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.

I'm a little frustrated today. She's obviously hungry, but not interested enough in anything that's being offered- though she's quite active and alert. :( I will keep trying other foods, then maybe force feed her a little baby food if all else fails. She ate pretty well yesterday morning (which is why I was feeling so optimistic), then a little home cooked chicken last night- so she has eaten, it's just been a struggle since yesterday morning. She's also not drinking/peeing as much as usual. I've been giving her daily sub-qs for support, and on a good note, she does not smell bad in any way, so hopefully we are doing enough to keep her kidneys safe. The current vet is of the opinion that her problems are more thyroid than kidney, and that her erratic thyroid is what has caused the kidney values to be up at times (but kidney values haven't been elevated at all in more than a year). She does seem alert and friendly, so I'm hopeful that it's just a few more days and she's completely back to her old self. I also don't know what the giardia meds might do to her, one book says there can be some not so nice side effects such as loss of balance, so perhaps she's just extra tired and not real hungry from that- it's so hard to tell. Laurie, this was indeed a hard decision coming. I think you offered your thoughts on the subject to me at least 3 different times over the past 2 years- for which I've been grateful. The lesions had just seemed to expand wildly over the past 3 months and DH and I felt that it was now becoming a quality of life issue- enough of one that it was time to take a big risk. One of her fangs had developed a strange abscess-like growth on the length of it, the vet hadn't ever seen anything quite like it. Another thing that we took into consideration was that our boy cat had a tooth that broke (out of the blue- his teeth are otherwise great) and he had to be knocked out to have the root removed on very short notice. We started thinking about how easily that could be the scenario with girl kitty and her awful teeth- and thought that maybe it was better to go ahead with dental on our terms, when she had a good blood test result and was acting like she felt good, rather than wait until there was no choice and we had to do it wherever she was healthwise. I'm not sure what the vet gave her for pain, except that she did not send any meds home because she had given her 2 shots at the office during the day. We had the option of going in to pick up some pain meds the following day, but decided against it because she doesn't seem in much pain (not hiding, and she has been eating), and we didn't want to add anything unnecessary to her system. The vet did say that cats could only have the pain meds for a total of 5 days running? It's definitely not a decision to take lightly. I know it was the right thing to do for her, and the right time to do it. I also know that almost 2 years ago when the vet first suggested it, it was not the right time. You live with your cat and know how he operates; you will know when it is having an effect on his QOL. Even knowing it was the right thing to do, I'm having a hard time with the whole process now. I know there's a lot going on with her and it's just a matter of watching her closely and getting her over the hump, but it's getting to be a long week. Anne-Marie, thanks so much for all the positive words and thoughts. They've meant more than you know through this long week. Off to try some other foods and see what sticks. Keep sending those positive thoughts and I'll keep you updated. Thanks again.

I have had and am now having major dental work. The dentist that I went to for years and really liked retired about 7 years ago. I was switched to another dentist who practiced in the same office. I have had some major work done by this dentist and almost every time I leave his office, I am black and blue and in severe pain. One time I ended up with over $800 in medical bills. The dentist gave me a hematoma which ended up getting infected, I had major swelling of my glands and a lot of pain. I went to a medical doctor and got penicillin and they referred me to a cardiologist who did an echocardiogram. I have a heart murmur and have to take antibiotics before having any work done on my teeth. Because of the severe infection, I was referred to a cardiologist to make sure no damage had been done. I am now having a bridge replaced and had a tooth pulled this week. I am having problems and the dentist looked at it again today and said I have a severe bruise on my gum and it is swollen but it should heal without further antibiotics. Last summer I had a crown done on a molar and ended up with two weeks of severe pain and had to exist on a pain reliever. My point in all of this is that I have always been afraid to go to a dental school and have students working on me since I have had so many problems with an experienced dentist working on me. If he can't do it without me ending up in severe pain and bruises, hematomas, and other problems, would a student do a better job?

I just had a similar procedure. I broke off tooth #6 near the gum line. My regular dentist spoke about 3 options and the one she was said that had the best outcome was the most expensive, an implant. A friend of mine who is a dentist spied my broken tooth and said that he could fix the tooth at much lower cost. He recommended a root canal, post, and crown. A noble metal post (titanium) provides support to securely hold the crown; A root canal is needed for installation of the post and that is was what I chose. It has worked well. I have had several root canals and after the initial work, there may be some soreness in the connective tissue that holds the tooth, but that should subside in a couple of weeks. When tenderness persists, the tooth socket maybe infected or the bottom of the tooth was not well sealed after the root canal and permits a pocket for infection. Over a year ago, I had a root canal and cap and that one did remain tender for several months, but slowly improved until the tenderness went away. It never ached. If your tooth is aching, suspect infection in the surrounding tissue. After a root canal, there are no nerves left in the tooth. Any pain you feel is from nerves outside the tooth.