old dog with severely broken tooth

[2blackdogs]

I just noticed on Thursday that my old dog has a broken tooth. It looked bad and I took him to the vet. They were shocked that he wasn't in a lot of pain yet since the 1/2 the tooth is gone and a huge amount of pulp is exposed but they figured since its a pale pink it means it was just done recently and hasn't had a chance to get infected yet. Also his Meloxicam for his arthritis is probably cutting the pain too. Because he's so old they did a whole range of blood tests to see if he could handle a general anaesthetic surgery. The results came back that his pancreaitis did a bit of damage to his liver but his kidneys and liver are okay and he should be able to do the operation without much risk. He's also on thyroid medication for the last year but the thyroid is well controlled. This particular tooth is really hard to get out of big dogs so they're expecting it to take a lot of time to do it. $800 is my quote! Wow! I had no idea it would be that much money! It looks like he has bad teeth but the vet said he's in excellent dental condition, he's just getting yellow teeth from age. He's being operated on Thursday. Now it's 5 days later and now my dog is panting constantly, pacing, whining and not laying down. I'm thinking the pain is all of a sudden hitting him. I am so upset that the vet can't get him in for the tooth extraction until Thursday! And they didn't give me any extra pain meds for him! I don't know what to do to help him until Thursday. Of course today is a holiday, should I call the after hours number (really expensive) or just let him suffer until Thursday's $800 operation? This is a picture of his tooth, its the lower left corner and the pink you see is the inside of it where all the nerve endings are I guess.

[Ashlie]

It doesn't look infected, but being exposed to the air and his licking it or eating is probably not the most comfortable sensation in the world.
You have no pain medication whatsoever?
What I'd normally use for tooth pain (Numsit baby teething numbing gel)I'm not sure is safe for an exposed tooth like this.
Poor pooch!

[2blackdogs]

Hi, I did call the emergency vet on call. He suspected that my dog vomited his last dose and was minus a dose of pain meds. He recommended I give him his dose as usual yesterday morning and wait 3-4 hours. I did that and he did seem to settle down. He's not back to the way he was before he broke the tooth but at least he's laying down and sleeping instead of pacing and whining. I'm nervous about the surgery on Thursday. The vet said that the arthritis/anti-inflammatory that he's on is actually the same pain meds they use on dogs with broken legs and that he's on a really high dose. He didn't recommend doing anything other than keeping up with the regular dosing until Thursday. He said the operation will take at least 1.5 hours since there isn't much crown to remove the tooth with. Wish us luck!

[linnie]

i will be thinking of you on thursday.
The great thing these days is that the anesthetics they use these days are so much better especially for our older dogs

[2blackdogs]

Whew, I can breathe again! He made it through the anaesthetic, flipped out when he woke up but when they gave him a sedative he settled down a bit. He can't even walk properly right now, he fell in the hallway and just stayed where he fell. He can't stand to eat, he's falling down while peeing but at least he's alive. They sure did a number on him while he was out though. They pulled his tooth (had to break the root into 3 pieces to do it), drained his anal sacs, cut his nails, and cut off two skin tags. He's so groggy! They gave me pain killers but I don't know when he can start taking them since they gave him stuff while they had him. I'm aiming to give him the meds when we go to bed tonight.

Thanks for your well wishes!

[linnie]

I honestly think we go through more than our pets
Glad for the update... and that everything went ok.

if they gave him an injection it usually lasts till the following morning.
Keep him confined for a few days and definately nothing cold to eat or drink

[2blackdogs]

My dog is so much better! I haven't been giving him the pain meds the vet sent home other than his regular anti-inflammatory for his arthritis. He is eating like a pig (he LOVES the canned stuff mixed in with his regular food and soaked in water) and isn't pacing. He was whining when I took my other dog for a walk yesterday because he wanted to go. The only thing I notice is a bit of diarrhea but he tends to get that easily and it could be the food or a bit of the anaesthetic working its way out of his system. Plus the antibiotic he's on might upset his stomach the vet said.

I'm feeling like such a better owner now. I was feeling so guilty about the pain he was in and several people thought I should just put him down because he was so old. I'm glad I didn't. He seems to be enjoying life again.

[linnie]

So glad to hear he is feeling MUCH better.
Yes his stomach could feel a little tender after anaesthetic and also antibiotics
As for putting a dog down because its old ..... I have always felt the only time a dog should be pts is as the last resort, and its evident that your boy has more life in him so I am glad you didnt listen to those negative people