Sugar- dental surgery
 

With so many dealing with scarier things with their babies, I almost feel guilty whining, but man, I am freaking out today.:(

One of Sugar's bottom canines never came in. X-rays showed it lying almost parallel to his jawbone. When my vet first saw it 3 years ago he said he wanted to leave it alone because with Sugar's tiny little jaw it could cause permanent damage to mess with it. That was great news to me- my vet is a dental specialist so he's pretty persnickety over teeth and I was happy he wasn't going to push it.

Fast forward to now. A few weeks ago Sugar went in for his yearly exam. The tooth has poked through a bit and the vet said that because of the access bacteria has to beneath the gum, it needed to come out. He assured me that although it was a delicate procedure and had to be done extremely carefully, he could most likely do it without causing permanent damage to the jaw. Leaving it in could actually cause health problems eventually. At the very least Sugar needed a cleaning. So he's at the vet right now. He will get a dental and if the vet feels he can get the tooth out safely, he's going to remove it. I know if it needs to be done, my vet is the one to do it but... well, I'm freaking out.

Having Sugar under anesthesia always scares me to death on it's own but not knowing what all will happen is scaring me more. I know I'm being a huge baby and this is relatively pretty minor, it just isn't for me. During the same visit I also found out Sugar has grade 3 LP which I'm not even letting myself think about until this is over. He never has any pain and the vet felt the tooth was the more urgent matter due to it's potential to cause serious health issues.

Thanks for letting me whine. I know if anyone can understand how I'm feeling it's my fellow YTers.

Your not whining, you are being a concerned mommy, just like all of us would be :) Sugar will be just fine, it sounds like he is in pretty good hands with your vet.

I totally understand your anxiety. I will keep Sugar in my prayers. When Pixie had to have her dental last year, I was a wreck too. She did fine. I dropped her off around 8 and by 9:30 my vet called to tell me she was out of surgery and doing fine. Hopefully you will get a call soon telling you Sugar is doing fine.

Thanks y'all. He had a dental last year and I was on YT crying then too. This is just scarier not knowing about that tooth. The vet was really hesitant about it. The root on that thing is just crazy long.

I'll be keeping Sugar in my good thoughts today! Try not to be nervous {easy for me to say right?} Im sure he'll do fine and you wont have to worry about that tooth anymore

I totally understand how you feel!! I'll keep you and Sugar in my prayers today. I'm sure he'll be home soon with a gift for the tooth fairy! :)

Oh I'm so sorry to read this, but so glad you have found a vet you have confidence in as that does sound like a very delicate procedure. Makes me wonder how many others might have this, but the vet isn't as knowledgeable, or careful, and it's not caught until major damage has been done. Did Sugar have any signs of LP before? That's a lot to handle, and you and Sugar are in my prayers.

Thanks again everyone. No word yet. I'm going to call at 1:00 if I haven't heard anything.

Hey Nancy. In the past the vet said he had mild LP and stupidly i never asked for clarification. He has never had any symptoms whatsoever and he can't jump up or off of furniture so I wasn't too worried. He has had 2 falls- the first when he fell out of a chair he was sitting on with my daughter and got a concussion. The second was last year when he jumped off of my daughter's friend's lap trying to get to me. That was a scary vet visit but fortunately no injuries. I'm assuming the LP was caused or aggravated by one or both if these accidents.

I really need to get further clarification from my vet. I took both Sugar and Gracie in at the same time and I think there was just so much happening I didn't question the LP enough. My vet said he had probably been like that for so long that he didn't know any different which would in part explo\ain it not bothering him. It was only after I got home I thought, :confused:, huh? He diagnosed Gracie with grade 2 LP two years ago but always called Sugar's mild leading me to assume it was grade 1 so he couldn't have been like this "for so long".

I'm just getting through the dental and then I'll focus on the LP.

Thanks so much for the prayers.

You're not whining one bit! Anesthesia is always scary :(. Sugar is in my thoughts. Hopefully your vet will send him home w/ pain meds - tooth pain is so awful...maybe he can give you some too :p?!

