Update On Desi's Owie

[DesiRayMom]

It's official......broken canine. And bothering him much more today even than yesterday.

 

Our "dental specialist" took a look at it & said he could maybe bond it, but would rather xray first as it may just need to come on out.

 

Now the problem is that it's so sensitive that he's not wanting to eat. I know he's hungry.....he tries to eat, but it's really owie.

I tried soft.....no go....couldn't tolerate that at all. Did get a few bites of plain dry kibble down just by hoovering them in & swallowing whole,

but not nearly enough.

 

He's on nsaid & Tramadol (a nice big dose) but it's not enough, and we can't squeeze him on the schedule until Wednesday.

 

Thought I'd scramble an egg in a bit & see if he could manage that. Any other suggestions? I'm also worried about water intake.

He seems really temperature sensitive. Lord, I'm going to be a basket case before this is resolved. He77, I'm a basket case right now!

[TheFullHouse]

Cottage cheese, canned dog food, yogurt, just about anything he can lick up instead of chew?

[FiveRoooooers]

Spray cheese in a can? Liverwurst? Peanut butter? Poor Desi and his mom. But a bad tooth is way better, way better, than a whole lot of other stuff it could have been, right?

[OwnedBySummer]

Can you use that gum-numbing stuff? Not sure how good that is for a dog, though. But surely it's better than dehydration?

[GreyhoundGirl]

Maybe also baby food. Mine love baby food and he can lick it. As for water you can try room temp water. Also, pedialyte might be something worth trying. It will kill 2 birds with one stone; hydrate and provide some nourishment.

 

Poor furbaby...I hope he feels better soon.

[EllenEveBaz]

Everything room temperature. Ensure or another supplement? White rice cooked in sodium-free broth until extra mushy, maybe with a little broken-up cooked hamburger and soft green beans mixed in? Sweet potato cooked in low sodium broth? Nice stinky canned fish with mashed sweet potato?

Edited September 15, 2012 by EllenEveBaz

[joejoesmom]

Ouch, poor Desi. I was in Dr. Klein's office when a police dog came in for a followup for a broken canine. Dr. Klein did a root canal and a crown -- just like in humans. Not saying that Desi needs this -- he could probably do just fine without the canine -- but I found it interesting. I'm assuming that it all cost at least $2000, but really have no clue.

 

If you are concerned about the anesthesia and are going to have it pulled, I'm sure Dr. Kellogg at OSU Greyhound Health and Wellness could handle it. If not, she could handle the anesthesia and have OSU's dental expert handle it. Just an alternative. I know they can often do things quite quickly.

 

As for food, perhaps something soft but firm enough to make into small balls. Then you could try to push them through the side to the back of his mouth if he will tolerate it. I would think the goal is to figure out a way that he can eat without anything touching the front part of his mouth. We can't let our Desi go hungry.

 

I would also recommend warming up the water or other liquid to body temperature, not just room temperature.

 

Jane

[4My2Greys]

How is Desi this morning? Are the nsaids and Tramadol starting to give the poor guy any relief yet? I think the gum numbing stuff is a good idea and might help enough to lessen the pain and encourage him to eat. Jane's advice to warm food and liquids to body temperature makes really good sense. Pain numbing thoughts being sent out to Desi.

[DesiRayMom]

Thanks for all suggestions & concern. After much soul-searching & trial/error......the WARM is a big one, every

thing must be just slightly above body temp, not just room temp.

Also, flat surface NOT usual bowl. 2 eggs went down last night really well, slowly & with a head turn away from me after every bite, but just too good to pass up for a hungry

boy. This morning, his kibble had been soaking all night, then warmed in microwave....he could not eat it out of the bowl, but with coaxing he ate every bit when I hand fed.

It was really mushy with extra canned mixed in & being hand fed while on his bed made it more tolerable. I'm going to try a paper plate next meal & see how that works.

There's just something about putting his face in the bowl that he can't tolerate right now; that tooth accidentally touching a piece of food, or whatever.

 

Tramadol every 8 hours is finally kicking in, at least he seems fairly comfortable on his bed now that his belly isn't growling. Meals are going to be a lot more labor intensisve

for the next few days.

 

Jane, thanks for the info on OSU dentistry, but because of financial constraints, I'm going to stay where I am. I'll get it done for a pittance at my clinic. Did his bloodwork

yesterday, that's all fine, and the 2 best techs are on Wednesday (both of them personal friends), we'll use the anes. protocol from his last dental a year ago, he did very

well during that one. Our "dental specialist" is very good with teeth, one of my problems with him is he's a perfectionist almost to the point of being obcessive compulsive.

IMHO there are times when one needs to quit messing about.....get the job done, and wake him up! I know he wants to try to bond that tooth, and I'm sure he'd be

excited to do a root canal/crown (that is his specialty after all) BUT I DON'T WANT HIM UNDER THAT LONG. Too many times, I've seen them messing about taking

xrays over just to get them "perfect" and the longer they're under, the greater the risk becomes.....again JMHO.

 

We spoke yesterday, he knows how I feel, and also knows that I'll be lurking during the whole procedure & am not afraid to speak my mind.

 

My heartbreak right now is feeding him. He's hungry, and he'll take it from my hand, but after every bite, he turns his head away as if he thinks I've done something

to his dinner to make his mouth hurt. Then looks back at me with those soulful brown eyes and I am toast. He'll forgive me after all this is over, right?

 

So I will just continue my path = overprotective; have already insisted on MY approved anes protocol, not his, and will be lurking during the procedure, counting

the minutes and watching with an eagle eye. The kind that drives doctors to despair! Now we just have to make it to Wednesday.

 

Thanks again, all...........you must know how much I appreciate you all. And if you think I'm being TOO protective & snarky, please tell me. I won't take offense.

[4My2Greys]

It's good that he is at least eating with your help. Is there any chance the tooth might end up being extracted if it looks like the bonding isn't going to work? If so I'd be sure to have Amicar on hand in that event.

[joejoesmom]

It's good that he is at least eating with your help. Is there any chance the tooth might end up being extracted if it looks like the bonding isn't going to work? If so I'd be sure to have Amicar on hand in that event.

 

Good point. Amicar is available from OSU if you can't find it at a human pharmacy. However, since it is always on hand at OSU, you could run down there and back in 30 minutes or so. If that delay wouldn't cause problems, you could just check at OSU to make sure it would be available on the day of surgery and thereafter if necessary. You would probably need to get it through the OSU vet pharmacy and they do have somewhat limited hours. They would also need Dr. Kellogg to request it as it is a "closed to outsiders" pharmacy. She would likely do this if your vet called her.

 

I am so glad you figured out a way to get food into Desi. Glad warming everything to body temperature helps.

 

Jane

 

edited to add: I am extremely glad that you are protective of my our your sweet boy

Edited September 15, 2012 by joejoesmom

[FiveRoooooers]

[JJNg]

Does your "dental specialist" do root canals? Because if he's talking about 'bonding' it, I sure hope that he's planning to do a root canal first. With a broken tooth that is so painful, your only options are root canal or extraction (and root canal is much more expensive). Simply sealing the exposed pulp cavity will not take away the pain or risk of infection.