Trouble after dental cleaning
 

Nicky, my little rescue, had dental surgery to remove bad teeth. I rescued him in Sept. and the rescue told me he already had his dental. My vet noticed that several teeth were still rotting. When he was under, and they took xrays, turned out that the disease had progressed well into the jaw bone and there is nothing but soft tissue holding the parts of the jaw together so that is why we appears to have no "chin". There is actually no bone left. To make a long story short, they took out the bad teeth where the bone was stable enough to do so, but told me he will need to see a specialist to reconstruct his jaw or eventually there won't be a jaw left. This is probably more than I can afford. Also, he had complications post-op. Could not breathe on his own after surgery, needed oxygen, had pulmonary edema, and gave us all quite a scare. He is home now doing much better. Two things: 1. Can't afford thousands and thousands of dollars to reconstruct his jaw. 2. Do not want to put this 5 pound dog under anesthesia again. The vet used the right kind and still his blood pressure dropped very low and he had the breathing issue. Does anyone know anything about this issue and whether the dog will be okay without further surgery. This reconstruction is a huge undertaking, both financially and also for the dog. Nicky is 5 or 6 now. I really would appreciate a response from anyone who can help.

I would consult a bc dentist it will cost you about 160.00 and wish you would have gone to bc dentist upfront as they could have done everything at once as they could have got those teeth out without the jaw being re-constructed I am sure. I think a dentist will be able to tell you better about this and worth the consult.

I would be afraid to also put under anesthesia again with those complications but did your vet use isoflurine or sevoflurine? It sounds possibly like they used sevoflurine which some vets are using now but it can cause hypothermia in dogs more so than isoflurine. Also ask what size tube they used was it cat tube or smaller?

Is your dog breathing ok now?

This is why i always recommend bc dentist for dentals as if there is a complication they are much more experienced to handle it as they go to further schooling for dentistry in dogs and the dentist does the procedure not a tech which in most dental offices it is a tech. Also most bc dentist now charge the same as vets do for dentals at least in our area they do and you being in new york it is pretty much the same cost here:( This way if there is a complication with teeth then they do not have to go under twice it is all handled that day. My bc dentist calls me while dog is under and says here is the assessment and what i recommend and we decide right then and there what is done together like when demi lost 27 teeth he reshaped a back tooth for her as one root was bad but the other was fine so he was able to create a smaller tooth rather than pulling the whole tooth which is what a vet would have done.

I think the reason he did not want to pull those teeth is he did not want to break the jaw as if the disease is in the bone when pulling the teeth you can break the jaw. They have to divide the tooth and pull out one root at a time if a back tooth.

The jaw will atrophy usually when they pull the teeth especially in the front area where the front teeth are pulled. Where are these rotting teeth at?

here is our dentist and there may be some info on his site to check out

here is our dentist Dogandcatdentist.com - Veterinary Dentistry in Los Angeles



my friend lives in new jersey and she has a bc dentist she likes and i believe he is in new york if you want a recommendation

I'm so sorry this has happened to little Nicky.
The only ideas I can come up with is to get a second opinion,

check with different vets for better pricing (some older country vets do amazing work for a fraction of what city vets charge),

contact the rescue group he came from to see if they could help,
if total reconstruction isn't possible at this time: see if removing the diseased bone is an option (he can still chew on one side: but may need assistance or special diet), and would stop further destruction of his jaw.

and make any vet you talk to aware that you adopted him from a rescue: some will cut you a break.

Start a Facebook page and ask for donations to be sent to the vet doing his surgery.(or to the Rescue group?)

Praying for you both that you find a successful outcome to this...

Poor Nicky. How old is he? My Teddy has awful teeth. He had two bottom front teeth out when he was younger but the vet said he is too old (nearly 14) to have any more out unless he stops eating. I think the vet is wary because one of his vet colleagues was dealing with a large dog's teeth under anaesthetic and poor dog died while under.

I would definitely consult with a specialist! It will be well worth the money to get an opinion from someone who sees these things all of the time. As for the anesthesia risk, sometimes a pup can have an issue with anesthesia once and not again. It is hard to say what happened. I would be frightened about future anesthesia as well. I would definitely also speak with a specialist about the pulmonary edema during anesthesia. Sadly, when yorkies teeth are neglected for years, this is the outcome.

I am very sorry that a rescue told you he had a dental...clearly that was NOT done OR, if it was, then the rescue needs to know that their vet did a terrible job! I would contact them for sure...if for no other reason than to appraise them of the situation you are now in. A reputable yorkie rescue would never adopt a pup out in that condition! I don't know how you feel about it, but it might be a good idea to let others know about this rescue so that they don't end up adopting a problem like you have.

I hope that you can find a good specialist for Nicky and that perhaps he can be helped without the kind of cost you are thinking it might be. Please keep us posted on what is happening with him.

Nicky is five or six. Some of his paperwork said he was five and some said six so don"t know for sure. He is doing much better today. I plan to make the rescue aware. He had had several teeth pulled before he came to me, but if they had looked at the xrays, the bone disease would have been obvious, and they should have mentioned it. Thank goodness his breathing is good and he is starting to eat a little more each day.

glad he is doing better and yeah sounds like some rescues cut corners to avoid costs :(

Nikki the 15 year old male that came to me after his owner had a stroke was from a rescue originally. When I first met Nikki his breath was horendous. He would mot let his owner or me look in his mouth. So we took him to the vet and he opened his mouth and I about died. His teeth were rotten to the bone. His owner couldn't afford the 900 dental bill so the vet agreed if I paid 400.00 he would write off the rest for her. He had to remove all his teeth and put in fillers and stitch up his mouth. He said it was may more involved than he thought but still only charged me the 400.00. Nikki was sore for a few days but now he eats kibble and has the best breath. So maybe you can find a vet who can help you. The vet does a lot of work for the shelter I volunteer at so he was very understanding of the situation. I hope you can get some help.