Bad dental for Bella
 

Bella is in for her dental today, and the vet called a few minutes ago with bad news. Bella has several extractions, but the most complicated one is her first molars. Bella's first molar roots go down to within a few millimeters of the bottom of her jaw line, and then they hook back upwards. To remove them would risk breaking her jaw and leaving her jaw in a permanently weak state that would risk future breakage. Bella will get a referral to the dental department at the University of Illinois Veterinary Hospital where the procedure can be performed more carefully by specialists, and the missing teeth can be replaced with artificial bone tissue that will strengthen her jaw. In the meantime, the vet will remove the other teeth than can be easily removed, and Bella will need to heal for 4 to 6 weeks before her University of Illinois appointment. The vet reassured me that the University of Illinois veterinary dentistry department is one of the best in the country. I still feel bad for poor Bella, because the vet said that she will still be in pain until she gets the other molars removed.

:cry:I am very sorry for poor Bella. Thank goodness that you have such a renowned dentistry facility where she can be treated! Best wishes that her vet can help you handle her pain until then. I know that it will be a hard time for you both.

OMG what horrible news, poor lil Bella. Although a costly procedure, due to modern technology and people that have a love for animals have found many technics / procedures to make our babies healthy and live longer lives.

I am so sorry to hear that. My stomach clenches up whenever I hear that one of our babies will be in pain. They are so little yet so strong. We will keep Bella in our prayers.

Thanks! They called me while Bella was still under anesthesia and told me that they'd call me when the procedure was over, but that it would still be a while. They haven't called back yet. Poor Bella :cry:

I don't know anything about the cost of her future procedure yet, but the University of Illinois is very good, and their prices are reasonable compared to private animal hospitals, so I'm hopeful for a quality job at a reasonable price. Right now, cost is not a concern. Bella's been there before for emergency treatment in the past, and I have nothing but good things to say about them and how well they treated her.

You have always praised their knowledge and procedures with Bella. I'm just happy procedures that could not be done 20 years ago are common today even if there's a high price that comes with it.

After doing some googling, when the vet calls back, I'm going to ask if there is any possibility that the U of Illinois vet dentists can save her bad molars with root canal or other procedures. Those are huge teeth, and from what I've read, it really is a dangerous procedure to remove them. Some of the photos that I saw were horrible.

Wise choice, just reading the risk of breaking her jaw made my stomach churn, yes, very dangerous procedure. I hope there is another alternate, I would think the U of Ill. would be more likely to answer that question then your vet, JMO, wouldn't he have told you there was an alternate?

I'm so sorry to hear about poor Bella's molar. Scottie has a molar like that too (in fact it was his baby molar tooth), where the root extends all the way to his jaw. When I saw the x-ray I was in shock. I pray he never needs to get it removed.

Praying that the pet dentist can help Bella!! And that she won't be in too much pain after surgery!

Yes, the U of Illinois will be better able to answer that question, and you can be sure I'll be on it as soon as the x-rays are sent over. The vet SHOULD have told me if there was an alternative to extraction, but she had ducked out of the surgery room to consult with me, so she may have been a little rushed. I'll grill her when she calls me. It's been TWO HOURS now since I spoke with her--I'll call them in a few minutes and ask if Bella is still in surgery. They do have a dedicated anesthesiologist, and an assistant was still with her doing the cleaning while the vet was speaking with me. I hope the molars can be saved...

So sorry for you and Bella. Praying all goes well with this dental recovery and the upcoming complex procedure if and when it happens. Such a shock, and I feel for you.

Okay, I called up the vet and Bella was out of surgery and was just waking up. They removed many teeth (most of her teeth :eek:) because of abscesses, and the vet felt that the first molars will probably also have to be removed at the U of Illinois because there were abscesses around them as well. Root canal is probably NOT an option, but the U of Illinois will tell me for sure. They will give me a CD containing Bella's x-rays to take with me to the U of Illinois vet dentistry department, and suggested that I take her in for a consultation in about three weeks time. I will schedule that appointment tomorrow. They gave Bella a two week antibiotic shot and will send some pain killers/anti-inflammatories home with me. Dr. McGuffin is very concerned about Bella and wants me to keep her informed about her recovery over the next couple of days. Bella was awake and sitting up and looking at Dr. McGuffin by the end of the phone call. There is no damage to the underlying bone, and Bella should make a full recovery and feel much better in two or three days. Soft food only for the next 5 or 6 days. I can soften her kibble with water or low sodium broth. I'll probably go with the broth since that will provide some added flavor. We pick her up at 4 PM.

