I need advice about gum disease?

Status
Not open for further replies.
kalyv

kalyv

Member Since 2011
Hi everyone,

My cat Lucy was diagnosed with diabetes almost a year ago and she is doing well on lantus and fairly well controlled now.

But we went to the vet today and it appears that she has developed gum disease. The vet wants to extract 4 of her teeth and it will cost over $1000. Her gums are pretty red and inflamed, but she doesn't appear to be in much pain and is eating normally, so much so that I didn't even notice since it's her back teeth.

Anyway, I was wondering if it's best to just go ahead and get the teeth removed or if I should try treating it with antibiotics, etc.

Does anyone have experience with gum disease that is exacerbated by diabetes?
 
I am dealing with the same thing with my Annie. They want to do dental on her that we absolutely cannot afford right now until around November. So my vet gave me some stuff to bring home with me, and brush her teeth with it 2x day until i am able to get the dental done. it's like a medicated antiseptic that he says may help with her gingivitis a bit so it doesn't get worse as well.

But if you are able to financially i would get the dental looked after asap! i wish i had the money to do it right now. soon enough!
 
Thanks for the advice Vytors Mom and RockStar033.

It does seem like the best course of action is to bite the bullet and get the surgery done. My credit card company is loving my cat.

I tried to look at her teeth again last night and I couldn't even get her to open her mouth so any kind of daily brushing etc. is going to be even more traumatic for both of us. :o
 
mocha was eating just fine all along as well, and only once I joined this site did I realize how important dentals can be, but especially for diabetic cats. She ended up needing 8 teeth extracted and had already lost one :shock: We went to a "dental specialist" nearly two hours away and it cost us $$$$ .. She is do for another one, and I have no qualms about taking her to a local vet this time instead. I feel like they will do fine job at a much lower cost.
 
Hi PeterDevonMocha!

Thanks for the advice. It does seem like just getting the rotten teeth removed is for the best. I mean, if we tried to treat them with other means like antibiotics, feline versions of root canals, etc. I suspect it would cost near as much when it's all said and done. As you all are saying, this is likely to reoccur anyway, so probably best to just get to the root of it, so to speak.

Thanks again for the advice everyone.
 
Mocha had FORL (feline oral resorptive lesions) which I believe are kinda like kitty cavities .. the dental specialist we went to said these are very common and usually reoccur in cats .. so it's probably best to get it taken care of, and then to stay on top of them :-D
 
Midora had gum disease and there is no cure for it. When she died in 2005 (age 13) she was missing over 1/2 of the teeth in her mouth. Some had been extracted and who knows about the rest. She regularly had dentals each year, as brushing her teeth never worked (because she woudn't let me). This is something you will need to watch with your pet and deal with (unfortunately) for the rest of her life.
 
Bandit has had a continuing problem with FORLs and after multiple dentals he only has his lower canines left. Definitely get the teeth pulled as soon as you can. Although you might want to call around to other vets and price-shop the cost of the dental--Bandit's old vet quoted us $1200 for his first round of extractions, and his current vet $750. I liked my old vet, but not enough to spend an extra $450 that I didn't have in the first place. Just make sure that the vet is properly monitoring the cat during the procedure, etc.. Here's a great checklist that in the link posted above: http://www.cathospitalofchicago.com/treats-and-tidbits-quarterly-eletter/treats-tidbits-winter-2011/

The only way to fix the problem is to get rid of the rotten teeth. So the sooner you get the dental done, the better. Rotten teeth also keep BG high. After Bandit had his first round of extractions, his BG leveled out, he became very well regulated, and it was smooth sailing to remission from there.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top