Periodontal Disease

[SpikedMarkus]

My granda passed away 3 weeks ago and as Bertie's new official owner the first thing I did (last week) was take him to the vet for a general checkup. My granda loved dogs but was always wary of taking them to the vet (due to VERY bad experiences with our previous pets) and therefore Bertie had never been for a checkup in the 10 years my grandparents had him. Then again he has never been ill so there was no reason for them to take him.
I wanted to take him many times but respected my grandas wishes, unfortunately last week the vet found that 2 of Berties upper back teeth are rotten and he has Stage/Grade 3 Periodontal disease He hadn't shown any symptoms and is still eating normally, he has been prescribed strong antibiotics for the past week.
He has to go tomorrow to get these teeth removed and while he's under they'll clean and treat the rest of his teeth which are apparently ok at the minute.

Otherwise he's very healthy so the vet said the risks from the anaesthetic are lower than they would for most 12 year old dogs but i'm still worried about him. Has anyone else had experience with this disease? Any tips on what can be done to help him after the surgery? Of course i'll start brushing his teeth 2-3 times a week once his mouth has healed but is there anything else I can do to make things easier for him?

 

[Criosphynx]

oh god yes, unfortunately, I have two rescues with horrible teeth.

honestly, they don't even notice, make sure they do a full senior blood panel before hand and check the heart also before knocking them out. I've never had complications. They just go home and eat like nothing happend

also, I don't know if this will hold true for you, but my one dog with a nasty mouth continued to get nasty mouth over and over again VERY quickly. If teeth brushing is an option for you, go for it.

they also have a sealant you can put on the teeth that will help for after.

 

[SpikedMarkus]

Thanks I made sure they had him booked for a blood panel anyway just incase there was anything else wrong. I have to try and get a urine sample tomorrow morning, that'll be fun...chasing him around outside at 6am with a bowl
Teeth brushing shouldn't be a problem, he's very docile and allows me to open his mouth (he wouldn't let the vet do it though).
I'll keep you all updated.

 

[Criosphynx]

Awesome

 

[Lolas Dad]

A good bully stick once in a while will not hurt either. Get the hard ones not the soft ones and stay way from rawhide. Supervise him when he has the bully stick.

 

[SpikedMarkus]

Thanks for the advice! I had to google Bully Stick (haha couldn't believe what they were!!!) ,should be able to get them or something similar in the UK.

I rang the vets earlier, Bertie got through the operation and is awake (still very drowsy obviously). He had to have 4 back teeth removed but luckily the rest are ok and just got a good cleaning while he was out. I got home after leaving him up this morning to find my living room ceiling collapsed and floor soaked due to a burst water pipe and beyond repair boiler so Bertie will be staying at the vets overnight which they said would be better anyway so i'll be collecting him in the morning.

 

[bubbatd]

Bless you for taking this on !!!