• Discussions taking place within this forum are intended for the purpose of assisting you in discussing options with your vet. Any other use of advice given here is done so at your risk, is solely your responsibility and not that of this forum or its owner. Before posting it is your responsibility you abide by this Statement

Tooth root abscess

L

Lauraspigs

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
Nov 27, 2019
Messages
57
Reaction score
20
Points
195
Location
Gloucestershire UK
Hi all,

I posted yesterday as Luna had gone off her food. Today I took her to the emergency vet as didn’t want to wait. He thinks she has a tooth root abscess. She’s been started on Zithromax and I have buprecare to give orally. She’s just had her first doses of both.

He thinks she should be doing better in a few days but may require some anaesthesia for an X-ray and possibly a surgery depending on how it responds.

do these clear up with antibiotics or is surgery always required?
 
It really depends on the location and depth of the abscess.

Our Eddi had a tooth root abscess that did require surgery to open it to allow it to drain.
We tried antibiotics alone at first, but it did eventually need surgery too.
This combined with antibiotics did work and although it took a while we were able to clear the whole thing up.
 
Swissgreys said:
It really depends on the location and depth of the abscess.

Our Eddi had a tooth root abscess that did require surgery to open it to allow it to drain.
We tried antibiotics alone at first, but it did eventually need surgery too.
This combined with antibiotics did work and although it took a while we were able to clear the whole thing up.
Click to expand...
Glad Eddi is better, that gives me hope she’ll recover. It’s been a rough year, I lost Lexie to complications after ovarian cyst surgery and Saffie to complications from bladder surgery. I never knew so many things could go wrong.
Then buprecare is working and she’s had some more recovery food and has started eating some bits by herself
 
Hello my Flump is on 0.5 ml X 2 a day of zithromax too for a jaw abscess. She's now on day day 12 ish and I'm fairly sure the abscess has deflated. She's bright and perky, eating fairly. My only issue is her foraging her sister and husband's booty for fresh poo as the antibiotics have stripped her tummy of natural balance of bacteria. Hopefully uncle Simon will not insist on another 2 weeks on it, as Pickle, my boy, in particular is not very happy at all!
Hope yours improves very quickly too. 🙂
 
hot fox said:
Hello my Flump is on 0.5 ml X 2 a day of zithromax too for a jaw abscess. She's now on day day 12 ish and I'm fairly sure the abscess has deflated. She's bright and perky, eating fairly. My only issue is her foraging her sister and husband's booty for fresh poo as the antibiotics have stripped her tummy of natural balance of bacteria. Hopefully uncle Simon will not insist on another 2 weeks on it, as Pickle, my boy, in particular is not very happy at all!
Hope yours improves very quickly too. 🙂
Click to expand...
Thanks, that’s good to know. I’m syringe feeding her but hoping she’ll start eating for herself again soon when the antibiotics start to work. I hadn’t noticed anything she’d just gone off her food and the vet said it was a slightly softer area on that side of the jaw so hoping it might clear up and she won’t need surgery.
Bit worried as I’m starting a new job on Wednesday and have to go into the office on Thursday, if she’s not eating by herself by then she will have to go into the vets for the day.
she’s a single piggy as Saffie passed away a couple of weeks ago but they were already living separately as she’s not a fan of other pigs, I’ll get a probiotic for her.
 
Update, still not eating hay so trying to keep up the syringe feeding but she’s not the best patient so struggling to get a lot in. She’s eating her favourite veggies though so that’s something. Her weight isn’t dropping too much and we have poop output so I’m hoping

I spoke to the vet again yesterday and he mentioned that if the antibiotics don’t clear it up she may need the tooth removed. He said it’s a softening in the jaw bone with swelling but not an abscess yet. What are the chances this will clear up with the medication? I take it if the tooth is removed this will cause issues with the the other teeth as they will keep growing without something to grind against? Do they then need regular dentals and if so are these usually with anaesthetic?

I want to make the best decision for her if it comes to that, she’s not the best at being handled - she will only cooperate for a few minutes at a time. After losing both Lexie and Saffie after their surgeries I’m wary. I love her so much and the other option causes me a lot of distress but I want to make sure I make the right decisions for her.
 
furryfriends (TEAS) said:
I’ve dealt with a lot of tooth root abscesses, but we never have the tooth removed. The abscess is marsupialised from the outside of the jaw and flushed regularly, whilst still remaining on a strong antibiotic.
Click to expand...
He’s saying that it isn’t an abscess yet and that it could be an issue with the root and that they would take the tooth out. The vet is the exotic expert at the practice and there isn’t anyone better anywhere near us. I’m at a loss as she doesn’t particularly like being handled and I don’t want to make the wrong choice for her.
 
furryfriends (TEAS) said:
Which antibiotic is she on?
Click to expand...
She’s on Zithromax 1ml once a day and 0.04 buprecare every 8-12 hours, I have been giving it every 12 but am going to try every 8 instead to make sure she’s not in pain. They originally said 0.08 but that made her very groggy and although she was easier to syringe feed she wasn’t doing anything for herself so they revised it.
 
Lauraspigs said:
She was 1169g this morning, usually about 1226g
Click to expand...
She could have a slightly higher dose of Zithromax. We split the dose and give it twice daily. How long has she been on it? I am just wondering if this could be nipped in the bud, without the need for surgery, with a longer course.
 
furryfriends (TEAS) said:
She could have a slightly higher dose of Zithromax. We split the dose and give it twice daily. How long has she been on it? I am just wondering if this could be nipped in the bud, without the need for surgery, with a longer course.
Click to expand...
Since Monday, not sure if it’s important but she was on sulfatrim for a month beforehand for breathing issues as she makes a noise at times and it has gotten worse. Wondering if it was also the start of this. What would the dose be twice a day? I can call the vet tomorrow and question the dose.

Forgot to add that he said her teeth were all fine, aligned and wearing well no sharp places etc so a bit at a loss as to why she has this problem as thought it was mainly caused when they had tooth prob
 
After looking brighter yesterday evening and this morning Luna now doesn’t really want her favourite veggies or any grass. She’s picking up hay and putting it down and then giving up and lying on her bed. She’s had 6 doses of the antibiotics so far. She’s having buprecare 3x a day and I’m going to slightly up the dose to 0.05/0.06 as 0.08 made her very groggy and it seems that 0.04 is no longer enough ☹️ She’s also having loxicom 0.2mls once a day. We have an emergency appointment tomorrow morning for them to check nothing else is going on and then one on Monday night with the specialist.

The only things she’s eating by herself now are soaked pellets and some dried flowers/herbs. Her weight is holding but I’m only managing to get in 20-25mls of critical care as she won’t tolerate more than a couple of mls a feed. She’s still feisty bless her but I’m getting really worried. I’m not sure surgery is the best option for her and am getting worried that she should be doing better by now and whether the meds will work. I’ve tried carrot purée and she won’t have it, about 5 different types of hay just incase and her cage is always full of hay, soaked pellets, 3 types of recovery food, oats, her favourite veggies, dried flowers, grass, readigrass etc

Her weight hasn’t really dropped since Monday when I took her to the emergency vet so she must be eating something when I’m not looking or could there be something else going on that would mean her weight isn’t going down despite the lack of appetite? I’m with her as much as possible.

I’m getting really worried and don’t want to make the wrong decisions for her. How long do you wait for antibiotics to work before deciding on what happens next ie surgery vs quality of life etc. She is usually such a happy girl and has multiple popcorn parties a day and she hasn’t had a party in a week now, she squeaked for dinner last night although she only wanted her favourites so I got my hopes up that we were on the road to recovery but today I’m just not so sure.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top