Malocclusion Experiences and Links To Gp Illnesses

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daveandtiff

Post   » Mon May 30, 2016 4:26 am


Pressure applied with fingers encircling jaw to cause more effort with chewing sounds very sensible. Wow, she would take up to 2cc's Critical Care at a time? That's alot! Did she have any issues with biting her tongue or the sides of her cheeks, or was she able to chew without little jumps from biting herself?

When you mentioned her speed picked up as her teeth grew back after the trim, wondering if she had also a bit of discomfort early on that would have impacted her willingness to eat, too. Especially just after surgery or if bone was rubbing against bone during movement. Was she on an anti-inflam/pain reducer to help with her situation?

Thanks for going over detail. Having more than one to need to give special care to can require alot of time, very good you have a very willing partner to help.

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mmeadow
Supporter 2004-2022

Post   » Mon May 30, 2016 2:00 pm


Rosie was definitely on meloxicam for a sore mouth for several days after the procedure.

Perhaps this should be its own topic: I'm realizing that we hand-feed differently from some people here. We mix our Critical Care rather thickly, close to the 3-to-1 ratio suggested on the package. We use mostly 6cc syringes, and we push it in from the top, rather than slurp it through the tip.

Of course our pigs don't normally eat 2ccs of food at a time, but realistically we cannot replicate their habit of nibbling all day. We do give them 1-2ccs at a time, depending on how much they can take before it dribbles out. They seem to do fine with our aggressive mouth-stuffing ways.

bpatters
And got the T-shirt

Post   » Mon May 30, 2016 2:10 pm


I do something similar, mmeadow, but I'm always afraid they'll get choked on 1-2 cc at a time. I usually give 1/3 to 1/2 cc at once.

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mmeadow
Supporter 2004-2022

Post   » Mon May 30, 2016 2:27 pm


Thinking about it, we give up to about 1cc at a time for adult pigs. (Wish I could edit what I wrote.) If it dribbles out, we cut back. No one seems to choke or get aspiration pneumonia. (A vet told me not to worry too much, because their little throats are so tight.) We time them on when they seem ready for more. When Rosie was first recovering, she ate so slowly that I timed her so I wouldn't waste time dawdling between mouthfuls.

Thinking about full replacement feeding at 1/3cc per poke -> inserting syringe into possibly resistant pig about 150 times a day -> more stress on pig and human ?

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daveandtiff

Post   » Mon May 30, 2016 2:30 pm


mmeadow, was thinking last night of taking photo of our mix consistency as bpatters and I were on topic yesterday (re syringe use). Had my doctor's thought on it, but want to know what others feel. So will create a thread.

I was mostly interested in the course of how the jaw rehab went with yours, since it was successful. Wondering if there was anything different about the way yours presented or was treated compared to ours who have had malocclusion, because we never had permanent recovery. Instead, progressively more needy for syringe feeding after temporary help from tooth filings.

bpatters
And got the T-shirt

Post   » Mon May 30, 2016 2:52 pm


I leave the syringe in the mouth. :-)

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mmeadow
Supporter 2004-2022

Post   » Mon May 30, 2016 8:13 pm


bpatters, maybe I'll try that next time!

We had a mother and daughter pair years ago. We didn't notice the daughter hadn't been eating until she was too far gone. She didn't survive the sedation for the emergency tooth trim. A few months later the mother showed the same symptoms. This time we were on it. We hand-fed for months with intermittent trims. We kept the chin-sling on her most of the time, but it did not help. We eventually put her down as she was clearly very unhappy with her situation and was not going to get better. The vets were sympathetic as they see quite a few of these sad cases. (Oh yeah, we had a hyperthyroid pig on full replacement feeding at the same time. Fun times. Not!)

As I said before, we wish we knew why Rosie's teeth got ahead of her. I have a theory that a pig can be slightly under the weather (just like any of us) and go "off her feed" just enough that the teeth get out of hand. Although the mild unwellness passes without us noting, the pig can no longer eat and wear down the teeth normally.

SugarPlum300

Post   » Mon May 30, 2016 8:31 pm


1) Sparky/White crested/4 at onset

2) 4 years old when first treatment, never had treatment afterwards
3) He ended up having heart disease about 3 months after malocclusion, died around a month after heart symptoms began, about a week after we actually realized what it was and brought him to the vet
4) Got his teeth ground down (obviously by a vet and woth correct diagnosis, I am sure jt has a less course name but I don't know exactly what it was called)
5) His heart problems only became apparent after malocclusion.
Hope that helped!

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mmeadow
Supporter 2004-2022

Post   » Mon May 30, 2016 8:43 pm


SugarPlum300, Sparky's situation sounds like what I was describing--an unrelated problem leading to the pig not eating enough. It presented as malocclusion, which was really a side effect of low energy associated with heart disease. Sorry about Sparky.

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forEliandEdwin

Post   » Mon Dec 12, 2016 12:54 pm


1) Eli Whitney - American - 3.5

2) Eli was 3.5 when he had his first treatment in October of 2016 -- both incisors and molars trimmed/planed. He needed a second procedure for both the following month.

3) He started hooting after the second procedure in November of 2016. He had never exhibited anything related to heart problems prior. I still wonder if it was related to going under for the procedures.

4) Following the first procedure of incisor and molar planing, he was on pain meds for seven days. He needed Oxbow critical care for two weeks up until the second procedure as he refused to eat. Following the second, he was on pain meds again for seven days and then antibiotics as well for ten. The vet wasn't positive he needed antibiotics, but she said his breath smelled foul so infection was likely. He only needed critical care about a week after the second procedure before he started eating everything on his own again.

5) Unsure.

Unfortunately, Eli passed away about a month after his second procedure. He was having trouble gaining all of his weight back so we started supplementing his diet with the critical care. He was a happy boy up until his final day, when he seemed to be in a highly irritable mood. He had experienced moody moments in the past, so we mistook this as one of those and let him be for the night with an extra blanket, etc.. We woke up the next morning to find him dead. He was only three and a half. We're still devastated and not sure what happened, but my guess would be the meds were too much on his heart, paired with the weight loss despite critical care upkeep. He was also grieving the passing of his cage mate during all of this.

He was a Petco cavy.

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mmeadow
Supporter 2004-2022

Post   » Mon Feb 20, 2017 12:02 pm


Not malocclusion related, but I don't want to start a new thread.

I gave everyone their nail trim and all-over body check a couple of days ago. Cashew has another lump. I suspect kidney (not ovarian because she is spayed). Her weight is down a little and she's looking just slightly more bedraggled than normal for her. Her spleen tumor of almost a year ago was judged to be cancer (tests were inconclusive, as so often with pig pathology reports). I don't think I'm going to seek any medical interventions; maybe a checkup when I get back from a week away. Cashew's boyfriend Bo has outlasted a couple of other gfs already. I think soon it will be time to find another spayed sow for him.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Mon Feb 20, 2017 1:22 pm


Sorry to hear she has another lump. Hoping she can manage okay and is not in pain (I am sure you will be paying close attention).

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