Cat's Canine went POOF - gone. :-( Looking for some advise / experience.

[FeralHearts]

So late night Dec 23rd I noticed something odd- checked WL's teeth close and welp her front Caine was missing. I felt / feel awful. How could I not have noticed! In my defense a little she had her annual visit mid Oct 2021 and all was well - teeth included.

Christmas eve I managed to get some painkillers for her thanks to the Dr's. (They were only open until noon x-mas eve) I watched her very closely in case we had to take an ER trip. Thankfully not. I got her in today for a look thankfully as it was the first day they were open.

The general thoughts are that something was wrong with the tooth under the surface that couldn't be known about or seen and that she probably feels much better now that it's gone. It's slightly infected so I have anti-biotics for her. I declined the Convenia (I think that's what its called) and I opted for pills in case of allergy.

They will be checking her in two weeks.

We can deduce that there is a potential for more unseen issues here, so we will be scheduling x-rays with the thought that it will lead to dental surgery as there are probably more issues.

She has lip entrapment, small and seems to be healing so I can watch and see how she does with that.

***For those who don't know what lip entrapment is...Lip entrapment info here.***

Her sister had / has TR and was taken up to a dental specialist in Feb 2021. I keep this in mind has from what I've read sometimes TR does not have symptoms until you see under the gum. As her sister had this I'm thinking perhaps I need to take her to the dental specialist as well. Not that I don't trust or like her Vets - I love them and they are AWESOME but if this is TR I think she needs the specialist. To be clear - her Dr's haven't mentioned that possibility - it's simply what I'm thinking.

Thoughts?

 

[Maurey]

Definitely needs a dental specialist. You really need an X-ray and the opinion of an experienced professional before making amy further decisions, imo. GP vets can be awesome, but I wouldn’t trust my GP vet that I take a 3 hour round trip to see with my cats’ dental health.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

With lip entrapment, I'm guessing she will need to have the opposiong canine removed, possibly all three others, in addition to what is found with an xray. One of my guys has TR, or what we here in the U.S. refer to as FORLs. I am not looking forward to his next dental, which is scheduled for next week. Last dental he had to have four teeth removed. Guessing it will be the same this time . I'd definitely go with a dental specialist for this issue if I were you.

 

[daftcat75]

I would book that dentist appointment now than later. Dentist appointments (with specialists, not your GP doing X-rays and extractions) are hard to come by with a typical wait time of 2 to 6 months. This generally doesn't change with need. If her mouth gets worse between now and when you decide to make the appointment, the wait time will unfortunately remain the same. Make it now before she needs it. Even if it's not tooth resorption, I would prefer to leave it to the specialist how best to correct the entrapment. But if it is TR/FORLs, a specialist can better help you plan the best course of long-term maintenance. That may very well be proactive extractions or a full mouth extraction. I wish we had done full mouth extraction with Krista after the second round of extractions rather than going back again and again and begging for dentals each time her eating declined no matter how long it had been since the last dental. Often times I was right and more teeth needed to go. But I digress.

Short term: Get her X-rays and do whatever extractions the GP vet says cannot wait six months.
Long term: Make a dentist appointment. Get on the cancellation list if you think you can jump the line at a moment's notice. Have the dentist address the lip entrapment and make any long-term plans if there is TR/FORL including the possibility of a proactive FME. It may sound extreme. But I am now convinced after what Krista went through that it would have been the path of least suffering--and less expensive too. All those individual appointments add up with the repeat expenses like office visit, x-rays, anesthesia, and medications; not even counting the procedures themselves.

 

[FeralHearts]

Definitely needs a dental specialist. You really need an X-ray and the opinion of an experienced professional before making any further decisions, imo. GP vets can be awesome, but I wouldn’t trust my GP vet that I take a 3 hour round trip to see with my cats’ dental health.

Thank you. :-) XO

I was leaning that way but I often double guess myself so it's so nice to have validation that I'm thinking right. :-) I appreciate it!

The specialist is quite the drive away - about 2.5 hoursish. It's why I like to make sure I'm doing what's best for her rather than stress her out if her normal vet could do it. Specialist feels right though since the tooth just dropped out. Not a good sign I think.

