Smudge is having dental surgery today :-(
10 years ago
Please share some good thoughts for our Smudge. He's our 16-yr old Maine Coon and he's in for dental surgery today. He's getting 7 molars removed. The vet is thrilled with his condition.....good muscle mass, steady heart rate, kidneys and liver are good, so he's a good candidate for anesthetic, but......he's still 16.
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Dental Implant vs Cantilevered Bridge?
Comments (25)Mary: Does an implant mean that your tooth will die? Or can they preserve the root in spite of the screw? And I think that a peg tooth is a full sized tooth that has been shaved/drilled down so that a crown can fit snuggly over it. A peg tooth is a livng tooth, but all of the enamel is gone and it is somewhat pointed. I do have a crown on a peg tooth. Do not look in the mirror when they are mounting your crown. The peg tooth, which is in fact the size of a baby tooth, is really, really different looking. The word that best describes it is scary. I try to avoid looking into my dentist and his assistant's glasses/eye protectors when that tooth is exposed. Because my mouth looks like something out of a horror movie with the exposed peg tooth in the open gum of a full sized tooth. I lost my two front teeth in a bicycle accident when I was about nine, one tooth finally died when I was in my twenties, and now I have beautiful crowns in front. I just got back today from having two old crowns removed, decay cleaned out along the gum line, and am awaiting two new crowns. My teeth have posts in them (does that make them implants?) already, so I am only paying for new crowns. Between our insurance and our medical reimbursement account, I'm not paying for this work directly. Our medical reimbursement account gave us a "credit card" to pay for our health care expenses. It's extremely convenient. It seems like you've gotten great advice Mary. Save that tooth. Unless you love eating firm or highly sticky foods (like those suckers, what are they called? "something daddies" that are perfect for removing certain types of dental work), give this tooth time. Keep your mouth cleaned and floss gently to prevent decay around the base of the tooth. If you can keep your mouth clean and healthy, and avoid hitting your mouth or eating difficult to chew foods (or biting pens, apples, nuts, hard candy, nails etc), I would think that you could wait a half a year. Because we are on a tight budget, we have to alternate my DHs and my dental work with orthodonture for seven kids, I have postponed dental work for years (not root canals but cavities) but just keeping my mouth clean and maintaining twice a year check ups. Finally, if you want to whiten your teeth, pick a nice bright shade for your crown. I didn't choose the ultra white "A" grade that everyone who works in my dentists office has, but sort of a soft, mellow white, the "B" grade. Still white, but not the "you need your sunglasses to look at my smile" white. I really wish God had given us three sets of teeth....See MoreVet Bills for Dental Cleaning
Comments (29)Oh, Barb, what a sad and sorry tale. Poor little guy. I shudder to think. I think it is SOP to be on antibiotics after a procedure like that, though. I guess it didn't work on whatever bug had him sick. : ( I would die. I had a few tooth abscesses growing up, on my back molars, and the dentist would just slice them open and drain. Wonder why they just remove the tooth on these guys. Certainly, an abscess needs to be taken care of. Abscesses can cause systemic blood poisining too (whatever the correct term is). As far as routine care, it probably is a good idea to wipe the teeth down periodically. My vet recommends gauze and hydrogen peroxide to get the scum off, esp the back teeth. Two of my kitties would probably tolerate that well. Well, my cats get better medical care (and food!) than I do. I hadn't had my own teeth done in about 15 years. Ha, when I had them done this Summer, the hygienist looked like a deer caught in headlights when I answered that question! She was also in shock when my gums/teeth came up at 3's and 2's (very good). And I only had two cavities to be filled. Maybe that doesn't speak, overall, for what gets into my blood from chewing, but my teeth and gums are in good shape from daily care. One of the big reasons I had stopped getting my teeth done, though, was after reading about disease transferance through the dental drills and other tools. And I also remember how our family dentist had died of some weird (blood, as I recall) disease. Even with all the cleaning they do, there can be remnants from other patients stuck on or lodged in the tools. And, as I recall, there is specific difficulty in managing cross-contamination, in dentistry, with respect to prion diseases. I wonder if they're as careful with the instruments for animals as they're learning to be with people. Will have to ask my vet! They did have a new way of cleaning teeth, though, which I really liked! and the tool would seem safer. Forget the name, but it was with a strong water jet. They just blast the gums and teeth, like a power wash. Wouldn't want to take a blue light to that exam room or tech, though, lol....See Morerecipes for post oral surgery/dental implant
Comments (34)Thanks, Lee! I've been very happy with my almost immediate recovery, as I was expecting something much worse. Since I have no pain, I tend to forget that I just got the implant, and so I have to remind myself to be careful. I had a sandwich for lunch, and I hope bread crumbs didn't get stuck back there. I rinsed out my mouth very well. I make bean burritos frequently and always have the ingredients to make my bean dip recipe. I used up the last of the tahini making the hummus (which I expect to go fast), and so I'll have to remember to pick some up at the next Arab or Lebanese market I go to. We need more lavash, but I can get that anywhere. The tahini is much cheaper at the Lebanese market. Annie, Kevin and I both have mouth guards to wear at night, and I never ground my teeth until fairly recently. I do notice myself doing it when I'm working intensely on a furniture model. I'll make a note not to make popcorn, but that gets stuck in my teeth even when they are normal! I might make some Avgolemono soup with Greek meatballs - I have frozen ground turkey I could defrost, but I need to use up the poached chicken meat first, I think. Of course I could freeze that and defrost the other. Lars...See MoreHave you heard of putting down a deposit before having surgery done?
Comments (45)I stand by my earlier complaint while also acknowledging what sleeperblues said. It is indeed a sad fact that for many people, when money gets tight, medical bills get pushed to the back of the line and frequently don't get paid at all. Unfortunately, those doctors still have a practice to run and employees they must pay, regardless of whether someone has paid their bill or not. I suppose I pine for "the old days" myself. For the majority of my adult life, we lived paycheck to paycheck. We could budget to pay you in installments but we just didn't have a lump sum to give you upfront to pay in advance. Hubby and I have managed, over the past 10 years, to work our way out of that lower class (paycheck to paycheck) predicament into a solidly middle class status. Before that, it was (largely) an honor system. We promised we would pay what we could, when we could, until the balance was paid; the doctors took us at our word AND we fulfilled our obligation. Unfortunately, too many have gamed the system for too long and now, an increasing number of doctors and facilities require full upfront payment. Luckily for me, I've established a rapport with my regular physicians and dentists and they KNOW I'm "good for it" and they allow me to get needed services and pay out over time if I need to. I worry for my children though. It has taken years of seeing the same practitioners before we reached a comfortable spot that I could get what I need and they know I won't shaft them. What will my kids do in 15 years if they are just starting out and can't afford 1000 upfront for, say a root canal and crown?...See More- 10 years agolast modified: 10 years ago
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He's home and happy and ate some soft food. I have some pain meds that I rub onto his ear (so much nicer than pills). I'll take him back in a couple of weeks for a follow up. They also want me to apply some mouthwash type stuff to his teeth starting in a couple of weeks. A maintenance regime. I'll find some makeup applicators to apply it, instead of using a syringe type thing.
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