Dental advice?!?!

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Gwen and Morris

Gwen and Morris

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When Morris had his yearly check up with the vet at the beginning of September, it was discovered that his teeth were in a really awful state! Due to a combination of events this fall, I was able to convince my dh that we could afford to have this done for him. My vet (who is totally wonderful!) didn't want me to just phone & book this appointment with the front office staff - she wanted me to let her know when we were ready & she would look at all the staffing combinations & make sure that she had Morris coming in for his dental on the day when all of her best staff would be working with her. We now have his scheduled to go in for his pre-dental work up this Thurs Nov 10 & his dental is scheduled for the following Thurs Nov 18.

This week, he will be getting the usual pre-ansethsia blood work done, and also having an ECG. We have known for a couple of years now that Morris seems to drop a heart beat about once per minute. We have elected to go with the diagnostic ECG (compared to the basic ECG) in hopes of finding out more about what might be causing this. I am really worried that he might not even pass these pre-tests! His eating has been declining lately & I believe it is because his teeth are really bothering him. What will happen if he doesn't pass these tests & can't have his dental next week?!?!? I'm not sure that I'm ready for that news.

I had been giving him a break from BG testing because I felt so bad for him. I have now begun to get back on track with his testing because I know how important it will be to monitor his numbers after his dental is done. I have updated his spreadsheet recently as well so that we don't have to scroll down forever to find his current information!

What should I expect after the dental is over? Will he need any extra meds? I am trying to decide if I should take the day after his dental off work to be home with him.
 
During and after the dental, he may be cooler than usual; anesthesia seems to cool them down. Your vet staff will want to be sure to monitor his temperature to make sure he stays warm enough.

My vet had me do half a dose of the insulin on the morning of the procedure although Spitzer was fasting; this seemed to work OK for him.

He'll be dopey from anesthesia much of the evening; for his safety, confine him to a single level, maybe even a single room or crate. No jumping or climbing until the drugs wear off!

If any teeth have been pulled, he should have pain meds, such as buprenorphine. We advise agains meloxicam as many cats have developed renal problems from that and diabetics are already at increased risk for renal problems.

Small amounts of soft food are generally preferred, and you're already feeding him canned (right?) so you should be OK. The anesthesia may upset the stomach, so only feed a teaspoon or two and wait until you see how it goes.
 
Hi guys .. I sure hope that morris passes his pre tests so he can get his little teefers taken care of! How nice that the vet only wants the best staff on board for your little man ..

When mocha had her one (and only) dental she had 8 teeth extracted :shock: and we were told another one was missing and must of fallen out on it's own .. She went to the dentist about two hours from us (a specialist) with no insulin the night before (her pmps was quite low, if I remember right anyways) and no insulin the morning of .. She had all her blood work done that morning since it was so far to drive to twice and everything came back with an OK to do the dental .. She spent a good portion of the day there but came home with us around 4 that afternoon .. She was dopey on the car ride home but once she was home, she got crazy acting .. We had to confine her but I think it was just cause she was so excited to be out of that place :lol:

We ended up I believe, giving pain meds for 5 days after (but again, she had 8 teeth pulled) She ate her food that night and did fine with it, though we watered it down a good bit .. Peter only took the day of the dental off and then I was here with her the rest of the time .. She did fine and showed no signs of pain or discomfort past the car ride home ..
 
They haven't confirmed with the vet yet what they want me to do prior to the dental itself - but I am assuming fasting with or without insulin in the morning. For his pre-denal work up, they said feed & insulin as usual that day.

Yes, MANY teeth are needing to be pulled! He will probably loose all of his side teeth (1 of those has already broken off partially :sad: ) and he may even loose some or all of his big front teeth. We won't know for sure until they get him put under.

Bupe - he doesn't really like taking that! Actually, he doesn't really like any oral meds! It is a real battle for us!!! Thankfully, he does well with any type of med I can give via injection!!! Too bad bupe is so expensive to get in injectable format! Will he need to be on it very long?? Will he need any antibiotics? I thought I remember hearing about antibiotics being prescribed post dental at times.

Morris & our dog Tanzee do not get along with each other sadly. As a result, we keep Morris confined to our rec room (takes up 1/2 of our basement). He has his nice comfy bed on the floor, but quite often prefers the furniture! LOL! He will have comfy choices depending on what his little legs will let him get onto.

Yes - he only gets canned & it is mixed with water to make it even mushier for him.
 
PeterDevonMocha said:
How nice that the vet only wants the best staff on board for your little man ...
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Yes, we have a totally awesome vet! She respects my decisions regarding Morris & his diabetes. She even has called me on occaision to ask advise about other feline diabetics she has in her care!

I'm glad to hear that Mocha did well with her dental. My dh wasn't willing to pay the extra fees to have a vet dentist look at Morris, but I am glad he finally agreed to let our vet do it! We looked into a dental for him last year to help regulate his numbers, but just couldn't afford it back then. Now, however, it has gotten to the point where a dental is necessary & not just a cosmetic option. Thankfully, things have changed & we have a bit of extra money in the bank right now - I did a lot of sweet talking to convince dh we should do this!

5 days of pain meds.....I hope I can convince dh to help me corral Morris for that!!!!
 
I thought the bupe was the same medication no matter how it was administered? When we got it for Peanut, they told us to just take the needle of to put on her gums if we didn't want to inject it.

Good Luck, hope the tests all come out ok and he gets his mouth all cleaned up!
 
The stuff I have been given in the past is a syrup & wouldn't be designed to give as an injection. It is supposed to be put into their cheek pouch. We have tried the flavored & unflavored varieties.
 
Cedric had his dental (he has had one almost every year, a left over from my previous cat who had that peridontal disease) in early May right after he was dx'd. I had planned a vacation and as a result, he had to stay with the vet for the "away" portion of my trip (I went to Co for my sister's graduation). So we scheduled a dentail, and I am pretty sure he didn't get the insulin that am due to fasting. I took him the night before I left, so it should be listed on the spreadsheet - May 4th was when I took him I think...

good luck with everything!
 
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