Need financial advice for loose tooth vet expense
 

Some of you may know that I had lost my job and now I am apprenticing for pet grooming. Well, I don't get paid is the long and short of it. I get paid in tips but it is not enough to do anything with except eat.

In the meantime my mom has been helping me financially, with food and shelter and necessities for my dog. She also picked up the rest of the vet bill from her recent spay and dental. She can't afford to do much else financially, either.

Sooo I need advice, because I adopted Lolli in October with which I am now completely in love, but I need to get her to the vet with a loose tooth but I can't afford a penny until I am done with training and can get a regular paycheck, but that is not in the really near future (training is a few months and I only started early December).

I don't have kids and I am not elderly so I do not qualify for medicare or medicaid with which some of the low-cost clinics here will give vet care for almost free with medicare. In Florida any type of welfare (except unemployment) is only given to families or elderly. It really sucks here.

Anyway, can anyone give me advice on what I could try to do to help her until I start working? I don't want to lose her, and I don't want her to suffer. I know loose teeth could be the result of a worse underlaying problem like periodontal disease or an infection of the bone.

And for the record, I really would appreciate no one giving me a hard time. I am doing the best I can in hard time...

I'm sorry that you having such a financial struggle, it's not just you, it's all over, unfortunately. I hope things start to look up for you.

Is there anytype of vet school that may offer procedures at a discount? I am not familiar with Florida but it seems like I read another thread that talked about taking her dog there for a lesser expensive treatment. Good luck and I hope it is nothing serious. Hugs, B.

I actually searched for vet schooling anywhere near my area because I thought maybe getting a degree in vet tech might have more job opportunities than my current degree. There's nothing within 3 hours drive or more. :(

But it's not just that I need a discount. I can't hardly afford nothing at all. I don't know how much it would cost to pull her tooth, but I want to make sure there isn't a worse problem also like any infection or cyst or periodontal disease. This situation won't last forever or for a long long time but something like this probably needs attention right now, right??

I honestly think it coming loose was my fault but it would have had to have been able to become loose in the first place. We had been playing tug on a little bear that has a shirt on and the shirt got stuck in between that tooth. I brush her teeth daily I would have noticed the loose tooth before. :/

I don't have any advice, but just wanted you know I understand the situation that you are in. My son and his wife had to move in with us about five months ago due to finances. He is in school and they will be moving out in about a month. It has been really tough on a lot of people lately. I wish you, your Mom and your little furbaby the very best. God bless you.

If you have a good relationship with your vet, you may be able to set up payment arrangements with him/her. We have done this in the past with some of our other pets, may the rest in peace. Good luck!

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Loose teeth usually come out on their own.

Bella had a couple of double molars and canine teeth ... really looked funny. I couldn't afford dentistry, either. However, I could afford - what do they call them? Flossies? The rope toy with the knot on each end and a lot of string?

I got a BIG one (well, not *giant*, but it's as big as she is so it had lots of string.) We played tuggie. She got the stringy ends, and I tugged on the other end, pulling the floss through her teeth. The baby teeth came out by themselves (they have no roots, not like adult teeth) during play, and I saved the dentistry bill.

It should work for you, too. And it's one of her favorite toys now.

Duh, I just re-read your post and realize it may be an adult tooth. Well, the flossie may work anyway.

If it's not too far gone, it may resolidify if you don't mess with it. I.E., don't brush it. Take a Q-tip dipped in peroxide and clean around the area without pushing ... the peroxide will kill any bacteria in the area.

Yeah it is an adult tooth. She is 7 years old and only has 2 or 3 missing, from previous to when I adopted her. She just had a dental cleaning when they had her down for her spay surgery about a month ago now. Her teeth are still very white and clean, they would have extracted any that were bad at that time but there were none that needed it.

She doesn't seem in pain or like she's playing with it. She does have a bit of bad breath but not sure if that is tooth related or not. Breath seems ok after brushing for the most part. The tooth isn't horribly loose but it wiggles a bit.

Can anyone else confirm that peroxide is ok to use around the area? I just want to make sure. I'll keep brushing the rest of the teeth but not the loose one.

Thanks for posting this, but I already stated I don't qualify for any government assistance which is what you need to qualify. On rare circumstances they say they might assist by recommendation of the vet, BUT they do not cover dental unless it's something severe. Which I highly doubt they will consider this severe.

Somewhere on the forums is a few links similar to that one, I've gone through them and basically all of these pet finance assistance things require you to be on government assistance or something like that for proof of your hardship.

I have found if you tell your vet your problem they will work with you. I have had a few things come up with our foster dogs our vet always work with us and their owners.

