Saving a Service Dog's Teeth
Three months ago, I was told by my new, young veterinarian that my service dog needed a majority of his teeth extracted, at a cost of nearly $1,000. Devastated, I called upon my good friend Lori, who is a very experienced vet living in another state. I didn't know what to do, as a toothless service dog, slated to do retrievals for me, would have had to have been retired.
Dr. Lori calmed me down by explaining that there were approaches she had used to save teeth in dogs that other vets had given up on. She laid out a plan for me, and explained all the protocols, spending hours going over details and answering my questions.
When I presented this to my new vet, she refused to try the experienced vet's protocols. She did a decent job cleaning my dog's teeth, but I decided that she just didn't have enough experience to make a call, that could change my life, as well as my dog's career, in such a drastic way.
I never went back to the new vet. instead, I used Dr. Lori's protocols and committed myself to following a strict hygiene routine with my dog, giving special attention to the problem areas, where pockets of bacteria had eaten away at the bone and caused furcations to be exposed and teeth to become loose.
I started out slowly, getting my dog used to having his mouth handled. I introduced the brush by letting him lick off the poultry-flavored toothpaste, which also cleaned his tongue.
Each day I added a little more brushing, but starting on only the teeth which were solid and not painful--the cuspids or canine teeth. And then I'd gently rub my finger wrapped with gauze and an antibacterial solution over the tooth and gums, getting the dog used to having it done without fretting or stressing. (*Note: Dr. Lori advised against using a product containing Xylitol, and instead, recommended using a human mouthwash Crest Pro-Health, instead.)
Within a week, I was able to brush all of his teeth, inside and out. I was also able to rub his gums with the Crest Pro-Health rinse solution to help kill the bacteria.
The second week, I introduced the three-sided toothbrush, which cleans the outside, inside and the chewing surface of the teeth at the same time. The pointy canine teeth and the very loose front teeth on top and bottom were done with a very small toothbrush.
The third week I introduced an interproximal brush cleaner, used for human teeth to get under bridgework. This little brush was dipped in the Crest Pro-Health antibacterial solution and pushed down into the crevices and furcations where the normal brush could not get. I was amazed at how many food particles came out. It worked well between the teeth, too, removing even more food particles.
For a month, those tricky areas bled when I cleaned them thoroughly, but eventually, the bleeding stopped and there was no inflammation on the gums anymore.
After every brushing, I'd use a small piece of terrycloth soaked in the Crest Pro-Health solution to vigorously rub the dog's gums and teeth, being careful not to miss a single tooth.
As a reward for allowing me to do this, I'd put another stripe of poultry--flavored toothpaste on the brush and allow him to lick it off.
This was a twice a day regimen, and I also gave up between-meal treats, not wanting bacteria from food to get a chance to stay in those pocket areas . The only food treats were given before twice a day meals. I used life rewards for reinforcements after brushing.
As i was doing his dental regimen today, I tried to wiggle the teeth that were slated for extraction because they were loose. They didn't move. I sat there, stupified and just let the tears course down my cheeks.
I'm so glad now that I did not let the vet extract those teeth, and instead, got a second opinion from a much more experienced vet, and used the protocols she advised. Today, Cooper's teeth are so clean, and there is no swelling or redness anywhere, and he is once again able to retrieve hard objects.
I didn't think it was possible to save teeth that had serious periodontal damage to the bone, but I am now a great believer in how much we can do at home to save our dogs' teeth.
Still baffled by how those loose teeth became solid again, I asked her today and she explained that, "Often there is an alternative way to do things that can be better for the dog (cat) but aren't quick fixes. The teeth actually can get solid again and be held in even stronger with the scar type tissue that forms, similar to when a dentist replaces a tooth that was accidentally knocked out. And now that the infection is gone, the bone may actually grow back too."
It was a joyful noise for me yesterday, when Cooper brought in a pecan from the yard, after a windstorm. He cracked it open, ate the nutmeats, and left the sharp shells for Tim to step on with his bare feet. I admit, I wasn't thinking about Tim's pain when I heard him cussing - I was thinking that it had been a good year since the dog was able to bite down and crack open a pecan shell.
Dr. Lori is my hero. I share this experience to give others a bit of hope and a way to help save many of their dogs' teeth as well. Yes, it takes dedication, but the payoff is enormous. Our whole regimen now takes about 5 minutes from beginning to end, so it's not a huge outlay of time. But it is a commitment, and so worth the effort!
Here are some photos of my dental layout, and pictures of the teeth the first vet said would have to be extracted, which was pretty much everything but the pointy canines. The last picture is the "treat" where Cooper gets his reward of licking off the poultry-flavored toothpaste.
*NOTE: Dr. Lori also had me on a 'Pulse Therapy" dose of Clindamyacin where I gave him the antibiotic for 7 days, then stopped for three weeks, and then repeated it again.
