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Dental Is molar removal possible?

Andy33335

Andy33335

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hello, i have a pig that is not eating and also a possible UTI. Took him to the vet and said his molars are overgrown so i acceptesd her to cut his molars. The thing is he is still not eating, moving the food in his mouth from one side to the other and then spills it out if he can't chew it. I suspect his roots might be overgrown too into his jaw, what is the solution in this case? Unfortunately last year in summer i had a pig with the same problem and they said that the molar needs to be extracted to stop it growing but we never got there as i lost that pig after an anaesthesia for x-ray.

My question is that is there someone here who has a pig with molars extracted? Is that possible? How is the life of the pig after?

Next week we are going to take an x-ray and see the roots and the lungs for UTI. I'm so worried for him ...i just hope his molars need maybe another trim to settle and nothing more
 
I'm in Romania, he is on syringe food. His poops are normal shape, colour and weight. I feed him every 3h
 
One year ago with my other pig they said that if one molar is removed the opposite one will need to be trimmed regulary as it will keep growing. And then i'm thinking 'Ok, but if it has nothing to wear down on, won't it develop overgrown roots and then need removal as well?' I just hope this is not the problem but i want to brace myself for everything that might come up next week.
 
Andy33335 said:
One year ago with my other pig they said that if one molar is removed the opposite one will need to be trimmed regulary as it will keep growing. And then i'm thinking 'Ok, but if it has nothing to wear down on, won't it develop overgrown roots and then need removal as well?' I just hope this is not the problem but i want to brace myself for everything that might come up next week.
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Hi

Unfortunately, guinea pig dentals are not something that features in any vet's curriculum, so many vets struggle to cope with dental overgrowth. Rodent teeth grow constantly. Because guinea pigs and cousins the capybaras have evolved on silica rich grass and hay, which is very abrasive, they have the fastest growing teeth of all rodents. That is why it is so important that you do not overfeed on veg and pellets in order to encourage your piggies to eat as much hay and fresh grass as possible; they should make around 80% of the daily food intake.

Has your vet checked whether there could be a dental root abscess that could be causing the problem? If your piggy is not eating after a dental, then it has not been done properly - unfortunately we are seeing this regularly on here after a dental procedure under GA.

Removing teeth in rodents, especially guinea pigs should only be considered as the very last possible measure as it can cause more problems than it solves.

PS: Could you please add your country to location in your account details. you can find them when you click on your username on the top bar. This makes your country appear with every post you make and allows us to tailor any advice to what is most likely relevant and available where you are with just a quick glance to the left. Our default is UK based. Thank you!

@furryfriends (TEAS)
 
Wiebke said:
Hi

Unfortunately, guinea pig dentals are not something that features in any vet's curriculum, so many vets struggle to cope with dental overgrowth. Rodent teeth grow constantly. Because guinea pigs and cousins the capybaras have evolved on silica rich grass and hay, which is very abrasive, they have the fastest growing teeth of all rodents. That is why it is so important that you do not overfeed on veg and pellets in order to encourage your piggies to eat as much hay and fresh grass as possible; they should make around 80% of the daily food intake.

Has your vet checked whether there could be a dental root abscess that could be causing the problem? If your piggy is not eating after a dental, then it has not been done properly - unfortunately we are seeing this regularly on here after a dental procedure under GA.

Removing teeth in rodents, especially guinea pigs should only be considered as the very last possible measure as it can cause more problems than it solves.

PS: Could you please add your country to location in your account details. you can find them when you click on your username on the top bar. This makes your country appear with every post you make and allows us to tailor any advice to what is most likely relevant and available where you are with just a quick glance to the left. Our default is UK based. Thank you!

@furryfriends (TEAS)
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To be honest i do not know what she did and if she checked for abscess ... if you ask me, i don't think she did. With this pandemic i wasn't even allowed to talk to her and tell her the problem, they just took him in and asked me what was wrong.

I know removing molars from such small mouth can cause further problems so living with overgrown roots is an option? If she finally fixes his molars and he starts eating again and then have periodically check-ups and trims when necessary ... is overgrown roots a problem that he can live with? Won't cause pain when chewing?

One year ago with my other pig when they saw the elongated roots they said it needs removal or the root will continue growing towards the eye and finally break through his chin so i have this absolute horror image in my head😟😟

I would defenetly not let them remove the molars if i know this is a problem he can live with.

Btw, in order to check his teeth and his lungs we will take 2 x-rays while he is under anaesthesia. Is 2 x-ray too much radiation for the piggie?
 
Andy33335 said:
To be honest i do not know what she did and if she checked for abscess ... if you ask me, i don't think she did. With this pandemic i wasn't even allowed to talk to her and tell her the problem, they just took him in and asked me what was wrong.

