Qs about dental, best antibiotic, all teeth being pulled...

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Martica and Fred

Martica and Fred

Member Since 2010
Hi
I just had my diabetic, Sebastian (formerly Shane from DKA in the kill shelter), have a dental. Three teeth extracted and all is well. BGs have not gone down as I'd hoped, but oh well.

Now I am taking another kitty, my angel Chloe, who is a teeny (just under 7lbs), but normal weight, to get a dental. Some of you may remember that I saved her and her brother Lenny from the NYC kill shelter last may. They were both on death row. Lenny, it turns out, went into hepatic lipidosis and was in the hospital for 2 weeks and finally we had to let him go. Very tragic.

I knew that Chloe had dental problems but didn't realize how bad they are--really bad, her gums are bleeding and looks like she may have to get all or most of her teeth pulled. I feel terrible because I had no clue she was in such discomfort/pain :(

But at least now it will feel better but I'm worried about how to make it the best experience for her since it might be awful having so many teeth pulled.

It is scheduled for next Tues Jan 08 and it is being done at Gotham Vet with a certified dental specialist (she is not a vet) but has done special training for dentals.

For Sebastian I went in and had a Convenia shot a few days before. It was def. convenient but I hadn't read up on it. Then I read Dr Lisa's site on it and it scared me off..also made me wonder if this is also what preciptated Lenny's demise....back in June when he first went to the vet before the hospital I believe he was given a shot of Convenia...and he also ended up getting hemolytic anemia--but they didn't know if it was the hepatic lipidosis that caused it or what..but now looking back, the poor guy was so pumped full of antibiotics...:(

Anyway, I'm terrified to do this to Chloe, even though Sebastian did fine.

So I am going to get a compounded fish flavor of the regular antibiotics...which would be the best one to get....clindamycin? Metronidazole? or what?

Also, I read the Fraser Hale paper on the topic and he says NOT to start them too ar in advance...maybe the day of surgery....so as not to kill good bacteria. I think Chloe is a special case since her mouth is in such bad shape to start with. I had been planning to give her the Convenia shot today (Friday) in advance of her Tuesday dental. Now I don't know what to do...

This thing is going to cost me about $2000 too. :(

any suggestions about anything welcome.
 
Re: Qs about dental, best antibiotic, all teeth being pulled

Chloe is not diabetic by the way. She is 7 1/2 yrs apparently. Her pre-op blood tests were done last week, I did not see them yet but the doctor said all was normal.
 
Re: Qs about dental, best antibiotic, all teeth being pulled

Oh my...I'm sorry no advice to share but wanted you to know I'm praying all goes well with Chloe. Thank you for being SUCH a good momcat!
jeanne
 
Re: Qs about dental, best antibiotic, all teeth being pulled

Convenia is for skin infections, I would not recommend it for a dental.

Terri
 
Re: Qs about dental, best antibiotic, all teeth being pulled

I am not certain which antibiotic is best used, hopefully your vet can give you proper advice on that regard.
As for giving prior to dental, I know that Dr LIsa has posted in the past that it really isn't necessary

good luck :)

Jen
 
Re: Qs about dental, best antibiotic, all teeth being pulled

clindamycin is the more common ab used for dental issues.

make sure you get a supply of buprenex (pain meds) for after the dental. as she may be in pain as a result.

good that you are seeing a dental specialist, as she will know all the tips and tricks and best methods of treatment.

i also use a board certified dental specialist - at red bank veterinary hospital and all she does is teeth and is great. and never have any worries when my girls are in her care.

make sure to discuss xrays - before and after to ensure that everything is removed - tooth, nerves, etc.
 
Re: Qs about dental, best antibiotic, all teeth being pulled

Clindamycin is commonly prescribed. It is usually a liquid and tastes nasty. Metronidazole is use for intestinal problems, not as a general antibiotic.
 
Re: Qs about dental, best antibiotic, all teeth being pulled

Thanks all. Yes, Metronidiazole is listed on that write up on Dr Lisa's site called "Antibiotic Use in Veterinary Dentistry". He says this antibiotic is another, along with clindamyacin, that is good for dentals.

So I just dropped my angel Chloe off. She is only 6.9 lbs (normal weight, she is tiny, 7yrs old) and so I made a sign attached to her carrier saying--Reminder--please give her a smaller dose of all meds since she is such a teeny cat. It makes me nervous, would be so easy to overdose her. Poor little thing is going to have most, if not all, her teeth pulled. I keep telling myself that she is bound to feel better afterwards, but I hate for her to feel bad at all.Anyway, paws crossed everything goes ok.