As for the LP, what a bummer. Wylie has Grade 2 in both knees (asymptomatic) and I just found out 2 weeks ago that Marcel has it in his left knee, Grade 2 - so I started Marcel on the Cosequin too.

AARRRRGGGGHHH!!!!!:mad: I just called and they said, get this.... they are JUST NOW starting on him. I had to have him there by 8:00 this morning. I asked why did he have to be there so early and she said they don't know what order they will go in. I am just so mad thinking of him sitting in a crate, scared to death all morning. I swear I am getting a stomach ache over this. This is his 3rd dental and this has never happened before.

Ann, thanks. I could use a bit of those pain meds right now i think. Both Gracie and Sugar are also both legs and both asymptomatic. Neither are on a supplement for it- I need to look into that. I'm not considering surgery right now for Gracie's grade 2 but I'll need to do some research on Sugar's grade 3 after this is over. Of course the vet recommends surgery and that will probably end up being the right decision but right now I just don't know.

I hate that they do that, but he's probably not as scared as you. How long does the surgery take, will they call you as soon as it's over?

I asked that they call as soon as it's over and I hope that they do. In the past (dental only) they've only called after he was awake. No idea how long the surgery will be if he does it. He wasn't really sure exactly what he would be dealing with until Sugar was out. The X-rays were from last year's dental. It was so sad this morning. Sugar knew something was up- probably because usually the first thing we do is go and get Gracie and Spike from my daughter's room and take them out but this morning I left them in there so Gracie wouldn't start begging for breakfast. He was sitting on my lap and just kept staring at me with these big questioning eyes. As soon as I picked up my keys he started shaking. Okay, 23 minutes in I guess.

I think we all worry like crazy it's normal.

Oh girl, I just hate the waiting. I had to have Marcel to his neuter at about 7:30am - and they didn't do his surgery until 11:00 or 12:00!!!! Makes me so mad. I just don't think dogs should sit in a cage, getting SUPER stressed out - and then head into surgery. It just upsets them, increases their BP and stress level and everything :(.

As for the Cosequin, I get mine here (I think a lot of us do): Cosequin Regular Strength (90 capsules)

He's awake and fine. I can pick him up at 4:30- yay!:D
The vet ended up opting not to do surgery. He said there wasn't any bone loss so the risks outweigh the benefits right now. He did a root cleaning on it and said it's super important that I have his teeth cleaned one a year because of that tooth and also a few of his molars only erupted about 80% so they can be a problem as well. One has a curly root making it extremely difficult to extract so it could be a problem if I don't stay on the cleanings. It really sucks because this means anesthesia every year.:( No matter how much I brush, I can't clean under the gums to the roots for these partially erupted teeth. I'm just happy he's awake and fine.:)

We talked some about the LP and he said it's been grade 2 until now. That kind of surprised me since he's mentioned surgery for Gracie but never Sugar. He said technically he does need the surgery and not getting it is a gamble but he has had many patients live long lives with grade 3 without any problems. Again, pretty big gamble. I'm going to go search for everyone's stories on LP here.

I really appreciate everyone's support!:ghug:

Thanks for the link Ann! Off to check it out.:)

YAY for Sugar!!! :thumbup::D:thumbup::D:thumbup::D:thumbup:

I'm glad things went well in surgery, but really glad he has you as a mom to look after his needs. This will require more diligence on your part than many pet owners want to give, so hang in there, and at least you are on top of the situation, and there is treatment for it.

Thanks Nancy.:) He's home and sleeping in drugged bliss next to me. I'm just so glad he's home.:D

Lol, he thinks he's been through a lot, he has no idea what mama's been through. :D

LOL, I told him on the way home that it was a terrible day for me too, then me speaking in a Sugar voice; yeah but you didn't have a needle shoved in your arm, a tube shoved down your throat and have your teeth picked at. Does that make me crazy that I'm talking for him? There aren't many places besides YT I could admit that.:p

My husband is out of town and my daughter has an award ceremony at 6:00- I can't believe I'm about to have to leave him alone. Worst time for my husband to be away! Hopefully he'll just sleep.

