Kitten with very bad breath. Vet says teething?

Is there a certain smell a teething kitten should have?  The vet said he saw a small abscess but that it was probably from teething.  But my kitten's breath is really bad.  Should I trust that the vet knows what he's talking about?  

No you shouldn't, especially with an abscess.  I would encourage you to find a different vet or ask for a referral to a feline dental specialist.

Many vets simply don't know how to do a basic oral exam Dental care isn't taught in many vets schools so many vets don't recognize signs of dental issues. I suggest finding a vet who specializes in dentistry. Some are board ceritfied while others are not but have specialized training. For a  board certified vet, use this search: http://www.avdc-dms.org/dms/list/diplomates-map.cfm

Once the curent dental issues are addressed, you can prevent future issues by doing home dental care. Brushing is best and a kitten is fairly easy to train to alow teeth brushing. Use pet toothpaste and a small pet toothbrush or finger brush. The CET line of toothpastes are popular, especially the seafood and poultry flavored ones. Brushing daily is ideal but a twice a week is fine.

PercyCarlton said:

Is there a certain smell a teething kitten should have?  The vet said he saw a small abscess but that it was probably from teething.  But my kitten's breath is really bad.  Should I trust that the vet knows what he's talking about?  

Click to expand...

How old is your kitten?
Is it teething from its first set of teeth, or is it getting in its adult set of teeth?

It's not abnormal for a kitten to have some limited bad breath during teething, particularly when getting in the adult set of teeth. But it should never last more than a week or two, in my experience. With my kitten (getting in her adult set of teeth in the 5-6 month age range), her occasional bouts of bad breath lasted no more than a day, depending on whether the adult teeth were pushing in behind her baby teeth (like with her canine teeth), or whether she completely lost a set of molars before her adult set grew in (the latter produced more bad breath & for a slightly longer time-period... probably from the gap in the gums, as some old blood spotting dried up/ then was cleansed off as the day or two passed by).

I recommend having your kitten visit the vet for a well check (& dental check) at age 6-7 months, to make sure that the teeth and gums are all healthy.

My rescue kitten Argo (avatar pic) had really bad breath and my local vet seemed not to really take much notice.... Long story short he ended up having feline Calicivirus which causes a bacterial infection hence the smell, ulcers on the tongue and bleeding gums, plus nasal / eye discharge. He went on antibiotics for a week and it cleared it up. One ulcer on his tongue took about 2 weeks to fully heal. If it's just bad cat food kinda breath I would not worry but if it smells rotten/gingavitisy then I'd get a second opinion.