I ended up getting the clindamyacin compounded into liquid triple fish flavor At the Suba Pharmacy in NYC this cost $60 includ the antibiotic. She is not easy to give meds to--jerks like crazy, but maybe that's because her mouth hurts and she doesn't like anyone near it. They will give me Buprenex after so we have a week or more of antibiotics and painkillers, hopefully she will get easier to handle with this.
 
Re: Qs about dental, best antibiotic, all teeth being pulled

Both my cats had clindamyacin before their dentals--if you can, I would start her on Fortiflora (kitty probiotic) at the same time. Clinda can cause gastro-upset in some cats. If I don't give Bandit fortiflora, we deal with runny poo the whole time he's on clinda.

I just wanted to reassure you that you're doing the right thing with the dental! Bandit has FORLs (that's what's usually going on when a cat needs nearly all their teeth pulled) and there's nothing you can do once it starts but pull all the bad teeth as they resorb. After three rounds of teeth pulling over the years, Bandit only has his lower canines left. But he's doing just fine! Not too long ago he bit the head off one of his toy mice, and the inside of that thing was filled with hard plaster. So no loss of ability there.

Also, you will see a marked change in behavior once the rotten teeth are gone. I waited too long with Gabby's dental because I was scared with her age and heart murmur to put her under, but after a while it became a quality of life thing and thought it worth the risk. Cat's hide pain well, so I didn't realize how much and how long her mouth was affecting her until after the dental, and she was sprinting around the house like a kitten again.
 
Re: Qs about dental, best antibiotic, all teeth being pulled

Oh thanks Julia, I'm really glad to hear Bandit's story.

I just got a call from the dental specialist as Chloe is under. They took all the xrays and it looks like pretty much everything except maybe one or two canines have to go. Or rather all molars and premolars. I don't know if that means the scraping teeth in the front are ok. But it's severe--and worse than she thought once she saw the xrays. She said that in some areas the bone is affected by the resporption.

She is now suggesting that perhaps Chloe stay there overnight where she can be monitored--and also be on IV painkiller...is that better and safer than Buprenex at home?...what do we think, is this a good idea? I will be able to go see her in a few hours when she is out of the surgery. My poor sweetheart. I hope she heals fast.

I don't know if they will come let me be with her a while after they close (which is 6pm I think). Also, will she just be sleeping all night anyway? I don't want her to feel alone. Apparently there is a night nurse there. So she will be monitored. Will she be able to eat after all this? I guess they will spoon or syringe feed her and probably better them than me.

my poor angel.
 
Re: Qs about dental, best antibiotic, all teeth being pulled

if she is getting that much work done then I would think an IV with fluids and pain meds might be a good idea, that way she will be contained, safe and monitored. she will eat if she feels like it, but you can ask them what their protocol is.
 
Re: Qs about dental, best antibiotic, all teeth being pulled

They just called and she is awake now. They said that her face is swollen and tongue hanging out a bit which 'is to be expected with this amount of exxtractions'...I don't know if this is normal or they are just covering themselves or what. She said she wants a nurse to hold her upright for an hour or two for the swelling and so at least she is being held. She is apparently groggy and not ready to eat, but I can go by there is a little over 2 hours and also bring her regular food.

my poor sweetie. She has lots of stitches. almost a full extraction, not sure if they kept a few of the canines..we'll see.

So yes, I guess it's better that she stays there as long as I can go visit her.
 
Re: Qs about dental, best antibiotic, all teeth being pulled

How would you feel and look if you'd had the same? Honestly, I would think this sounds pretty normal, poor babe :)

Jen
 
Re: Qs about dental, best antibiotic, all teeth being pulled

aww, poor kitty .. it is always worse on us, then on them I think .. ((hugs)) she will be ok!! Mocha had 8 teeth extracted I think two years ago .. now her tongue falls out of her mouth all the time .. half the time she does not realize it's hanging out until we touch it :lol: .. I know you are worried but I thought that might put a smile on your face ..
 

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Re: Qs about dental, best antibiotic, all teeth being pulled

Hahaha, Thanks Peter, very cute!

So, Chloe is doing well. She had 14 teeth extracted. She stayed overnight because they thought it would be better to monitor her swelling and give the pain meds thru IV etc. I was able to stay with her for 2 hours in the evening, which was nice. She was def. scared in the cage.
She came home yesterday and other than a few of the other cats hissing at her, she is doing well. She is eating and even licking herself a bit. So hopefully it's not hurting. She is on Buprenex 3x day for today, then goes down to 2x day for next 3 days.

Thanks for all your input. I think she's going to be ok...
 
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