With lip entrapment, I'm guessing she will need to have the opposiong canine removed, possibly all three others, in addition to what is found with an xray. One of my guys has TR, or what we here in the U.S. refer to as FORLs. I am not looking forward to his next dental, which is scheduled for next week. Last dental he had to have four teeth removed. Guessing it will be the same this time . I'd definitely go with a dental specialist for this issue if I were you.

Thank you :-) XO

Yes, probably will have to have that bottom canine removed. If it heals and doesn't return we might be one of the lucky ones and not but I don't bet on that. The specialist also has an option of maybe saving it by way of root canal and shaving but of course he'd have to assess her first etc.

She goes back in two weeks to have the mild infection looked at. Lucky there too. *knocks on wood*

*hugs* I remember Braveheart's TR all to well last year. Was not fun. I was very glad she was with the specialist in case other issues cropped up. I feel for you and will be sending you out good vibes next week. Do you have a thread for your baby?

I would book that dentist appointment now than later. Dentist appointments (with specialists, not your GP doing X-rays and extractions) are hard to come by with a typical wait time of 2 to 6 months. This generally doesn't change with need. If her mouth gets worse between now and when you decide to make the appointment, the wait time will unfortunately remain the same. Make it now before she needs it. Even if it's not tooth resorption, I would prefer to leave it to the specialist how best to correct the entrapment. But if it is TR/FORLs, a specialist can better help you plan the best course of long-term maintenance. That may very well be proactive extractions or a full mouth extraction. I wish we had done full mouth extraction with Krista after the second round of extractions rather than going back again and again and begging for dentals each time her eating declined no matter how long it had been since the last dental. Often times I was right and more teeth needed to go. But I digress.

Short term: Get her X-rays and do whatever extractions the GP vet says cannot wait six months.
Long term: Make a dentist appointment. Get on the cancellation list if you think you can jump the line at a moment's notice. Have the dentist address the lip entrapment and make any long-term plans if there is TR/FORL including the possibility of a proactive FME. It may sound extreme. But I am now convinced after what Krista went through that it would have been the path of least suffering--and less expensive too. All those individual appointments add up with the repeat expenses like office visit, x-rays, anesthesia, and medications; not even counting the procedures themselves.

Thank you :-) XO

I remember Krista very well and everything you did for her and what you guys went through together XOXOX It's why I sent Braveheart to the specialist last year for her TR. Krista was the inspiration for that choice.

The Dentists office is closed until Jan 4. I will be on the horn with them that day and see what his schedule is like. Her insurance will probably play a role here is there is a time limit from diagnostics to treatment that they have expectations of. I'll talk to my boss as well, he likes animals so I think he'll let me schedule on the fly if I need to. So I'll get on the cancellation list too. Last time it was I think 3 - 4 months but we got really lucky and I was able to take a cancel date and got Braveheart in fast. Winters here are nasty so I'm a bit scared to drive the distance in bad weather so I'll be hoping the weather stays calm.

Dr Hale is one of those that considers FME rather than multiple visits if he thinks it's needed. He's considered one of the best so I'm lucky I live near enough to him and he's super nice, explains things fully and kinda amazing. His whole staff I couldn't say enough good things about. So back to him we go. He does have to approve her - so I hope he does.

I was lucky with WL though - she's been eating fine. *Knock on wood* You'd never know anything was even wrong. I noticed it as she looked a little off, and then I spotted a tiny red welt on her lip when I was checking her out - lifted up her lip and nearly had a heart failure when I saw no canine!!!

I will watch WL like a hawk.. if something more happens before her appointments I will have to reassess and adjust as we go. *Knock on wood* looks like time might be on our side a bit here... other than the insurance thing.

Knocking on a lot of wood here!

 

[FeralHearts]

So thankfully we've got a date moved up for her. Feb 3rd. YAY!!!!!

I say thankfully as keeping her weight on has been a little challenging. She's started to become disinterested in things she likes and this morning hopped up on me and screamed. I don't know why but obviously there is some pain. So the timing of this is wonderful.

I have some pain killer from xmas that I picked up and will be giving her. Poor gal.

Of course I'm scared still as having them anesthetized always freaks me out.

but... soon WL will be all fixed up!!