Hounds With No Teeth?

[Guest NeroAmber]

Sooo Nero may end up having all of his teeth extracted, and I was wondering if anyone had come accross dogs with very few or no teeth before? I've only ever seen a rottie on TV with no teeth and her tongue was out all the time because nothing was keeping it in.

 

The vet said they could maybe keep the canines if it comes to it- but his gum problem is something she's only ever seen in cats before! We can try to beat it with oral hygeine, which so far hasn't worked- and anti-inflammatories and antibiotics- which are hideously expensive...

 

So can anyone give me any stories of hounds with no teeth/ comments/ hint or tips- anything really, I never banked on Nero needing nearly all his teeth out!

[Guest mcsheltie]

This is an auto-immune disorder and the normal bacteria on the teeth causes an inflammatory response. The only way to stop the process it to remove them all.

 

Removing healthy canines can be a difficult procedure. These teeth are deeply rooted. Be sure whoever is doing it is skilled in veterinary dentistry. An inexperienced vet can cause problems with the jaw. All the roots need to be removed or the inflammatory process will continue.

 

I have had this done with cats and once the gums heal and harden, they actually can go back to eating dry food. In the meantime you can soak the kibble until it becomes mush, feed canned food or fresh ground food. Another good alternative would be Honest Kitchen. It is top notch nutrition. Get the food change done well before the surgery.

 

You will want to take home some heavy duty pain meds. Inquire if a course of Pred could calm down the immune system. Antibiotics should be started the week before surgery.

 

He will do just fine without his teeth. And he will be much healthier and happier for it. Currently this reaction is putting a strain on his renal system and heart. And his mouth is painful.

 

ETA: The first cat I had done, I did not take out the canines and she continued to have problems until they were removed.

 

My two cats kept their tongues in their mouths. The very tip of Scottie's tongue would poke out just a bit now and then.

Edited September 25, 2010 by mcsheltie

[Guest moremoney]

My Rory on has a few front teeth left. Her tongue falls out of her mouth all the time and when she shakes it wraps around her nose .

 

She did really well recovering from having a mass amount being removed. She eats dry food and doesn't have any trouble. We just visited the doggy dentist last week and he said that she does not need the rest of her teeth pulled right now, but possibly in the future.

 

Good luck.

[Guest NeroAmber]

Thank you very much for the responses- very supportive and informative. His gums already seem less red-raw for the 6 that have been extracted. The vet tech said his gums are like butter- the teeth were very very easy to take out, and the slightest touch makes them bleed. I think I'd rather have them all out than have him be in pain and continuously having teeth pulled in dribs and drabs...

[Guest TeddysMom]

I have 2 non-greys that have no teeth and I just soften their food and put it in the blender. They are much better off without bad, painful teeth and gums and actually eat more.

[Guest KennelMom]

Dogs have teeth in their mouth to catch and then tear apart their prey into small enough chunks to swallow. Unlike humans, their digestive process starts in their stomach. We chew our food because we have enzymes in our saliva that start to break down carbohydrates. Dogs (well, eating a natural diet) eat pretty much just meat and bones...not a lot of sugar. Even dogs with teeth don't usually chew kibble..as long as something is small enough to fit down the throat, down the hatch it goes.

 

We've owned a few toothless hounds and they handled the same kibble as everyone else...No need to soak it or grind it up. In fact, I usually found that was more frustrating for the toothless hound as they ended up just mashing it down in to their bowls and having to lick it up. Kibble they can pretty much scoop up with their tongue. We always wet it with some water so there was some lube to help it go down (but we do that with all of them).

 

Pain management post-extraction is critical. Hopefully they'll be able to leave the canines as those are pretty serious extractions. Much more severe and risky than the most of the other teeth...especially the bottom canines. If they do end up taking all of the teeth, the bottom part of the mouth will shrink down a bit b/c it no longer has the teeth to keep it's shape. And the tongue does fall out quite easily. But, there's no reason a dog can't live a long, happy, healthy live with no teeth.

[Guest NeroAmber]

Wow- thank you everyone for your input- we've made the decision to get the teeth removed- but while we save up the money (insurance won't cover this) we will have to keep right on top of dental hygeine, even more than we were, to keep on top of the problem as much as we can.

 

I'm feeling much more comfortable with the fact that this pretty much needs to happen- so thank you again for all the help and information

[Guest Grhndad]

We had a toothless momma dog a few years ago. She was toothless when we got her but her foster mom softened her kibble when feeding her. We just fed her plain kibble which she had no problem with and she loved the small and medium Milk bones. She had no problem with those. Her tongue always hung out. MAde for some cute pictures. Now she did make a mess when getting a drink of water. We place a small back coated floor mat under her water dish to catch the fall out.

[greyhoundgang]

It is much better to get the teeth removed than to leave them in when all that rotting and deterioration occurs. Just picked up an 8 year old boy who had to have all but the canines removed. Couldn't hardly be in the car with him his mouth reeked so badly from his teeth issues.

 

I use Arnica pellets before and after the operation to help with bruising.

 

I raw feed, so he gets mush meals with hamburger, small pieces of meats, egg etc. No problem, just a little messy with the slurping.

