For Christmas Nemo gets a tooth extraction!
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
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
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
Yay. While $350 still is a chunk but better than $500. And a healthy dog is the best part!
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!
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.
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.
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!!