I know removing molars from such small mouth can cause further problems so living with overgrown roots is an option? If she finally fixes his molars and he starts eating again and then have periodically check-ups and trims when necessary ... is overgrown roots a problem that he can live with? Won't cause pain when chewing?

One year ago with my other pig when they saw the elongated roots they said it needs removal or the root will continue growing towards the eye and finally break through his chin so i have this absolute horror image in my head😟😟

I would defenetly not let them remove the molars if i know this is a problem he can live with.

Btw, in order to check his teeth and his lungs we will take 2 x-rays while he is under anaesthesia. Is 2 x-ray too much radiation for the piggie?
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Ideally the roots are filed down again as soon as they start overgrowing. A good dental vet can do conscious dentals and can in many cases rebalance the dental system with regular checks every 2-3 weeks at the start and then as the teeth rebalance with ever increasing intervals and just a once yearly check. However, most vets prefer to only do a dental under anaesthetics when the teeth have already overgrown again so you never get to the re-balancing. It is sadly an area that is not well researched and that most vets have minimal knowledge about. Good guinea pig dental vets are very far and few in between in any country, if at all... :(

PS: You need two x-rays from different angles in order to locate a problem inside the body, like a bladder stone as they only take a two dimensional picture. Today's x-rays are so much better than those in the past so you do not have to worry.
 
Good to know i don't need to put him through hell. He also sneeze more than other piggies, this is why i suspected an UTI. And somethines after the sneeze a yellowish liquid comes out of his right nostril. At some point he sneezed so loud that he scared me and sprayed me with that yellowish liquid. Could the sneezing and liquid be cause of the dental problem? I want to take the x-ray anyway to know exactly what problems are
 
Andy33335 said:
Good to know i don't need to put him through hell. He also sneeze more than other piggies, this is why i suspected an UTI. And somethines after the sneeze a yellowish liquid comes out of his right nostril. At some point he sneezed so loud that he scared me and sprayed me with that yellowish liquid. Could the sneezing and liquid be cause of the dental problem? I want to take the x-ray anyway to know exactly what problems are
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It could be related. It sounds rather like an infection in one of his sinuses or a dental root abscess that has burst into the nasal cavity.
 
furryfriends (TEAS) said:
It sounds like there is a nasty infection present, but where exactly it is, can be difficult to pinpoint. X-rays aren't good for detecting infection. Is there any swelling around the jaw, or does one eye appear to be bulging?
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No, nothing of that matter. We take the x-rays tomorrow and i will ask for a liquid sample from his nostril to see what bacteria it is and what might have caused it. Now the urgent matter is to get him to eat on his own
 
Yes, on friday he had the crowns trimmed as they formed a bridge but he still isn't eating by himself only like 5-6 hay pieces, vegetables he moves them from right to left in his mouth and if he cannot chew them spills them out. We have the xrays tomorrow to see exactly the roots of his health issues and then i can come back and ask for advise when i have certainties.
 
Andy33335 said:
Yes, on friday he had the crowns trimmed as they formed a bridge but he still isn't eating by himself only like 5-6 hay pieces, vegetables he moves them from right to left in his mouth and if he cannot chew them spills them out. We have the xrays tomorrow to see exactly the roots of his health issues and then i can come back and ask for advise when i have certainties.
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It doesn't sound like they've done the dental properly. Many vets just trim the teeth that can bridge across the tongue, but leave all the rest. See what the x ray shows tomorrow.
 
Hi! So i'm coming back with updates. He has a nasty pneumonia and his molars were forming a bridge. The molars had been cut on Friday and today again, his root are grown also but if we can make him eat, that should not be a problem. He is still not eating by himself. For the pneumonia i was told to use a nebulizer in order to push the antibiotic in his lungs. So i was given once a day 0.2 ml of gentamicin + 1.8 ml of NaCl and also 0.2 ml Acc (acetylcysteine)+ 0.8 ml NaCl. I was told that his treatment session should last 10-15 min but in 6-8 min i did both his antibiotic and acetylcystine, because only 2 ml per round seems like not enough. This is his container and it's quite big and taking into consideration that he isn't breathing all those 0.2 ml of antibiotics, most of the fumes evaporate ... isn't 0.2 ml too little for his health? And once a day?
 

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Well, we started the treatment, it's still early to say how it's going since we are in the 2nd day only but i am concerned about the fact that he isn't eating by himself, not to mention hay. He had a new molars trim on Monday and i really can't count on what he is eating. I syringe him around the clock. How long does it take for a piggie to eat after a molars trim? He's poo is looking normal but it's made only from what i feed him.
 
He is still wheezing sometimes and sneezing. No, he doesn't have a diuretic prescribed, why does it help with?
 
Yes, definetly make sense. I talked to her and asked if i should give him one and she said that he doesn't have liquid so a diuretic is not necessary. He started eating a bit of hay, not much but it's a start, i am so proud of him 🥰🥰🥰🥰
 
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