Dental Recovery care for piggie after dental surgery

[FloFlo]

Hiya,
I’m new to this forum, but was just wondering if anyone had any advice or tips for looking after a piggie after dental surgery. The vet said when they had to remove his fractured bottom tooth a bit of bone came with it and he has a fracture in his jaw. We didn’t expect him to make it after the surgery and the vet was very clear we shouldn’t be too optimistic but we had amazing news this morning that he’s been taking syringe feeding and seems really bright we’ve been told it will probably be 5 weeks of syringe feeding. We’ve been having to do a little to supplement his diet anyway as he found it harder and harder to eat these last couple of weeks before surgery was scheduled, but had to rush him in as an emergency because he just stopped taking anything from us. Any advice or positive vibes from anyone who has been through it and got past this stage would be greatly appreciated! I’m also working, so am able to work from home a couple of days but am going to need to find a way of feeding through the day! How do people juggle this?

 

[RosieLily]

Hi there, more knowledgeable users will be here shortly, I just wish to offer you my support! So glad it's gone this well so far, may your piggie have a speedy recovery and feel better asap

 

[FloFlo]

Thank you so much! Just so relieved he made it through the surgery just want to be prepared for the tough road ahead!

 

[Bill & Ted]

Hello and welcome to the forum
Sending healing vibes to poor piggies, he will need syringe feeding for a while I should think. Can I ask why the vet had to remove the fractured front tooth. Was it wobbling around in the gum? You usually find that the tooth will push it out if the gum as it continues to grow, that’s what happen to my Bill when he broke his incisor below the gum line. Has the vet removed the whole tooth so it will never grow again or just the top that broken? sorry to ask questions but it gives us some idea of what’s happened concerning his jaw too.
When I had to syringe feed my Ted (my other dental piggy) I would start at 6 and then do every 2 hours and finish just before I went to bed. I can imagine it being very hard for you when at work, is there anyone else who could take over part of the day for you, if you show them what to do, will he eat from a spoon or could you put a small dish of CC or mashed soaked pellet in the cage while you are out.
I used to take my two boys to an amazing vet in Northampton called Simon Maddock at the Cat and Rabbit Clinic, he does conscious dentals which my Ted needed as he developed a dental molar spur. He and his wife Kim do around 40 dentals a week and are the most knowledgeable dental piggie vets in the country.

 

[FloFlo]

Hello and welcome to the forum
Sending healing vibes to poor piggies, he will need syringe feeding for a while I should think. Can I ask why the vet had to remove the fractured front tooth. Was it wobbling around in the gum? You usually find that the tooth will push it out if the gum as it continues to grow, that’s what happen to my Bill when he broke his incisor below the gum line. Has the vet removed the whole tooth so it will never grow again or just the top that broken? sorry to ask questions but it gives us some idea of what’s happened concerning his jaw too.
When I had to syringe feed my Ted (my other dental piggy) I would start at 6 and then do every 2 hours and finish just before I went to bed. I can imagine it being very hard for you when at work, is there anyone else who could take over part of the day for you, if you show them what to do, will he eat from a spoon or could you put a small dish of CC or mashed soaked pellet in the cage while you are out.
I used to take my two boys to an amazing vet in Northampton called Simon Maddock at the Cat and Rabbit Clinic, he does conscious dentals which my Ted needed as he developed a dental molar spur. He and his wife Kim do around 40 dentals a week and are the most knowledgeable dental piggie vets in the country.

Thank you! Yes I don’t fully understand but he said that because of the way it was fractured right down there was a risk of abscess and leaving it in would cause significant issues in the future. They did X-rays first to see whether they could avoid taking it out! And as far as I know we aren’t expecting it to grow back. We also got to a point where he was not taking anything from us syringe or otherwise and lost a lot of weight quickly hence why it was rushed in as an emergency in the end he also mentioned there was an infection there too.

Yes I’m hoping to share it with my partner but there may be a day every other week neither of us are there for about 6 hours, so maybe if we are at the point of having a little bowl of it that may be okay! Otherwise we will definitely need to find someone!
Ah they sound great! We are lucky to have a really experienced piggy vet, our rescue recommended him and he’s very experienced so we trust him completely I’m so grateful he stayed strong just want to make sure I do everything right for his recovery!

 

[Wiebke]

I am linking in @furryfriends (TEAS) for you. She is our most experienced forum member when it comes to dental issues and care.

Please continue syringe feeding for the time being.

