Infected Gums - What To Be Done?

[Charlies_Dad]

Stewie still has very inflamed and red gums even after round two of antibiotics after his dental. Are there any other options to treat them?

 

Tks.

[GeorgeofNE]

Sounds like they were not the right antibiotics. I'd get him back to the vet to find out why his gums are still inflammed.

[tuff]

Brush, brush, brush. I have to brush Jujube's teeth 2x/day and is has taken awhile but they are minimally red and don't bleed when brushed any more. She has an awful mouth otherwise. She has gotten to where I think she actually likes them brushed (read: eat the toothpaste and get a peanut butter lick after).

[Burpdog]

Which antibiotics was he on? Are the teeth in firm? How long ago was the dental?

[3DogNite]

Petslife oral spray should hel.p

Petslife also has a stronger spray that you can only get from the vet.

 

Lazer has terrible teeth and very inflamed infected gums. due to his PLN/clotting/heart issues we have not done a dental in a couple years

 

I have been using Petslife oral spray with Lazer with minimal effect - but I attribute that to his sever tarter problems..

 

There is also a products called OxyDoc. you can dilute it and spray it onto the teeth - it has anit-bacterial/fungal properties - this could also help.

OxyDoc has no taste,, so Lazer likes this one better. OxyDoc also has had minimal effect on Lazer - again ,,, lazer has sever tarter issues....

 

The best thing so far for lazer has been to get him chewing on Raw Turkey necks. this has actually started to wear the tarter off - and with the

added sprays -- I think we are making some headway with his red gum infection issue.

[DonnaBehr]

Stewie still has very inflamed and red gums even after round two of antibiotics after his dental. Are there any other options to treat them?

 

Tks.

There is an auto-immune disease that can cause this. Maybe Sheshe will see your post and fill you in.

[Charlies_Dad]

Which antibiotics was he on? Are the teeth in firm? How long ago was the dental?

He was on Clindamycin (4x150mg/day for 7 days) twice. The dental was on Jan. 9th and his gums were inflamed prior to it. All the teeth are solid. We do use Petzlife spray on him now however have not started brushing because of his inflamed gums and causing pain or bleeding.

[Jiffer]

I'd be checking with the vet again, or getting a second opinion. It's normal to see some inflammation after a dental (they get in deep when they clean), but it's better to make sure it's not something else going on.

 

I hope Stewie feels better soon.

[Guest greytkidsmom]

Kebo has the worst gums ever. Stewie may be a member of the club.

We did the pulsed antibiotic therapy for a while.

The last veterinary dentist we saw said that pulsed antibiotic therapy had fallen out of favor.

We brush with an enzymatic toothpaste (it is a bloody mess every time).

We add biotene water additive to the dogs' drinking water.

There is a biotene gel that I apply to his gums when they seem really bad.

We use a food additive called plaqueoff that makes the tartar soft enough to flake off with a fingernail.

He got the dental vaccine when it was first released and then a couple of boosters - it made a small difference but now it is not recommended.

 

No matter what we do, he ends up needing a dental every 6 months.

 

We have made peace with the fact that this is what it is. His annual bloodwork is always good and he still enjoys his everyday tasks of patrolling the yard and guarding his stuffies. At the moment, he isn't eating well and we know it is from some sore teeth. Dental #11 coming up soon...

 

Hugs to your Stewie

[gryhnd_adoptee]

Petslife oral spray should hel.p

Petslife also has a stronger spray that you can only get from the vet.

 

Lazer has terrible teeth and very inflamed infected gums. due to his PLN/clotting/heart issues we have not done a dental in a couple years

 

I have been using Petslife oral spray with Lazer with minimal effect - but I attribute that to his sever tarter problems..

 

There is also a products called OxyDoc. you can dilute it and spray it onto the teeth - it has anit-bacterial/fungal properties - this could also help.

OxyDoc has no taste,, so Lazer likes this one better. OxyDoc also has had minimal effect on Lazer - again ,,, lazer has sever tarter issues....

 

The best thing so far for lazer has been to get him chewing on Raw Turkey necks. this has actually started to wear the tarter off - and with the

added sprays -- I think we are making some headway with his red gum infection issue.

I second the Petzlife. I am not often vigilant as I should be with brushing, but when I notice a bit of pink at the gumline I brush and in a couple days her gums look a LOT better.

[greytpups]

Rather than brush, i would slowly start using some toothpaste on a guaze pad until his gums start to heal. sometimes adults complain that flossing cuts their gums, but actually, their gums are inflamed which causes the bleeding and the answer is to take better care of their teeth. when they do, the inflamation subsides, and their gums stop bleeding which is why i suggested to start slowly with guaze pads. As his gums begin to heal and stop bleeding, then start adding a brush.