Well I don't think it makes you crazy that you are talking for him, but I really don't think Yorkietalk is a good place to gauge your sanity. :D I guess if you can find one person who's more nuts than you, and not texting from a padded cell, you're ok.

I am so glad everything went well!
It is always scarry putting our babies under anesthesia no matter what they are getting done. It sounds like you have a great vet on your side!!!

What Momma doesn't worry about their furbaby, especially our lil ones. Prayers coming to you and Sugar.....:hands: :hands:

Thanks.:)

He's killing me tonight. He is in so much pain. This was his 4th dental and he's never had pain before. This was the first root cleanse so I guess that's the difference. I got some Metacam in him and I'm counting the minutes for it to kick in.

My goodness girl, poor little Sugar! I am so glad that all went well though, and thank goodness no surgery was needed after all! :thumbup: So sorry to hear that he is in pain though :( I will say a little prayer that the Metacam kicks in soon! It always worked fairly quickly with Tatum. :)

As for the grade 3 LP - :( I don't want to scare you anymore than you already are, or make you more nervous, but as you probably know Tatum just had this surgery on both knees 6 weeks ago. She JUST got released from confinement (lol, her "house") yesterday....so it was a huge day for us :D She is doing incredibly well though! I will tell you though, her surgeon told me that he usually always recommends surgery for patients who have grade 3 LP or higher (Tatum's was higher - the highest it could have possibly been - her poor little knees were absolutely terrible) anyway - now that we have actually been through the surgery with her - I would HIGHLY recommend it. I know you said that Sugar isn't showing any signs of LP, however, it could be causing major problems on the INSIDE :( I waited (and I am KICKING MYSELF for it!!!) and Tatum has already developed Osteoarthritis in her left knee and her surgeon said that she will most likely develop it in her right knee as well. It really and truly can be so much worse if you wait and put it off.....like I did, unfortunately :( I am not saying that I made things worse by putting it off, because I think her little knees were just so bad to begin with (and they got worse and worse very quickly) however, putting it off didn't help matters as it slowly got to where she was in pain and was very uncomfortable. That is when I KNEW that I HAD to put my own fears (HUGE fears) aside and do what was best for her - and that was definitely surgery. I am so, so thankful that she had it - it was soooo worth it! Today she is a MUCH happier dog....she is much more comfortable and is SO much more active and playful - she loves her new legs! :D Anyway, I really do think that surgery is something to seriously consider since he does have a grade 3. If the surgery is done now, BEFORE he starts showing any physical signs, it really truly could help prevent the LP from getting worse. And with Tatum, she just seemed to get so much worse, so fast :( Having the surgery sooner than later will help REDUCE the chances of arthritis setting in.

I would definitely start him on a Glucosamine supplement - Tatum is on Cosequin and it does WONDERS for her! Her surgeon even recommended Cosequin, however she was already on it, so he was very pleased!

Big hugs to you and Sugar - so glad everything went well today! :hug:

Oh dear :(....I'm sorry Sugar is in pain, I hate seeing that! The Metacam will kick in, hang in there! Hugs to little Sugar.

:) So very glad to read that Sugar came through his dental and anesthesia ok...I was holding my breath until I got to your post that he was ok!

Brooke I actually didn't know about Little Tatum until I went searching LP today. I feel awful I missed it and I'm so happy to hear she is doing well and is free!:) I almost never check in these subforums so I miss a lot. Your's and Tatum's story was definitely one I needed to read. I'm going to ask for a referral to UF which I'm sure will confirm what I already know... he needs surgery.:(

The Metacam kicked in and he\'s sleeping. Thank goodness!! The poor little baby was so pathetic. Troy has been out of town and got home around 10. Sugar wanted so badly to growl at the sound of the door but he would growl, then whimper, growl, then whimper. The Metacam says 4 drops ONCE a day. I\'m just keeping my fingers crossed it holds through the night.

i hope your baby feel better tomorrow. who is your vet? i live in gainesville fl and i go to benfield at petsmart . i will like a private vet. good luck