Gingival Recession

[Guest falcon73]

My son and his girlfriend recently adopted a wonderful male greyhound 5 years old. He had a dental 9 weeks before adoption. When they took him to their own vet, they were told he had severe ginginval recession (receding gums) and would probably need all teeth (including canines) pulled in the not too distant future. Two vets looked at him and agreed. They are trying a 10 day round of Clindamycin. It didn't seem to do much at all. His gums are very swollen and red where they meet the teeth. Two vets said he is very likely to develope abcessing because of this. Is there anything we can do other than have a complete tooth extraction? Need any suggestions. Thanks.

[racindog]

My red flag is up. If his teeth are really that bad how come the vet who cleaned them only 9 weeks ago wasn't concerned? Would never consent to such a drastic procedure-especially in viiew of this-no matter how many vets from the same practice agree. Of course they'll all agree if they're in the same practice. I would get a 2nd opinion from an OUTSIDE vet that I knew could be trusted or was a certified dental specialist. As an aside I have noticed that recently there seems to be a surge of sorts in vets saying dogs need major dental work/teeth pulled. I know even locally vets have told new adopters their hounds teeth needed cleaning when in fact the placement group and just had them done and they were beautiful and certainly didn't need to be re-done. And don't even get me started on the ethics of putting them at risk from anesthesia to do an unnecessary/redundant procedure. IMO some vets have begun to think like many human dentists-"there's gold in them thar teeth."

[Guest akawow]

I'm new here, so hesitant to post, but I've had super results using a Sonicare on my greys. I have two, they've both had "bad" teeth- building up really fast, getting bleeding gums, stinking, etc. It's taken time and patience and lots of praise, but they don't mind now (I even got a couple scrapers from my dentist, and can scrape off scale). Especially at first, the gums may bleed a bit, but doing a little at a time and building up to a full cycle- both have beautiful white teeth that don't need cleaned nearly as often. The beauty of the Sonicare is it not only gets the plaque off, the sonic waves actually kill bacteria . And of course use a doggie toothpaste they like. My Borzoi lived to age 13 and only had her teeth cleaned once!

[4My2Greys]

I'm not sure if you could get some of the benefits by just applying Manuka honey along the gumline after using something like the Sonicare, but I thought this pilot study was interesting.

 

The effects of manuka honey on plaque and gingivitis: a pilot study.

 

English HK, et al. Show all

 

J Int Acad Periodontol. 2004 Apr;6(2):63-7.

 

Discipline of Periodontology, School of Dentistry, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.

 

Abstract Research has shown that manuka honey has superior antimicrobial properties that can be used with success in the treatment of wound healing, peptic ulcers and bacterial gastro-enteritis. Studies have already shown that manuka honey with a high antibacterial activity is likely to be non-cariogenic. The current pilot study investigated whether or not manuka honey with an antibacterial activity rated UMF 15 could be used to reduce dental plaque and clinical levels of gingivitis. A chewable "honey leather" was produced for this trial. Thirty volunteers were randomly allocated to chew or suck either the manuka honey product, or sugarless chewing gum, for 10 minutes, three times a day, after each meal. Plaque and gingival bleeding scores were recorded before and after the 21-day trial period. Analysis of the results indicated that there were statistically highly significant reductions in the mean plaque scores (0.99 reduced to 0.65; p=0.001), and the percentage of bleeding sites (48% reduced to 17%; p=0.001), in the manuka honey group, with no significant changes in the control group. Conclusion: These results suggest that there may be a potential therapeutic role for manuka honey confectionery in the treatment of gingivitis and periodontal disease.

 

PMID 15125017 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

 

Here's the link:

http/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed

/151250171/

[silverfish]

It's my experience that some dogs are just more prone to this than others. It doesn't seem to bear much relation to how well you look after their mouths, though I am (of course) talking from a viewpoint of taking on dogs over five years old, some way older than that and some with neglected mouths. However, I've seen dogs at two or three with very pink looking gums, and while they had no plaque build up, it seemed likely that they would be prone to gingivitis, IMHO.

 

I have Jeffie now, who had a very bad mouth when I adopted him. He'd had a dental, but had developed a deep ulcer and fistula which went nearly through to his nasal cavity after the extraction of his upper left canine. We went through several courses of antibiotic, plus teeth cleaning (oh boy, did THAT take some getting used to!), and mouthwash of the affected part, and it did heal, but then reappeared months later. Seemed there was a bone fragment working it's way out and I am so not impressed by whoever did that dental..

 

Anyway. Despite regular cleaning with silver-impregnated microfibre fingerstalls, electric toothbrush (very gently) and two types of enzymatic toothpaste, he still has puffy, red and receding gums. The vet took a look yesterday and said she thought it was the best we could hope for right now and to keep on doing what we are doing.

 

I'd be very interested in a manuka honey product he could use without danger of swallowing a chunk of the leather, with his sensitive stomach, because it would make him vomit. *Sigh*

[4My2Greys]

Judy, I was thinking more along the lines of applying the Manuka honey with your fingers along the gumline. I know it wouldn't help as much as chewing on something with it, but I think there would be some benefit especially if using a honey with a higher UMF rating like 20.

As far as chewing on something impregnated with Manuka honey the other benefit would be its role in helping with IBD and other gastric issues. It would be nice if a chew they couldn't swallow was made with it.

