For Christmas Nemo gets a tooth extraction!

edited December 2007 in General
Sunday morning as I was watching some TV Nemo came and laid next to

me on the couch. He was being very calm so I took the opportunity to

poke around at him and check his teeth. I noticed that one of his

big molars looked like it had a gray spot on it, "Old food" I thought

to myself and tried to scratch it off. As I scratched at the tooth

PART OF THE TOOTH STARTED TO MOVE! I was a bit freaked out to say

the least. I checked it over thoroughly and the gum around it was

not inflamed or irritated, and the tooth seemed to be causing him no

pain (he jumped down, grabbed a nylabone and started chewing away).



Since he had was showing no signs of pain, and there was no sign of

infection I decided an emergency vet trip was not necessary. I

called and left a message with my regular vet and they got back to me

Monday morning. Nemo has a pre-surgery visit to the vet tonight and

then will have his broken tooth removed, and the rest of his teeth

cleaned tomorrow. While I'm not excited about the bill that is

coming, I am happy that I spotted it before it was causing him pain,

and while he is knocked out they will be able to fully inspect his

mouth for other possible problems while they are giving him the teeth

cleaning. Nemo is usually less than compliant for a mouth inspection

on vet visits.



I am a bit nervous about the whole thing though, as this is his first

surgery in the nearly three years that I have had him.



This is easily the most expensive thing Nemo will ever get for

Christmas (hopefully).



-Brandon

Comments

  • edited November -1


    I hate when they need surgery. Piggy gets spayed in a week. And I become such a nervous nelly. But it is great that you did discover this before it caused him any pain.


    Sorry Santa brought you a vet bill.Undecided

  • edited November -1


    That Santa is always playing tricks on me.  He also got me a fender bender on Christmas eve, the worst part is that I was on my way to volunteer at the humane society!  That is how I get paid back, rising insurance rates!!!


    I'm not sure what the total vet bill will be, but it's going to be at least $300.

  • edited November -1
    Well than allow me to be the first to wish you a Happy Kwaanza.
  • edited November -1
    Thanks.
  • edited November -1


     Brandon, I hope all goes well with Nemo!  Sorry to hear about the vet bill and the fender bender too!  Don't worry, Im sure something good will come to you soon!


     


    Hey Jessica,  When you get Piglet Spayed, how do you plan to seperate the 2?  Im planning to get Ninja nuetered soon, but I don't know exactly how to keep him and Portia seperated.  When we got Portia spayed, she was alone, so it was much easier keeping an eye on her so she doesn't lick her stiches or jump/run around. 

  • edited November -1
    Well I don't let my dogs interact when I'm not home. They each have their own room. I will likely take a day or two off from work and when I'm not home they go to their rooms.
  • edited November -1


    Wow - that really sucks! I'm sorry to hear about all the strife, I hope poor Nemo is OK, keep us posted.


    I'm sure this will not make you feel any better, but I lost a tooth over christmas too! The only crown I have fell out while I was in Aspen at a super nice restaurant. lol

  • edited November -1
    I lost a filling this week. Maybe it is just a bad dental month.
  • edited November -1


    Well I took Nemo into the vet this morning.  He was a complete freak when it was time for the shot.  Thrashing about and whatnot.  He head butted me once or twice, he has a very solid little skull.


    I waited around after the shot to make sure he was able to be handled after he was doped up.  They will be calling me when the cleaning and extraction is done.

  • edited November -1
    I hope everything runs smoothly
  • edited November -1


    Just talked with the vet.  The cleaning is done and they did not have to extract the full tooth.  Apparently he had what is called a "slab" fracture, and they only had to take out the part that broke off.  No root (she used a different word for the sensetive area) was exposed and his gums and everything looked good. 


    I got blood drawn so they could run a test to make sure his thyroid is running well also, it's the only thing I have never tested on him and apparently can be an issue with shibas.


    I ended up going to a vet I had not been to, but a great Shiba breeder and a friend  uses.  Their dental cleaning was $120 vs $277 at my standard vet.  With everything cleaning, slab removal, meds, presurgery visit, antibiotics, blood draw, yada, yada, yada it is going to be like $350.  It would have been closer to $500 or more at my vet, a rather large savings.


    He is recovering as all the drugs wear off and I can pick him up this afternoon after work.

  • edited November -1


    Yay. While $350 still is a chunk but better than $500. And a healthy dog is the best part!


     

  • edited November -1


    Im so glad Nemo monster is ok!  Teeth cleaning is an ordeal in itself!  We have done it for our cats and will eventually for the pups when needed.  So there is no concern what is left will get infected?  That is great.  Niko is missing an adult tooth.  When she went in for her spay they took out the rest of her baby teeth to avoid future problems for need for surgery and took out an adult tooth instead.  Realized it way too late.  Good thing we didnt want to show her!!


    Nemo should be home now...How is he??  I want more pics, we need a new wallpaper for our computer! 

  • edited December 2007


    Nemo is home and doing well. He is still a bit groggy from the morphine but did eat his entire dinner. He has kept it down for over 2 hours now (they said he might throw up). He is kind of whiney, and just not quite himself, but that is to be expected. The drugs also gave him a round of the runs. He should be feeling normal in the morning. His teeth are very clean. The bill ended up being $296 with a thyroid blood panel included. This place was great. The vet talked to me every time, rearranged some things for me and happily dealt with Nemo and his issues. I couldn't be happier with how things went.


    Here are some pictures I took Christmas Eve at my parents house.


    image


     


    image


     


    image

  • edited November -1
    AWWWW...Nemo is very handsome! Im glad everything went well and that you found such a great vet!
  • edited November -1
    Brandon, every time I show Jay your pictures his response is..."I love his pictures....We have to buy a better camera."
  • edited November -1
    Ya no kidding, are you using a high tech camera Brandon? All of your pictures turn out so beautiful as if they were in a book Sealed
  • edited November -1


    Nemo is a bit more himself this morning, the pain meds and the stress of the day had him very tired yesterday.  He happily ate all of his breakfast this morning and enjoyed his walk. 


    I'm glad everyone likes the pictures. 


    jmaxwell - I use a Nikon D50.  The lens I used for these was the Nikon 18-200 VR along with the SB-800 Speedlight (flash).  Also there are plenty of junk shots to go along with the good ones.

  • edited November -1
    I'm glad to hear Nemo is back up and running
  • edited November -1
    Chad loves the pics too.  As I said before nemo is our wallpaper on our puter.
  • edited November -1
    Brandon, did you take Nemo to Spring Harbor?
  • edited November -1
    Yes we went to Spring Harbor.
  • edited January 2008


    Awesome.  I'm glad things worked out so well for you and Nemo and that he's recovering well.  Yuri's slab fracture was down to the root and pulp was exposed so she lost the whole tooth.  I'm glad that Nemo's wasn't that bad!!  Give him a hug from us!!


     

Sign In or Register to comment.