Infected tooth
 

I confess to being the worst yorkie mom of the month.
I noticed that Skeeter had a lump under his eye and it wouldn't go away. After a couple of months I finally took him to the vet who told me he had an infected tooth and the infection went all the way through to the outside of his mouth!!!! She went in to remove the tooth only to find out that it was in great shape with no tartar or anything else that would cause an infection. He did have an infection in the gum and around the tooth I guess. Anyway she cleaned the rest of his teeth and then cleaned out all the infected tissue. She ended up with laser treatment. This left a hole that is taking a lot of time to heal.

I feel so bad for the little guy when I have to clean it. It drains and gets clotted in his fur etc.

He is on his way to recovery but I feel like the worst mom letting it go for so long.

I know how you feel. This happened to my first Yorkie way back years ago before I knew of Yorkies' predisposition to dental problems and the need to brush and have regular vet cleanings. I was horrified and Scotty had to have the tooth removed!!! Put to sleep, IV line, the whole 9 yards and to think how he suffered. I didn't even see a bump - just blood and rushed him into the vet and was told he had an abscessed tooth! I beat myself up forever for not knowing about his problem before it BLED and not knowing of the Yorkie dental problems as a breed. After he healed, I started regularly brushing his teeth and then Jilly's and now Tibbe's and they have all had vet dental cleanings per vet recommendations. It is the worst feeling in the world to know your little dog who can't talk was hurting, suffering and miserable, having to eat in pain and there you sat nearby just clueless. You can't feel any worse than I did but all I can say is I hope your baby gets well more quickly from now on and that you can learn now how to prevent this happening in the future. When you brush the teeth, it is a good time to explore the mouth and muzzle - throat and area around the mouth for knots, lumps and see the vet if anything is there. I'm so sorry your little one had to go through this but it is fairly common with the Yorkie. Tells you to vet them the moment we see any weird problems - that's what I learned from poor Scotty's hard lesson. Hope those future teeth exams are all good!

I am glad he is on the mend.

I am glad he is doing better. Years ago my Yorkie, Zorro let out a yelp and I picked him up and he had a hole under his eye. Same thing, an infected tooth that had to be pulled. He healed completely so you couldn't even tell where it was. If only they could talk.

That's just it! My dogs do get regular dentals and I do brush their teeth. Skeeter has never liked it and I have to bully him in to it but he hasn't acted any different and he eats like a pig. I just feel guilty that it took me so long to get him to the vet. He also has extremely small teeth and the molar on the other side never grew in. We thought it might have accidentally been pulled out but the vet says it was never there. The little guy has a weird mouth.
You got that right. They can be so tough!

Thanks so much. Me too.

Not Always a bad tooth.We have had posts before about a hole under the eye. Did you know an infection some where else in the body can cause this too ? Well I didn't, but the Dental specialist I took Gracie to told me. He said sometimes the (tooth or) teeth are not what caused the ulcer. The antibiotic that they give the dog often clears up the unknown infection site as well. Sometimes two rounds of medication are needed, or a different medication to heal the the cheek ulcer. Gracie had a tiny piece of wire under her eye. It may have migrated from some other place in her body !

Stop. Your not the worse mom. You are just not perfect, nobody is. As long as you learned from it, in the future you can make the right decision sooner.

[QUOTE=Lou;4062322]That's just it! My dogs do get regular dentals and I do brush their teeth. Skeeter has never liked it and I have to bully him in to it but he hasn't acted any different and he eats like a pig. I just feel guilty that it took me so long to get him to the vet. He also has extremely small teeth and the molar on the other side never grew in. We thought it might have accidentally been pulled out but the vet says it was never there. The little guy has a weird mouth.

It is just as terrible when we are doing all we can and they still have dental problems. But it does happen all too often to those on the most regular hygiene programs. Hope Skeeter is better soon.

Sorry this happened to your little one. Many times these will open on their own and begin to drain, that's when many people first take them to the vet. More common to think a bump is just a cyst or something.

I used to put a large bib on my dog to keep his chest hair and feet somewhat dry and less messy, or wrap him in a bath towel to absorb and mess, and trim around the area, just to be able to keep it cleaner with less fuss to the pup. I hate to have to trim the hair, but in most cases, healing occurs faster when air can get to the affected area and the area can easily be kept very clean. Don't know if this would help in your situation... Best of luck and keeping Skeeter in my prayers....

Wow! I will talk to the vet about this when he goes in again. I think he needs another round of antibiotics although it is much better. I didn't know about the other infection area thing! Thanks I'm going to contact you the next time Adie looses a microchip. She's lost two of them now and I think the third one has migrated a few inches from where it was inserted. When I have said this before I wasn't believed by someone - don't even remember who but it felt like she thought I was lying.:confused:

I'm glad someone said that! Thank you. Sometimes I post things and I know I'm going to get dinged. But I post anyway because it will open a discussion and help others learn. I really didn't know about this situation at all! And I have had yorkies for over seven years. With 4 of them (two rescues) you'd think that I would have faced every situation that they could present! But noooOOOOoooo.

[quote=yorkietalkjilly;4062659] Thank you! He really is doing better. I just wish it hurry up!

Thanks, It does help. I'll do the best I can!

I'm glad to hear Skeeter is healing, and I can relate to being impatient and wanting things fixed and all better on my boys right away!

Hugs and kisses to Skeeter. :)