[silverfish]

Yes, I'll try that, Judy. I did try manuka honey with his ulcer, but he was so twitchy about having it touched that I couldn't dry it and it just slid off as soon as he licked his lips!

 

Hopefully, now he's healed, he'll be ok to have his gums wiped before I apply it - although maybe if I just stick it as far up inside his lip as possible it will just sit there and gently drip downwards? I could brush his canine with the honey on the toothbrush, I suppose, too.

[tbhounds]

The problem with the recession is with recession goes hand in hand wih exposed roots. The gum line wil never recover-- roots are porous and porous means painful. You can try brushing daily using the sonicare brush (I actually do use one on my 2 daily) then, apply the veterinary formula biotene antiseptic gel into the gum line daily. It might help reduce tartar and inflammation but, in the long run it will not help with the recession. I'm in the exaction camp if you can't visualize improvement.

Im pretty sure the last dentistry he had 9 weeks ago was a clean um up and get him adopted dentistry-- adoption groups do the best that they can but, to perform a very expensive lengthy dental was most likely not in the budget.

The last dog I adopted myself only had a two minute hand scaling from the adoption group.

[tuff]

My DH is a dentist. Like TBhounds said, you can't reverse recession. The bone loss is permanent. My girl came with really bad teeth too, and severe gingival recession. Her gums were swollen and flaming red. Per my husband, once the recession/bone loss is about 50% of the root length, you really can't save the teeth. They will loosen and ultimately get infected and abscess. My girl had to have 2, somewhat anterior teeth pulled at her first dental. Her molars also have signficant root exposed but the vet didn't feel they needed pulled, yet. We brush daily and the redness is much improved, although they don't look normal. Her breath is definitely better. A second opinion might not be a bad idea, but it is possible the teeth are beyond saving, unfortunately. According to my vet, studies have shown cycling clindamycin does not have much of an effect and is no longer recommended.

[Guest Mom2Shiloh]

My Bravo turned 5 at the beginning of August; he has chronic gingivitis. His gums were receding but wasn't affecting allthe teeth equally. Dental had been put off from May because the first vet I took him to, thinking he was a healthy 4 year old and it wasn't a huge deal, got some really strange lab results including frighteningly high Lipase readings (indicating chronic pancreatitis.) Went back to my holistic vet; he took Acetylator and Cell Advance for a couple of months, along with his regular probiotics and had a carefully monitored dental in August at which time they packed his gums with Doxygel. After the dental he had to be on soft/medium food (no kibble) and grain free; after the first 2 weeks I started brushing gently with an enzymatic toothpaste. I also used a spray bottle to rinse off his teeth after every meal with room temperature water. Gradually I was able to move him back onto Taste of the Wild Salmon, still grain free but I couldn't afford to keep him on the Honest Kitchen Fish Blend he'd been on. I have something called FidoDent by Animals Apawthecary (can get this through Amazon) for when his gums get at all pink (usually use it a couple times a week, PetzLife gel for his teeth a couple times a week for tartar and I brush with an enzymatic toothpaste between all that. He is doing quite well. His gums stay not inflamed, he has no tartar build up--- his teeth are white. His Lipase readings are normal again as well.

 

I know that there are gum diseases, some forms of gingivitis that require total tooth extraction at a certain point.... my daughter has a young Maine Coon cat who had to have most of her teeth out because of her gum disease -- and she is MUCH happier without them, she had a lot of pain and it was not treatable. But as far as I know, that specific variety is something Cats get.

 

Your boy may end up needing teeth out, but i would try to see if the inflamation could be dealt with and he could be comfortable first -- Bravo's gums were so red for a while he could barely eat and he is totally fine now.

[tbhounds]

My Bravo turned 5 at the beginning of August; he has chronic gingivitis. His gums were receding but wasn't affecting allthe teeth equally. Dental had been put off from May because the first vet I took him to, thinking he was a healthy 4 year old and it wasn't a huge deal, got some really strange lab results including frighteningly high Lipase readings (indicating chronic pancreatitis.) Went back to my holistic vet; he took Acetylator and Cell Advance for a couple of months, along with his regular probiotics and had a carefully monitored dental in August at which time they packed his gums with Doxygel. After the dental he had to be on soft/medium food (no kibble) and grain free; after the first 2 weeks I started brushing gently with an enzymatic toothpaste. I also used a spray bottle to rinse off his teeth after every meal with room temperature water. Gradually I was able to move him back onto Taste of the Wild Salmon, still grain free but I couldn't afford to keep him on the Honest Kitchen Fish Blend he'd been on. I have something called FidoDent by Animals Apawthecary (can get this through Amazon) for when his gums get at all pink (usually use it a couple times a week, PetzLife gel for his teeth a couple times a week for tartar and I brush with an enzymatic toothpaste between all that. He is doing quite well. His gums stay not inflamed, he has no tartar build up--- his teeth are white. His Lipase readings are normal again as well.

 

I know that there are gum diseases, some forms of gingivitis that require total tooth extraction at a certain point.... my daughter has a young Maine Coon cat who had to have most of her teeth out because of her gum disease -- and she is MUCH happier without them, she had a lot of pain and it was not treatable. But as far as I know, that specific variety is something Cats get.

 

Your boy may end up needing teeth out, but i would try to see if the inflamation could be dealt with and he could be comfortable first -- Bravo's gums were so red for a while he could barely eat and he is totally fine now.

Sounds like your kitty had stomatitis- dogs can be afflicted with that too :-(