Tyler went to the vet for a standard dental cleaning. They called me a few hours later to say that they had pulled 7 teeth, apparently all in the front bottom row (as far as I can see). They said that there was bone loss, and that they were loose and would give him problems down the road, so they pulled them. I am very worried, since he is only 3 years old, and now with these 7, they've pulled a total of 9. They acted like to wasn't a big deal and when I was worried that this could be a problem with his other teeth down the road, they said it wouldnt be and seemed cavalier about it.
I was wondering if anyone has any thoughts on this? Does anyone know if this is normal?? He is a chihuahua, so I know they can have their issues with their teeth. I'm really upset that they did this without a phone call to me to give me the opportunity to stop them if I chose. Maybe I would have wanted a second opinion? They called me after it was done and now he has no front lower teeth. He used to love to play tug of war, and now I dont know if he'll still be able to do that. I'm a reasonable person and I know that they wouldn't have pulled good teeth (at least I hope not!), but I still feel upset about the whole thing.
Does anyone know whether his other teeth will eventually have 'bone loss' too?
Bone Loss?
Re: Bone Loss?
More importantly is asking your vet about the possible causes to the teeth problems....rule out dietary indescretions, chewing on bones too frequently, or hard toys, excessive bacteria in the mouth, viral infections, or hereditary problems etc. A strict dental regimin at home should also be implemented to prevent future oral health problems.
Generally, upon the first exam, your vet should have given you some indication of how many teeth would have required extraction, and given you an estimate before surgery, as well as have you sign a disclaimer for the services. It isn't uncommon for a vet to find problems during a dental, since they cannot always see these problems on a simple exam. However, he should have called you, or had a technician inform you that additional teeth would need to be extracted. The problem with this is timing, since you want the dog under anesthesia for as limited a time as possible.
I don't think he would have much of a problem continuing to play tug-o-war, since the jaw muscles are strong, and may pets do fine without many of their primary teeth.
As for the bone loss, again, you need to find out if there is an underlying cause.
Generally, upon the first exam, your vet should have given you some indication of how many teeth would have required extraction, and given you an estimate before surgery, as well as have you sign a disclaimer for the services. It isn't uncommon for a vet to find problems during a dental, since they cannot always see these problems on a simple exam. However, he should have called you, or had a technician inform you that additional teeth would need to be extracted. The problem with this is timing, since you want the dog under anesthesia for as limited a time as possible.
I don't think he would have much of a problem continuing to play tug-o-war, since the jaw muscles are strong, and may pets do fine without many of their primary teeth.
As for the bone loss, again, you need to find out if there is an underlying cause.
..........Traci