandelions x
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Good boy Edward!

It sounds as if he's doing well eating without his teeth. You're doing everything you can for him. Try not to worry too much.
 
Poor Edward. Well done on giving him his veggies in small strips. I’ll bet he is enjoying those.
 
Thank you. My little boy is worrying me so much as his incisors are slanted as they're growing and he's struggling to eat :( But he's had some mushed up pellets and some veg finally cut in to thin strips. His weight is currently between 860-890g but he's always been a small boy weighing in at 1100g in his prime. He was 900-950g before I noticed his teeth x
 
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Claire W said:
Thank you. My little boy is worrying me so much as his incisors are slanted as they're growing and he's struggling to eat :( But he's had some mushed up pellets and some veg finally cut in to thin strips. His weight is currently between 860-890g but he's always been a small boy weighing in at 1100g in his prime. He was 900-950g before I noticed his teeth x
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Your first aim is to stabilise his weight with additional top up feed until his teeth have grown back and he can eat normally on his own. You control this by weight once only every day by weighing at the same time in the feeding cycle (I prefer first thing in the morning when the weight is lowest) so you know from day to day whether you need to top up and how much. The more often you weigh during the course of a day or at different times on subsequent days, the more his weight will jump around which is counterproductive for your steady support (and definitely for your nerves).

See a vet after the weekend for a good look at his mouth if his weight/food intake continues to fall as this would be an indication that something else may be going and needs a proper look at (i.e. one-sided chewing because of a pain issue, for instance).

A broken incisor does not impact on the grinding movement of the back teeth because incisors are used to pick up and cut food; the premolars and molars are for grinding the silica rich hay/grass fibre; they are the millstones at the back. The tongue helps with the pick up, fixing the food for cutting by the incisors and for transporting it onto the back teeth for grinding and then further on into the esophagus for digestion (swallowing).
Your feeding support with ideally hay fibre based products will contain the added silica needed to make up for a decreased hay intake to keep the back teeth nicely ground down. Back teeth do not overgrow that quickly anyway; it takes several weeks of not chewing or chewing very little - by which time your incisors will hopefully have grown back. ;)
 
Just weigh him at the same time each day, Claire as otherwise you won’t get a clear and accurate picture of his weight. Then give him syringe top ups as needed.

Piggies cope really well without the front incisors as long as they can pick up their food. When I had little Melody I fed her thin sticks of veggies and put them in a little egg cup so they were poking up off the floor to make it easier for her to pick them up. Once they get them into the mouth and onto the back teeth it is fine as they can still chew and grind on the back teeth.
 
Thank you. I weighed him before his breakfast and he has lost a further 20g since yesterday morning :( I have offered him a bowl of mushed pellets and he ate a little and I’ve seen him eat a little hay. He’s just worrying me so much :(
 
You’re doing great looking after him Claire. Can you offer him a topup every couple of hours? Hope he does eat more top up during the day so his weight can at least be maintained. 💜
 
I agree just keep topping him up. He needs to adjust to his shortened teeth, but they will grow back, try not to worry too much :hug:
 
Bill & Ted said:
No, don’t worry about that, the has broken one so they will be uneven anyway. See what they are like once they have fully grown back x
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Thank you. I'm just worried that there's something more sinister going on with his back teeth :( Sorry, my anxiety is in overdrive as I lost Enoch to dental problems so it's my worst nightmare
 
He’s broken his front teeth, Claire. His back teeth are still working grinding down his food. The front ones need to grow back first and then you can see how they look then. I know it’s not easy but try just to deal with the situation as it is one day at a time.
 
VickiA said:
He’s broken his front teeth, Claire. His back teeth are still working grinding down his food. The front ones need to grow back first and then you can see how they look then. I know it’s not easy but try just to deal with the situation as it is one day at a time.
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Enoch's teeth had grown over his tongue and having that happen again is my worst fear :( Edward broke his tooth a few months ago and I thought is had grown back ok. Looking at his teeth now, I'm not even sure if he has broke them again hence why I'm worried there's something more sinister going on :( I'm not sure whether I should take him to my vets for them to have a look. I'm just worried they will have good intentions and give him a dental but ruin his teeth. Sorry for going on, it's awful suffering from anxiety
 
Claire W said:
Enoch's teeth had grown over his tongue and having that happen again is my worst fear :( Edward broke his tooth a few months ago and I thought is had grown back ok. Looking at his teeth now, I'm not even sure if he has broke them again hence why I'm worried there's something more sinister going on :( I'm not sure whether I should take him to my vets for them to have a look. I'm just worried they will have good intentions and give him a dental but ruin his teeth. Sorry for going on, it's awful suffering from anxiety
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Remember, they did Comet's dental? And he came out from that just fine. :nod: I know how easy it is to worry and overthink things, but you know it's not going to help you or Edward either.
 
Only the vet can say for sure Claire, and if they offer dental surgery you are perfectly entitled to request full xrays, explanations, ask for time to think about things and talk things over with us here on the forum, and take your time making a decision.
Broken incisors are rarely urgent, especially if you are aware of them and support feeding and cutting veg small and weighing daily.
I think you need to either take a step back and support feed and monitor weight daily (and also Edward says please mummy stop messing with my face and willy so often, it doesnt get better the more you look at it!)- or, make the decision to see a vet for a full dental examination and xrays.
Why not make an appointment, for a week's time, just to set your mind at rest- and then you can always cancel if his weight stabilises?
Back teeth take several weeks of misaligned chewing to go wrong, so either they are fine, or they weren't fine anyway, and only the vet can tell you- Edward can't, and neither can we!
Take a deep breath, phone the vet, ask for an appointment in a week or so, and make sure you ask for conscious xrays and a full dental exam- then just focus on support feeding, as needed.
Piggies do sense our stress, so try to stay calm and happy for Edward! X
 
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