 

[Bill & Ted]

Aw, right so they have removed the tooth completely so it shouldn’t grow back at all then. I assume because of the infection he is on AB’s and has been given good pain relief too by way of Loxicom/Metacam. My vet uses Zithromax for dental infections/abscesses to good effect.

I was wondering if your rescue would be prepared to look after him as a daycare so he gets his syringe feeds while you are both working? They may well be able to help you and they will have had plently of experience with syringe feeding. You might be able to offer a small donation for doing this.

He will need on-going treatment for the opposing incisor at some point as it will have nothing to wear against. This is where conscious dentals come in, no anaesthetic required, takes about five minutes and all done and dusted and piggy can go home again
Fingers all crossed for your little man, do let us all know how he gets along, sending healing vibes x

Here is a photo of Bill’s incisors before and after Simon had treated him. First one is a mess, although it never stopped him eating, second one after his dental. He actually had perfect back teeth just the break really unbalanced all his incisors.

 

[FloFlo]

Oh wow his teeth look so much better after! Sorry I’ve only just had a chance to reply as we brought him home last night so have been really busy! They haven’t prescribed antibiotics at the moment, they said he doesn’t currently need them, but he’s got a check up on Monday to check him out.

Yes I’m going to get in touch with them to see if they could around our shifts! I don’t think it will be too often, hopefully only one or two shifts in the 5 weeks! But would be good to know he would be looked after while we are at work!

Yes I believe he will have to have the other teeth looked at regularly and I’ve heard the procedure can be done without sedation as you say which would be great! The poor thing has already had two surgeries and still needs his abscess capsule removed under sedation at some point when he’s strong enough!
So he’s home, we are feeding 2-3 hourly and it was all fine until his 12pm feed today... he suddenly wasn’t interested in more than a ml or so, and it was a real effort. Is this normal? He was taking it so well during all his other feeds! So far today he’s only had about 34mls of the stuff that the vets gave us, it’s not critical care but the equivalent I believe! They said max 80mls/day, am hoping he is just feeling full and will take some more later tonight.

Thank you so much for your advice and support, very grateful as I know how close he came to being put down, I just want to keep him strong and get him through this

 

[FloFlo]

Oh and he’s on buprenorphine for pain, and emeprid/cisapride for his gut.

 

[Bill & Ted]

Well I can fully recommend conscious dentals! Takes 5-10 minutes and that’s it, less for an incisor burr. Hope you can get a bit more food down him. It may be the pain killer that’s dampening his appetite perhaps. keep trying Have you tried mush pellets soaked in warm water? We have a great syringe feeding guide too which you may find helpful. It’s such hard work isn’t it, all that concentration is exhausting. I have had two dental brothers Bill and Ted, Bill never had a problems at all really apart from tidying up his front feet, but his brother Ted had a dental molar spur that grew into his cheek. I spend 6 weeks syringe feeding after a poorly performed GA dental at my local vets. Then I found out about Simon Maddock at the Cat and Rabbit Clinic in Northampton from forum members here, he is absolutely amazing. It was a long journey for us 300 miles away but well worth the journey. Ted had his dental and was eating hay before he even got out of the vets, we were amazed, he hadn’t been able to eat hay for months and my local vets wanted to put him down.
People travel all over the country to see Simon and his wife Kim who perform around 40 conscious dentals a week and other dental related problems like abscesses as well as all other piggie ops too. They gave my Ted over two and half years of extra happy life, Ted was PTS in December because he had a terminal kidney problem in his last month but lived to almost 6 years of age.
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide

 

[FloFlo]

That sounds great! So we noticed that where he’s been dribbling a bit it’s solidified around his mouth bless him. I wondered if that could be causing some discomfort and putting him off?
I will try some soft nuggets and see if he tries that! So far only another 1ml in. He’s managing his meds because they are in 0.1ml doses.

Thank you! I’ve read it, nervous about holding him to put the syringe in if he’s got a sore mouth and jaw! He really is not reactive well when we try to pop the syringe in.
That’s incredible he was able to eat hay so quickly! I’m so glad you got so much extra time with Ted, and so sorry for your loss, having that extra time is a blessing!

Yes exhausting and frustrating when he was so keen for food just this morning and he’s just suddenly not interested anymore I just don’t want him to give up.

 

[Bill & Ted]

That sounds great! So we noticed that where he’s been dribbling a bit it’s solidified around his mouth bless him. I wondered if that could be causing some discomfort and putting him off?
I will try some soft nuggets and see if he tries that! So far only another 1ml in. He’s managing his meds because they are in 0.1ml doses.