I kinda thought this could be a reason your vet didn't go into more detail. We all know how very thorough you are when it comes to medical issues especially when it comes to lil Bella.

I hate when these sweet babies have to suffer, they are such tough lil fighters. Glad she will be coming home soon.

Oh my goodness poor Bella. Please keep us update and I hope she heals fast and as painless as possible. I will keep her in my prayers.

Thanks! Just 1 1/2 hours until we get her, and we will keep her calm and loved.

Oh, poor sweet Bella girl! I'm so sorry, I know how you must feel. I hate even thinking about our babies being in any discomfort or pain. Dogs can be so stoic - sometimes I do think it's harder on us than them, but doesn't make it any easier. So many hugs for you! Good call on seeing the specialist. Please keep us updated. Sorry you didn't get the greatest news. I know we always hope these things go "uneventful" but here's to Bella getting her teeth taken care of and feeling better!

Bella is back home now, and she's pretty much the same as before we took her to the vet. She wants to run and jump around. She's quite hungry and licky. We were told not to feed her for an hour, but she was whining so much around her empty food bowl that I gave her a little kibble with broth, and she ate it all down quickly. No more food for her for another hour. She's licking the fabric in her pillow and bed--it's probably a way for her to displace her pain. Other than that, she seems quite alert and normal. Her hair is all mussed up and it looks a couple of shades lighter--it looks like she's been through a lot. We were sent home with deramaxx pain killer to start her on tomorrow morning.

After about 30 minutes of running around, Bella is conked out in her bed on the couch, resting peacefully.

Happy that Bella is home with her daddy's. These pups are just amazing, with what she went through she's full of spunk, such a little sweetie. Food, play and lots of TLC.

Well deserved TLC for Bella; maybe some for Bella's daddy, too.

---
Katy'sMom

Jax was SOOO hungry when I brought home home. He acted like he hadn't eaten in years. I, also, couldn't wait for an hour and gave him a bit of canned food in small doses at a time to see if his belly could handle (it did lol).

Glad she seems no worse for the wear!

Awwww little kiddo :(! What a tough dental and tough news to hear! I did 3 dentals this year and 2 of mine were a bit complicated too, so I hear you. I'm soooo glad she got this done though, and she'll feel so much better from it. My guess is that they'll have to remove that entire hooked molar - not sure that there is any other way around that. Such a bummer, I know. I wonder what the estimate will be for that, oy :eek:! Give her some puppy kisses from us!

I'll keep everyone posted on the followup at the University of Illinois Veterinary Dental Clinic, including cost. (The cost for yesterday's dental work totaled $699 including everything--blood work, anesthesia, medication, cleaning, and extraction).

This morning, Bella was clearly more miserable, but that was to be expected since the anesthesia and initial hard core pain meds have worn off and now she's on just Deramaxx. Nevertheless, she ate two small servings of brothy kibble before I left for work. She didn't bark excitedly when I left for work as she usually does--she just stood there and looked at me forlornly, poor little girl.

I got off the phone with U of Illinois Vet Dentistry and my own vet. The U of Illinois can't see Bella until June 5 at the earliest--they're booked up until then :(. I told the receptionist at my vet's office to let me know if my vet has any pull to get Bella in to the U of I sooner than that, but they were doubtful. If Bella doesn't improve considerably over the next few days, I'm going to see if they can treat Bella's case as an emergency and get her in sooner.

Good luck in your quest...It must be so stressful for you to see your sweet Bella in pain!:(

24 hours after her dental, and Bella is doing much better. She barked greetings when I got home from work, and she's eaten 4 small servings of brothy kibble so far today. Only one more feeding of brothy kibble, and she'll have her quota for the day. She seems to be in much less pain this afternoon. We took her for a walk this afternoon, and she was a little slow, but she was able to walk half her usual distance. She's been peeing normally. Still hasn't pooped yet, but the vet said it could be another day or two for that.

Poor lil Bella, thank goodness she's eating, it has to be painful with many teeth being pulled. Such a little trouper she is. That's a long wait for a pup if they are in pain.

Yeah, I know. I plan to follow up with my vet next week about seeing if they can get her into the University of Illinois sooner.