Infected Teeth In Older Dog

[Bogangles]

I just wanted to know if anyone has been in this position and what they did about it. My grey has severe tooth infection (had two dentals and only seven teeth left including canines). She has a heart condition and just about every vet I have spoken to would not put her under again at age 14. My poor girl is suffering and not eating enough and is starting to lose some weight. She is on amoxicillin to try and keep the infection under control plus probiotics and other supplements.

 

Does anyone have a solution to this as any input would be very much appreciated. I am very worried about her.

[macoduck]

Can you grind up her kibble and make a soup out of it? Would she slurp that up for you?

[NeedlenoseJake]

Do vets ever pull teeth without putting the dog under? I don't know if that's even possible, just throwing out ideas. Poor girl.

[MP_the4pack]

I had a girl with heart disease and regular vets did not want to put her under. I think she was 10 at the time. She had an abscess. I took her to a specialty hospital with a dentist and cardiologist on site.

She made it through with flying colors.

 

I ended up losing her to cancer at age 12.

 

I also had a 15.5 yr old that did not have a heart condition but she needed her teeth done. I took her to a dentist.

[Bogangles]

Thank you both for your replies. She decided no kibble a long time ago. She does eat chicken, beef, sardines and things like that. She is crazy about peanut butter which helps get all the supplements in and apparently it is fattening! I am concerned that her teeth will create a bigger problem and they must hurt her.

 

Regarding pulling them out without putting her under the response as been "absolutely not"! I was talking to a homeopathic vet this morning who said she would never put a sight hound under over the age of 10. But I do see on the forum some older ones have done O.K.

[Bogangles]

Hello MP_4pack. I had this discussion also this morning and it would be very risky. I am considering this a lot and will have to come to some kind of decision but I thought I would see if anyone could come up with another solution.

 

We lost our sweet 13 year old boy in April after so many tests and not properly diagnosed and so many drugs making him sick. He lost a lot of weight due to lack of eating.

[carronstar]

I went through a similar experience last year. My almost 11 year old, CRF girl had infected teeth, an abscess, a tooth where the roots wrapped around a vein that caused severe blood loss, just a whole giant mess. I took her to the specialty/teaching hospital here in NYC where there are dentists, cardiologists and her internal med specialist. It was a long day and she now has 5 teeth but she did really well. She gets soaked kibble, canned food and Fresh Pet. All renal diet and renal diet friendly for her CRF. She hoovers that food!

 

Good luck with your girl.

[Guest DeniseL]

I managed Maya's teeth for a few years with rounds of antibiotics. I was terrified to put her under say 13, and her regular vet wouldn't do it. Finally, I took her to UPenn and they were going to do,it, but during pre op testing they discovered the liver tumors and we opted against it.

 

Looking back, I wish I would have taken her sooner. I didn't understand how infected teeth effects total health and to think of the pain she was in for so long breaks my heart. The antibiotics did seem to manage it pretty well, though....and she didn't have any stomach problems or side effects from them

 

Praying for your girl...

[Batmom]

I would talk to a specialty hospital. Can't imagine how much pain she's in with infected teeth -- they need to come out, asap.

 

Best luck!

[tbhounds]

With all do respect that homeopathic vet is a fool. Age is not a disease--how dare he/she make such a foolish statement?? You could potentially have a healthier 10yr than a 5 yr old---one needs to be treated as an individual--your dog doesn't have an expiration date printed on his forehead--absolute rubbish.

I agree with MaryPat--I would seek out a clinic that staffs a veterinary dentist and a cardiologist on site. I would have your hound examed by the cardiologist first and proceed from there. In the meantime you might inquire about starting antibotics to reduce the oral bacterial load. Gezz, statement's like your Homeopath vet said really twists my nickers.

Edited August 20, 2014 by tbhounds

[Bogangles]

My goodness! Thank you so much for these very direct statements -- very much appreciated actually as I am here looking for direction. With my boy because he was almost 13 they did not seem to be very interested and comments like "we just need to keep him comfortable (until?)" with many drugs (this was a vet I had a lot of respect for many years). With my girl I should have taken action a lot sooner but the hang up was her heart condition with no direction coming from the vets (of which there have been many). Tomorrow I will take much more serious action -- I made a commitment to look after her didn't I?!

Thank you all!

[tbhounds]

Sorry if I came across--oh let's say "bold". It's something that is I hear with some frequency from owners and from some clinicans too(I'm a vet tech). It's such total rubbish. Now, with your hound you have some pre-existing conditions that need to be addressed but they need to be addressed and not ignored because she's over 10yrs. I wonder how many of these clinicans that have elderly family members would deprive their own loved ones because they are considered seniors?