 

Info and more links in our Learn/Medical/Teeth section.

 

Claudia & Greyhound Gang

[macdaddy]

I have a 5 year old foster failure Opa who had to have all his teeth removed due to the auto-immune/inflammatory response referenced above...the first few days after extraction were kind of tough but he got by with pain meds and ice packs...since then he's done fine ...much better off then with the bad teeth..I soften his kibble with a little broth but not to the point of being soggy...just a few minutes soak while I fix the other two their dinner..and he does have ETS a lot but it's cute...go ahead and get them removed he'll be much happier

[Guest NeroAmber]

I didn't know tey could have raw eggs- they'll enjoy those in their dinner (unless you meant cooked?)

 

What I would be very grateful for is an idea of what kind of care I need to give Nero afterwards- ice packs were mentioned- but what for- to place under his jaw when he rests- or to hold against his jaw as and when? I've never heard of arnica pellets before, and I don't know the names of all the different pain meds- so which would be best to ask my vet about?

 

Also how long can I expect recovery time to be, will he be in pain overnight as well, are there any natural painkillers I can give him to help alongside the vets painkillers?

 

I know I have a lot of questions, but I just haven't got the first clue here! I'm meeting the vet tomorrow to discuss it, but I'd still prefer to have info from everyone on here, too...

 

Thanks for the help so far, and thanks for reading

[greyhoundgang]

I raw feed.

There is information about that in many places on the web. Greyhound Gang LEARN/Medical/Foodalso has information and links.

 

Every dog is an individual, as are the skills of the doctor doing the operation, recovery will be different.

 

Fields had about 36 teeth pulled, and ate the same day. (I put a towel under the bowels, as no teeth makes eating a bit messy.) Hiked the next day. Only had blood dripping from mouth the first evening. So everywhere he laid down, i put towels under his head to catch the blood.

 

However, I used Arnica Montana(which is a holistic remedywhich your traditional vet will NOT know about probably, and won't recommend). You can find it in a health food store. Many parents keep it on hand for children with bruises. I personally use it all the time. It's in a little vial, and they are little pellets. Look for 30c. Give about 8 little pellets in the mouth, on the gums. Don't touch them, just put them in the cap and drop in mouth. Give 3 times a day for the 2-3 days before surgery. Then same after the surgery. I also used Calendula to make sure no dry pockets occurred. Here's one site about homeopathic remedies - Natural Dog Health.

 

Claudia & Greyhound Gang

[Guest NeroAmber]

Brilliant, thank you very much for the help and info!

[Guest bigorangedog]

Chester had all his teeth out (except one canine tooth) and was eating kibble within a week. The only thing is, he CANNOT keep his tongue in his mouth now for anything. Which is mostly good for laughs:

 

 

 

He's going to end up having that last tooth out, though. Because he has no other teeth to hold his lips out, that last tooth now falls on the outside of his upper lip when he shuts his mouth. So it's getting slowly pushed out to the side. He actually gets it caught on stuff now, like the couch blankets. Kind of sad.

[macdaddy]

Ice packs for swelling...Opa looked a little bit like the Spuds Mackenzie dog from the old Bud beer ads for the first 24 hours..10 minutes on every 1/2 hour or so...and soft food (can dog food/boiled rice) for the first 10 days while the gums heal..but believe me he is SO MUCH better off with all the old rotten teeth out and he doesn't miss them any more than I miss my hair..

[Guest Cardiffcouple]

I raw feed.

There is information about that in many places on the web. Greyhound Gang LEARN/Medical/Foodalso has information and links.

 

Every dog is an individual, as are the skills of the doctor doing the operation, recovery will be different.

 

Fields had about 36 teeth pulled, and ate the same day. (I put a towel under the bowels, as no teeth makes eating a bit messy.) Hiked the next day. Only had blood dripping from mouth the first evening. So everywhere he laid down, i put towels under his head to catch the blood.

 

However, I used Arnica Montana(which is a holistic remedywhich your traditional vet will NOT know about probably, and won't recommend). You can find it in a health food store. Many parents keep it on hand for children with bruises. I personally use it all the time. It's in a little vial, and they are little pellets. Look for 30c. Give about 8 little pellets in the mouth, on the gums. Don't touch them, just put them in the cap and drop in mouth. Give 3 times a day for the 2-3 days before surgery. Then same after the surgery. I also used Calendula to make sure no dry pockets occurred. Here's one site about homeopathic remedies - Natural Dog Health.

 

Claudia & Greyhound Gang

[Guest GreyKatie]

We have a foster with just a few teeth left. She's 10 1/2 and was surrendered last month by a guy who said, "I've put up with this damn dog for seven years!!!" Needless to say, she was in terrible shape. She's very happy with all her teeth gone, and while her tongue does hang out sometimes, she is a great eater (we feed her Nature's Domain kibble soaked for a few minutes in warm water) and doesn't seem to have any problems being a normal dog. I didn't have her during the time of her surgeries, but apparently she's like a different dog afterward: happy, zoomy, alert, silly, and sweet. She was in a lot of pain, and if the teeth have to come out to resolve the pain, I definitely believe there's no problem with that.