Dog - was told 7 teeth 2b extracted - vet took all bar fangs

dollydiva

Very shocked right now. Our 7 year old small mongrel dog was taken last week to the vet as she had an abscess on one tooth; we were given antibiotics for that, but told by vet she needed 7 teeth out.

The nurse has just rang to say that they've taken ALL her teeth except her two fangs at the top and the two fangs at the bottom. She said that as the vet descaled her teeth, the teeth were falling out.

I'm no expert. I know that her teeth at the upper back were bad, and these were the ones indicated to me in the consultation. But...ALL.? Really? Cos a week ago it was just 7 and the ones between her fangs didn't even have plaque as far as I could see as we'd been using Plaque Off.

But what can I do? He's done it now...it's not like we were consulted, but then again you sign a form that basically says if he thinks more work is needed, you give him carte Blanche to do it.

I feel upset and bewildered as to how 7 teeth has turned into a mouthful...:(

snowman2_2

The vet will only have taken out the teeth that needed to come out. There is no way that healthy teeth would be removed as it is incredibly difficult and time consuming to remove a healthy tooth. It is difficult to make a full assessment in a concious mouth and sometimes things look worse when you get a closer view. She should do a lot better now that the pain & infection has been removed. It would have been close to negligence to have left them in place

CFC

I know you're upset but it's far better to have them all out at once than have to put your dog through an op again in another few months or a year. You've done your best to keep her gnashers healthy but possibly the prediliection for gum disease is inherited.

scheming_gypsy

I feel your pain, 3 years ago one of my dogs had cancer behind his front teeth. The vets said they'd have to cut it out and he'd lose 'a few teeth and a bit of his jaw'; when i went to pick him up the entire front bottom jaw was gone - if you put your index finger across your front teeth and thumb across your jaw, that's what they took.

albacookie

Until you assess below the gum line there is no way to be sure if a tooth needs to come out or not. Teeth with healthy roots are difficult and time consuming to remove - sometimes needs to be done if they are fractured ect but no-one would do it for fun!
Dogs cope really well once the gums heal.

Person_one

scheming_gypsy wrote: »

I feel your pain, 3 years ago one of my dogs had cancer behind his front teeth. The vets said they'd have to cut it out and he'd lose 'a few teeth and a bit of his jaw'; when i went to pick him up the entire front bottom jaw was gone - if you put your index finger across your front teeth and thumb across your jaw, that's what they took.

How on earth did the poor dog survive that? How did he eat?

scheming_gypsy

At first it was VERY difficult.. for me as well as him, as he would dribble so much it was impossible for him to pick his food up. I ended up scooping it up and letting him eat out of my hand; I'm a blokey bloke and it was heartbreaking. After about two weeks he nicked a left over bone from my other dog and sat chewing it in the garden so he'd decided that he was ok.
I feed them on BARF and dogs chew with their back teeth so he has no problems with chicken carcasses, beef bones, pork bones, minced tripe and today he had lamb ribs. Once he'd adjusted to it he was fine but it's one of the worst things i've gone through, seeing their face wondering what's happening when it was you who made the decision.

UKTigerlily

My cat has had three dentals now & had a tooth out during the third but at each one the Vet said they wouldn't know if any (or more in case of the last one) teeth needed to come out until they were in there x

hethmar

So sorry to hear about your dog, it must have been a shock for you, but she will adapt and my goodness, if the teeth were that bad, think how much pain she must have been in. You may well find you have a very different, happy dog once they have healed and no more poison is entering her blood stream.

The vet will advise what food she can have. But we did have an old rescue boy who had only a few teeth left and he certainly had no trouble eating pretty standard stuff xxx

hethmar

Gypsy, blokey bloke or not, bless you for what you did for him xxx

We do tend to forget that dogs arent looks obsessed like us, as long as they feel well, can enjoy life and eat/sleep/play and be loved, then they are happy x The number of people who said we should have let Ralph be put down because he had only half a foot at the back - his mum chewed 1 and half feet off when he was born and he was due to be pts as no rescue would take him. He runs like the wind with a little boot on the half a foot he has at the back - if you had seen him on hols last week running hell for leather down a hillside in Dorset and grinning like a mad thing as he did it - 6 and half years on and happy as larry still.

bethie

the vet wouldn't have taken them out if he didn't need to.


i had my cat in for a molar extraction and a dental examination/scale and polish a few years ago, and he came home with just his canines! vet said they wouldnt know how bad his mouth was until the operation.


As it turns out, most of his teeth had already fallen out, and the rest were in such poor condition, he was better off taking them out then and there.


cat didn't seem too bothered about the whole thing, and actually managed to eat BETTER without his teeth than he did before.


the only 'side effect' it seems to have is that he can't eat raw meat/chicken wings as well. they need to be in tiny chunks, or already split as he can't separate the meat from the skin. He does compensate a bit by holding it with his claws and ripping with his mouth in a funny jerk-like manner. it is quite amusing to watch though!