Thank you! I’ve read it, nervous about holding him to put the syringe in if he’s got a sore mouth and jaw! He really is not reactive well when we try to pop the syringe in.
That’s incredible he was able to eat hay so quickly! I’m so glad you got so much extra time with Ted, and so sorry for your loss, having that extra time is a blessing!

Yes exhausting and frustrating when he was so keen for food just this morning and he’s just suddenly not interested anymore I just don’t want him to give up.

No don’t give up, keep trying to syringe feeding him, it will keeping him alive until he is well enough to start hand feeding from you. If you make it a little bit runny you may find he takes it better, or very slightly warm. I found it easier to get Ted’s bum against my tummy and use your left hand for holding his face, use your thumb to prop the lips open behind the incisor teeth, there’s a gap there, then you have full use of your right hand for the syringe.
Hope he perks up soon If he is no better by the morning I’d ask the vet for advice x

 

[FloFlo]

So we had success last night, managed another 10mls but today absolutely nothing and he was just completely hunched up in the corner of his cage. Took him to the vets again, and they are starting him on metacam for the swelling and he’s staying with one of the nurses for the weekend so that she can keep an eye on him! Which is a big relief for me and hopefully she can teach me how she manages to get food into him! I tried your trick and it worked wonderfully last night, this morning he was just on a mission to have absolutely nothing from me! Feel very grateful he will be in the best hands over this weekend, and hopefully he starts to pick up thank you so much for all your advice! Will keep you updated!

 

[Bill & Ted]

So we had success last night, managed another 10mls but today absolutely nothing and he was just completely hunched up in the corner of his cage. Took him to the vets again, and they are starting him on metacam for the swelling and he’s staying with one of the nurses for the weekend so that she can keep an eye on him! Which is a big relief for me and hopefully she can teach me how she manages to get food into him! I tried your trick and it worked wonderfully last night, this morning he was just on a mission to have absolutely nothing from me! Feel very grateful he will be in the best hands over this weekend, and hopefully he starts to pick up thank you so much for all your advice! Will keep you updated!

Thank you so much for the update. Aw poor piggie! Fingers crossed he picks up soon. The vet nurse will keep a keen eye on him and hopefully get plently of food down him. Hunched up is a sign of pain, but now he is on Metacam it will help to ease the pain and bring down any inflammation. Glad you managed to get some food down him last night, thry are difficult aren’t they and don’t help themselves x

 

[FloFlo]

We’ve had tough news today. Chipstick has an infection which has set us back even further, his breathing got very bad over the weekend, and though he’s eating and making progress in that way, the infection has made everything a lot more complicated. He’s had strong injection antibiotics today, and is now on high strength oral antibiotics, but we’ve been told to give him 48 hours and then we will make a decision on what to do from here. It doesn’t sound very positive, and Pombear is starting to show signs of missing him. Feel so glad that he’s been in good nurse hands this weekend, but I’m now torn because I want my little man back if these are his last few days but also if the nurse can do everything she can for him in her care, I want her to try. Going to see if I can visit him tomorrow. Just in shock that we’ve only had them two months, and they’ve had to go through all of this and he may not come through it

 

[Bill & Ted]

Aw, so sorry Chipstick has a respiratory infection, sending you big hugs. I understand how pulled you feel.

In the lock down in Spring last year we couldn’t travel for Ted’s dental up to Northampton so he had a GA dental with a local exotic vet. He made such a mess of Ted’s mouth that we had to take Ted to stay with a lady who runs a dental guinea sanctuary in Northampton so Ted could get the treatment he needed. He actually got pneumonia and it was so hard because we weren’t with him but I did know he was in the very best of hands and near his trusted vet for treatment, he made it and recovered.He stayed there for 3 months while his teeth were sorted out and he could eat well.

Fingers crossed that the AB’s get rid of the infection. We were told that dental piggies can regurgitate food when they sleep so that might be what happened
Sending healing vibes x

 

[FloFlo]

Just wanted to update and let you know that Chipstick passed this morning. Wanted to thank you for all of your advice and support Going to read through some of the advice on grieving and helping our little girl out with the loss

 

[Bill & Ted]

Just wanted to update and let you know that Chipstick passed this morning. Wanted to thank you for all of your advice and support ❤ Going to read through some of the advice on grieving and helping our little girl out with the loss ❤View attachment 175519

Aw, I’m so so sorry you’ve lost Chipstick you tried so hard with her, what a terrible shame x
I hope her little friend will be ok and in time get a new friend x