Three months ago, I was told by my new, young veterinarian that my service dog needed a majority of his teeth extracted, at a cost of nearly $1,000. Devastated, I called upon my good friend Lori, who is a very experienced vet living in another state. I didn't know what to do, as a toothless service dog, slated to do retrievals for me, would have had to have been retired.
Dr. Lori calmed me down by explaining that there were approaches she had used to save teeth in dogs that other vets had given up on. She laid out a plan for me, and explained all the protocols, spending hours going over details and answering my questions.
When I presented this to my new vet, she refused to try the experienced vet's protocols. She did a decent job cleaning my dog's teeth, but I decided that she just didn't have enough experience to make a call, that could change my life, as well as my dog's career, in such a drastic way.
I never went back to the new vet. instead, I used Dr. Lori's protocols and committed myself to following a strict hygiene routine with my dog, giving special attention to the problem areas, where pockets of bacteria had eaten away at the bone and caused furcations to be exposed and teeth to become loose.
I started out slowly, getting my dog used to having his mouth handled. I introduced the brush by letting him lick off the poultry-flavored toothpaste, which also cleaned his tongue.
Each day I added a little more brushing, but starting on only the teeth which were solid and not painful--the cuspids or canine teeth. And then I'd gently rub my finger wrapped with gauze and an antibacterial solution over the tooth and gums, getting the dog used to having it done without fretting or stressing. (*Note: Dr. Lori advised against using a product containing Xylitol, and instead, recommended using a human mouthwash Crest Pro-Health, instead.)
Within a week, I was able to brush all of his teeth, inside and out. I was also able to rub his gums with the Crest Pro-Health rinse solution to help kill the bacteria.
The second week, I introduced the three-sided toothbrush, which cleans the outside, inside and the chewing surface of the teeth at the same time. The pointy canine teeth and the very loose front teeth on top and bottom were done with a very small toothbrush.
The third week I introduced an interproximal brush cleaner, used for human teeth to get under bridgework. This little brush was dipped in the Crest Pro-Health antibacterial solution and pushed down into the crevices and furcations where the normal brush could not get. I was amazed at how many food particles came out. It worked well between the teeth, too, removing even more food particles.
For a month, those tricky areas bled when I cleaned them thoroughly, but eventually, the bleeding stopped and there was no inflammation on the gums anymore.
After every brushing, I'd use a small piece of terrycloth soaked in the Crest Pro-Health solution to vigorously rub the dog's gums and teeth, being careful not to miss a single tooth.
As a reward for allowing me to do this, I'd put another stripe of poultry--flavored toothpaste on the brush and allow him to lick it off.
This was a twice a day regimen, and I also gave up between-meal treats, not wanting bacteria from food to get a chance to stay in those pocket areas . The only food treats were given before twice a day meals. I used life rewards for reinforcements after brushing.
As i was doing his dental regimen today, I tried to wiggle the teeth that were slated for extraction because they were loose. They didn't move. I sat there, stupified and just let the tears course down my cheeks.
I'm so glad now that I did not let the vet extract those teeth, and instead, got a second opinion from a much more experienced vet, and used the protocols she advised. Today, Cooper's teeth are so clean, and there is no swelling or redness anywhere, and he is once again able to retrieve hard objects.
I didn't think it was possible to save teeth that had serious periodontal damage to the bone, but I am now a great believer in how much we can do at home to save our dogs' teeth.
Still baffled by how those loose teeth became solid again, I asked her today and she explained that, "Often there is an alternative way to do things that can be better for the dog (cat) but aren't quick fixes. The teeth actually can get solid again and be held in even stronger with the scar type tissue that forms, similar to when a dentist replaces a tooth that was accidentally knocked out. And now that the infection is gone, the bone may actually grow back too."
It was a joyful noise for me yesterday, when Cooper brought in a pecan from the yard, after a windstorm. He cracked it open, ate the nutmeats, and left the sharp shells for Tim to step on with his bare feet. I admit, I wasn't thinking about Tim's pain when I heard him cussing - I was thinking that it had been a good year since the dog was able to bite down and crack open a pecan shell.
Dr. Lori is my hero. I share this experience to give others a bit of hope and a way to help save many of their dogs' teeth as well. Yes, it takes dedication, but the payoff is enormous. Our whole regimen now takes about 5 minutes from beginning to end, so it's not a huge outlay of time. But it is a commitment, and so worth the effort!
Here are some photos of my dental layout, and pictures of the teeth the first vet said would have to be extracted, which was pretty much everything but the pointy canines. The last picture is the "treat" where Cooper gets his reward of licking off the poultry-flavored toothpaste.
*NOTE: Dr. Lori also had me on a 'Pulse Therapy" dose of Clindamyacin where I gave him the antibiotic for 7 days, then stopped for three weeks, and then repeated it again.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Comments are wonderful things!