You might look into Care Credit. It is a credit card that can be used for medical only. Quick and simple to get approved right online.

:)

I'm sorry you're going thru this :(. FL really is awful. It's awful we live in a country that doesn't give a damn about its citizens, but I won't segue into that topic :)

What about those (I don't recall the exact name) vet buses? They say they're for spaying/neutering, but perhaps they provide other services? Or, what about a no-kill shelter? I know Peggy Adams shelter in Palm Beach Co offers services at low-to-no cost.

Sorry you guys are going thru this. It's awful :thumbdown :( :mad:

Care credit still works like a regular credit card. You have to have a paying job to be able to get this, because all they do is make your bills into payment plans. They want you to be able to maintain monthly payment back on the card so yeah it won't work. I looked into that a few years ago for myself.

As far as clinics go, I mean I already said there are low cost clinics here but when you have $0 that doesn't matter if they are half price or not. I'll just have to call one and ask what they suggest.

I was hoping there might be some kind of organization that can help that maybe you pay back when you have money or something. Like a type of loan that doesnt require you to have a job, since if you did you probably wouldn't necessarily need help like this. I don't think that exists but I was hoping.

Out of curiosity, have you called your local low cost care places? Personally, if you haven't done so already I would call one of two of them (even is all they do is spay/neuter) and explain your situation. While they may not be able to do something for you - they might know where you can go to get help. Some spay/neuter clinics depend on donated volunteer time from local vets. While the chance might be slim, you might be able to find a vet who can really work with you on this.

I'm pretty much double posting right away (sorry!) but I found a couple programs that might help you in case you haven't ran across them already.

There is the Humanitarian Animal Relief Program:
Home Page

Also the St. Francis Animal Hospital might be able to point you to the right direction:
Saint Francis Animal Hospital

Same thing with the Central Florida Animal Pantry:

Welcome to Central Florida Animal Pantry

The Pet Fund does indirect payments for treating animals who need vet care. You have to prove income/lack of income though, and have a cost estimate (so a vet treating your dog. This would mean you'd need the funds to get your dog seen - but there is a strong possibility that they would cover the surgery and medications if necessary.) I would give them a call and talk to them about what they can do.

The Pet Fund

Do you have (or had) a vet that you used for quite some time? If you have a good report with them it might be worth a shot to ask them if they would considering exchanging your time for the cost of care.

Thanks Dame for those links. I emailed the Humanitarian one. The school one I could ask info from, but thats about it. None of those places are anywhere near me. I am in very SW florida.

I only been to my vet for lolli's spay and dental, and heartworm preventative medications every month but it is not a full vet clinic just mostly for those things so I guess the answer is no, I'm not sure.

I was pretty sure that they were no where near you, but the great thing about programs like those are that they tend to be very aware of what goes on around them. If there are programs like those near you - they should know of them or give you tips on trying to find help.

Ya, I asked the humanitarian one and stuff. I might contact the school one too if the first one doesn't respond. Thanks :P

Please don't take this as veterinary advice, because I'm not a vet.
But...
Ellie had horrible teeth problems for years and we were pretty clueless about what needed to be done. Then they started falling out. After an exam, she was put on antibiotics and we didn't get her dental for a month (after exam). Now this was a very severe case... I don't think putting off an adult tooth extraction with no periodontal disease is a huge deal. It may be painful for her...I have no idea. But maybe talk to the vet about it? It may not need to be pulled. Maybe it will just fall out. If the vet is concerned about infection, maybe use antibiotics?

Im sorry to hear what youre going through, I know the recession has hit both our countries hard.

I think you are doing exactly the right thing, keeping the tooth clean, the mouth clean and keeping an eye on it. Older dogs and cats do naturally lose the odd tooth and often there are no side effects, the socket will heal and nature will take care of itself. I had a cat that kept losing the odd tooth when he got older and I didnt take him to the vet each time, only once when the mouth looked inflamed. I was in the same position as you then, but thankfully in our country we have the PDSA and if youre on benefits you can use their vet service and just make a donation. The rules are quite strict though and you do have to take in your paperwork. Sorry thats no good to you though.

What I would do is keep it clean, keep an eye on the mouth generally, and in the meantime do a google search. You might be able to find a home remedy or a herbal remedy or self treatment for this type of complaint. There may be some over the counter medicine you can buy for it. Just do some research. Another thing is, could you use your grooming position to get in touch with a clinic and try and talk your way into some free treatment? Sounds unlikely I know, but you might have a vet or a vet nurse for clients. Or why not phone up all the vets in our area, speak to the vet nurse and ask for some free advice, they do this at our vets. You never know, they may be able to help you. ... Good luck.

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