I'm not familiar with Canadian referral clinics--you might want to start another post asking for a recommended University or specialty clinic within your area.

Edited August 20, 2014 by tbhounds

[Bogangles]

TBHounds -- Thank you for being "bold". My dog does not whine or complain. She has always done everything to please -- I did not have to train her. She is now looking at me to do something to help her. I will probably do as you say with another post and see if anyone can truly recommend where she could be safely looked after. Here or the US. I have been to many many vets in the last few years.

Thanks again.

[juliemac]

My 11+ year old girl just had a dental expressly to remove a canine tooth that had had such bad gum erosion that she was starting to show signs of being a health issue. It was her 2nd dental in 8 months. I was terrified, not only because of her age, but also because of her incidents of seizures over the past couple of years). She came through with flying colors. I did use some essential oils that a holistic vet recommended to reduce risk from bleeding and to boost her overall immune system.

 

Bottom line ... I would have felt awful if she had had serious complications from the dental procedure or the extraction, but I would not have forgiven myself to force Baby to suffer through pain and constant infections to avoid the risk.

 

This is part of the hard side of being a guardian to a precious animal.

[Bogangles]

Yes, they are precious. Are you able to let me know who performed the surgery.

[Robin1017]

I was afraid to have Robin's teeth done last year at 11, but i also didn't want to wait until he was even older. So i brought him to Angell, here in Boston, that has a dentist on site. The key for me was that they have an anesthesiologist help perform the procedure, and it is that person's job just to monitor Robin and keep him alive. That made me feel tons better, but i still stressed out. He ended up doing very well.

[juliemac]

I used one of my two primary vets (the one that handles more greyhounds). He's been treating my hounds for 8 years and I trust his care -- I would have used a specialist if he had felt the need, but he was comfortable doing the procedure, and therefore so was I.

 

I've been lucky to have time to locate great vets before they were needed -- every time I move, that takes a higher priority than unpacking. Of course, I have Riley (aka Mr. Emergency).

[kronckew]

you have to weigh the risk of the anaesthetic against the risk of a systemic blood poisoning,abcess, fistula etc, and the extreme pain the hound would be in. if you ever had an abcess in your teeth, you would know how extremely painful it is. and dogs are very good at hiding how much pain they are in.

[MP_the4pack]

I took a 12 yr old to OSU to see Dr Couto when she got bone cancer. I felt she could be a tripod at that age. Dr. Couto came right and out told me that age is just a number. After a thorough exam to make sure she could physically handle it, she lost her leg.

 

She had a terrific 6 months as a tripod until bone cancer formed in another leg. Age is only a number.

[RedHead]

Have you ever looked into OVC at the University of Guelph? I know a lot of people take pets there when their regular vet cannot do a procedure. I do know of some people who had greyhound dentals there. It might be worth a consultation to see what they say.

 

http://www.ovc.uoguelph.ca/phc/en/pethealthcareservices/Dentistry.asp

[maria]

I would agree with weighing risk. If she is in pain or life isn't worth living in the state she is in now, you have to move forward to help her.

Edited August 20, 2014 by maria

[Bogangles]

Thank you everyone for your replies. Any recommendations where to take my little girl where she would be safe? I would drive just about anywhere.

Earlier this year I was in touch with OSU and Dr. Couto when my boy was "suspected" of cancer and before that the neurologist at Angel in Boston who came highly recommended for his back injury.

Thanks RedHead for the link to Guelph. Will contact them today.

[tbhounds]

How far are you from Ohio State or State College PA??

[Bogangles]

We are about 7 hours from Columbus, OH and 6 hours to State College, PA all being well with traffic (and border crossing!) Not too far really.

[IndyandHollyluv]

I am so sorry about your girl. All my hounds had annual dentals - well into their double-digit years. I'm a believer. Dental health is so important.

 

Last year my Lucy (I adopted her at 12-1/2+) had a dental cleaning in early 2013; then in late summer she fell and dislocated a front incisor such that her bite was clearly off (you could hear her teeth "click"). I had no choice but to take her in. Vet removed the loose tooth and they cleaned her teeth again. Lucy did GREYT!

 

Sadly, I lost her rather suddenly in April (probably osteo in front leg or shoulder). She was 14-1/2+.

 

Bad teeth are very painful; not to mention all the yucky bacteria, etc. Hopefully you can help your sweet old girl. (If you can't find a vet ... I'm in Michigan; not too far away.)