[greysmom]

You might try having a culture done of his mouth bacteria to make sure the antibiotic is the correct one.

[4My2Greys]

Something else you might consider using on his gums is Silver Biotics.

 

http://drugwiki.org/use/uses-silver-biotics.html

 

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1034/j.1600-0765.2001.360207.x/abstract

[greyhead]

When Spencer had this trouble last year, the internist sent him home with antibiotics and a bottle of blue gel called OraZn "neutralized zinc." Just takes one drop deposited with your finger on top molars on each side. Always clears it up in 2-3 days. Let me know if you'd like more info, such as who makes it and where they are.

 

Separately from that, I concur with the suggestion to wipe teeth and gums with gauze pads. That creates just enough friction to get the job done without making the gums bleed like brushing would at this point. Our vet gave us a whole pack of them -- very handy!

[tbhounds]

Clindamycin is the usual antibiotic when dealing with oral issues. Have you tried applying biotene antiseptic gel to the gum line?

http://www.petkingbrands.com/products/bioteneAntiGel.html

I wonder if in the future if his gums are still inflamed if a biopsy of the gum line may be needed. May provide an answer to a possible underlying condition (immune mediated for example).

[Charlies_Dad]

Thanks everyone for your feedback. We'll look into the two gels and also we will get him in to see our regular vet who treated Charlie and Jack. The vet that performed the dental is not our regular vet but is very good at dentals at a reasonable price.

[Guest grey_dreams]

When Spencer had this trouble last year, the internist sent him home with antibiotics and a bottle of blue gel called OraZn "neutralized zinc." Just takes one drop deposited with your finger on top molars on each side. Always clears it up in 2-3 days. Let me know if you'd like more info, such as who makes it and where they are.

 

Separately from that, I concur with the suggestion to wipe teeth and gums with gauze pads. That creates just enough friction to get the job done without making the gums bleed like brushing would at this point. Our vet gave us a whole pack of them -- very handy!

 

I've never heard of OraZn and it sounds like you have had good results with it. I found MaxiGuard OraZn on Amazon. Is that similar to what you use?

[greyhead]

I've never heard of OraZn and it sounds like you have had good results with it. I found MaxiGuard OraZn on Amazon. Is that similar to what you use?

 

Yes, that's the stuff. It was way more effective for us than Petzlife since there was already significant gum inflamation present, though we do like Petzlife for less urgent care.

 

Actually, for a big dog, you do use 2 or 3 drops on each side of the mouth so you can get coverage. But it really doesn't take much!

Edited January 30, 2013 by greyhead

[Guest grey_dreams]

Yes, that's the stuff. It was way more effective for us than Petzlife since there was already significant gum inflamation present, though we do like Petzlife for less urgent care.

 

Actually, for a big dog, you do use 2 or 3 drops on each side of the mouth so you can get coverage. But it really doesn't take much!

 

Thanks! I will order some

[GreytNut]

There is an auto-immune disease that can cause this. Maybe Sheshe will see your post and fill you in.

 

Lymphocytic plasmacytic gingivitis stomatitis, or LPGS.

 

I had a cat with that condition. It caused her gums to become red and inflamed even when there was no visible tartar. Her gums launched a reaction to even the slightest bit of food residue on her teeth. The only cure was to have all of her teeth pulled. That might sound barbaric, but she was so much happier without her teeth and got along just fine without them.

 

It's worth mentioning to the vet to have LPGS ruled out if new anti-bees and topical treatments don't work.

[Charlies_Dad]

Thanks for the info Kristen. We did discuss LPGS with our vet yesterday and decided to just to a swab for now and try another antibiotic and the gel is on order. If this doesn't work, the next step is to biopsy his gums and we really didn't want to sedate him yesterday to do this. Hopefully the antibiotics work this time around.

[Guest Whoo]

New here and just read through your posts on teeth & gums. It appears that this topic has been covered fairly extensively and I've gotten some good ideas. I've been doing one raw turkey neck each day and have added 'Healthy Mouth' (dog essential product) to his drinking water. The vet has him on his second dose of Amoxicillin. I will soon be adding BioteneAntiGel at the suggestion of my Vet. This last one is supposed to correct problems associated with the saliva. He has very thick saliva. Would like to know if any of you have tried any of these. Am also brushing gums with gauze once a day.

[juliemac]

I'd use some type of doggy toothpaste (enzyme-based) to the gauze. I like Vetzlife, but I would use up whatever I had before buying more.

[dbullwinkel]

Missy goes on combination of clindymycin and flagyl for her gums. I also clean with a gauze pad.

[Burpdog]

I might be tempted to do a biopsy and see if he has CUPS.