Malocclusion/ongoing dental problems

[lor5379]

#1
Hi

I have a 4 year old guinea pig (Alfie) who was adopted so I don't know his early history. Over the last 1-2 years one of his top incisors does not seem to be wearing down. I took him to the vets and they said he had broken his bottom tooth so could not grind down the top one. He has a constantly supply of timothy and meadow hay as well as fresh veg and is not on pellets as I was told this could make the problem worse.

He has had his teeth trimmed 6 times under anesthetic and just 3 weeks after his last dental treatment his top tooth is once again very long and causing him to struggle to eat. I'm taking him back to the vets this week but I'm at a loss for what to do next. As things look at the moment he'll be having dental work done under anesthetic every 3/4 weeks. Aside from the cost which is not important if I can help him, surely this amount of anesthetic can't be good for a small animal.

In every other way Alfie is absolutely fine and so far hasn't lost any weight. I just don't know where to go next :(

Thanks in advance for any help/advice. I'll try and get a pic of his teeth as well if he'll let me.

[bpatters]

I answered you at GPC. You can trim that tooth yourself with bone rongeurs.

[Lynx]

You can also very carefully use a glass nail file to file it down. I have a metal nail file for my own nails. Rounding the end of a metal file (they are pointed to allow cleaning under the nail) would make them safer to use. A metal file is pretty quick. Reward your guinea pig after the procedure. Gently but firmly stabilize the guinea pig and its skull before doing so.

Take a good look at how the guinea pig is eating. Normally there is a zigzag motion that successfully grinds the teeth when eating abrasive foods like hay. Read over all the pages in the dental area, especially the malocclusion page. Note if the mouth hangs open or if there is any angle to the tooth that gets properly ground.

Is there only one bottom tooth right now and is that permanent condition?
teeth.html
teeth_broken.html
malocclusion.html