Tooth Spur

[MrsShugs]

Hi All,

I need urgent help. My Guinea Pig has developed a tooth spur and my local vet is look for £670 for the procedure.

Whilst I understand that having a pet is like a member of the family, in these times there is no way I can afford the cost of this and I may have to unwillingly sacrifice my pet.

Is there anywhere I can get in done cheaper?

I am located in Stansted.

 

[Siikibam]

Sorry to hear your piggy is unwell. One option would be to have your local vet refer to Cat & Rabbit in Northampton. There would be travel but they are the most experienced when it comes to dealing with piggy dentals. Lots of members here have had their piggies seen by them.

I’ll also tag @furryfriends (TEAS)

Hope he’s sorted soon.

 

[Swissgreys]

That does sound quite expensive.
Did they give you a breakdown of the costs involved?

Are they on the recommended vet list?
I hope you can get something sorted, but I second the suggestion of the Cat and Rabbit clinic if at all possible.

 

[Bill & Ted]

My Ted went for conscious dentals with Simon and Kim Maddock at the Cat and Rabbit Clinic for several years, it was well worth the mileage. Pet owners travel from all over the UK and I now believe Europe too, they are the experts and I can thoroughly recommend them.
A conscious dental for a tooth spur is around £69 and a one off registration fee of around £50
I see you are not that far away, give them a call and see if you need a referral from your vet or not
Good luck

 

[MrsShugs]

My Ted went for conscious dentals with Simon and Kim Maddock at the Cat and Rabbit Clinic for several years, it was well worth the mileage. Pet owners travel from all over the UK and I now believe Europe too, they are the experts and I can thoroughly recommend them.
A conscious dental for a tooth spur is around £69 and a one off registration fee of around £50
I see you are not that far away, give them a call and see if you need a referral from your vet or not
Good luck

Thank you thats actually really helpful and not too far.

Unfortunately it has to be an unconscious tooth spur

 

[Bill & Ted]

Thank you thats actually really helpful and not too far.

Unfortunately it has to be an unconscious tooth spur

Simon/Kim can do both GA and conscious, it’s actually a five minute job if it’s done consciously and the piggie is none the worse for it. There’s also no risk of nasty general anaesthetic and problems related afterwards so it’s a win, win for everyone. My Ted had regular tooth spur conscious dentals on a back molar and he was absolutely fine. Simon or Kim gently file the spur down while the piggie wears a brace and cheek separator, rather like us sometimes. They are held by a trained nurse while the procedure happens and then they are free to go home and eat for England! They really are amazing vets!

Why would you think your piggies would need a general anaesthetic?

 

[Piggies&buns]

Why must it be a dental under anaesthetic? Is that just what your vet told you?
If you can get to Simon and Kim, they may well be able to do it without anaesthetic which is obviously much better for piggy and financially. It’s often the anaesthetic which costs the most so without it the procedure can be cheaper

 

[Bill & Ted]

Why must it be a dental under anaesthetic? Is that just what your vet told you?
If you can get to Simon and Kim, they may well be able to do it without anaesthetic which is obviously much better for piggy and financially. It’s often the anaesthetic which costs the most so without it the procedure can be cheaper

I agree, better all round. Simon and Kim rarely have to use general anaesthetics for dentals it’s actually far better as they can see how the jaws sit properly, under anaesthetic the jaws are all floppy and don’t sit correctly plus any sores don’t show up under anaesthetic either so abscesses are not always pick up

 

[MrsShugs]

Why must it be a dental under anaesthetic? Is that just what your vet told you?
If you can get to Simon and Kim, they may well be able to do it without anaesthetic which is obviously much better for piggy and financially. It’s often the anaesthetic which costs the most so without it the procedure can be cheaper

It's what the vet told me as shes skittish, its also her front bottom tooth and questioning if it needed to actually be removed its growing out of her face.

 

[Piggies&buns]

It's what the vet told me as shes skittish, its also her front bottom tooth and questioning if it needed to actually be removed its growing out of her face.

if at all possible, I would get a referral to cat and rabbit for their opinion before making any decisions. they really are the most experienced and knowledgeable piggy dental vets and see more dental cases in a week than many other vets do all year. We see cases on the forum where they deal with things that other vets have not been able to.

if it’s not possible for you to get there, then this is our recommended vet list
Recommended Guinea Pig Vets

 

[Merab]

Hope you can get that tooth dealt with

 

[Dilly's Piggies]

Another vote here for Simon Maddock at cat and rabbit clinic, it was many years ago but he brought my 5 year old boar back from the brink, he had a nasty huge abscess, malocclusion, spurs, elongated roots, the whole works. He had dental surgery 3 times with my regular vet with no improvement, I was advised to pts, as a last attempt to save him he had one surgery with Simon and he was cured, went on to live almost 3 more years with no dental issues at all, it was amazing really, he really knows his stuff.

Plus like others have said, I think he's the only one that will do conscious dental work, the piggies don't seem to mind much. My boar was put under for his treatment as it was so bad, I don't think he did conscious work back then, but nowadays for spurs it should be fine, will work out much cheaper for you and safer for your piggie and you know its being done right. That quote does seem quite excessive, but I've noticed my vets have suddenly pretty much doubled in price since covid which sucks.

I hope you can figure something out and your piggie gets better soon.

 

[Bill & Ted]

They see loads of very skittish piggies, so don’t let that be a consideration. Simon has successfully dealt with a piggie who’s front tooth was actually growing out of his nose. He really is the go to vet and you will get treatment on the first visit and an assessment/plan so if you can get there do so and save yourself a lot of heartache and worry x