Hamster overgrowing teeth - vet experiences?

[cypher]

I spoke to my vet about this peasypea & we agreed that especially in an older hamster the need for frequent anaesthetic with burring could really cause problems, it is a difficult one with the risk of fracturing the teeth but with careful clipping by an experienced vet & careful monitoring between clippings in case there is a problem still seems to be the best option, having them removed has a very low chance of success, as you say it is a very difficult procedure & the chances of getting the tooth out intact without causing more harm are really really slim.
Opinions are always going to differ a bit between vets as no choice is perfect I guess.

[peasypea]

Originally Posted by cypher

I spoke to my vet about this peasypea & we agreed that especially in an older hamster the need for frequent anaesthetic with burring could really cause problems, it is a difficult one with the risk of fracturing the teeth but with careful clipping by an experienced vet & careful monitoring between clippings in case there is a problem still seems to be the best option, having them removed has a very low chance of success, as you say it is a very difficult procedure & the chances of getting the tooth out intact without causing more harm are really really slim.
Opinions are always going to differ a bit between vets as no choice is perfect I guess.

Definitely, like you say its an individual hamster thing too because you have to bear in mind the age. Would be interesting to know actually if anyone has had a hamster tolerate burring without gas!

[cypher]

It would! I've never seen it done but I guess it would be a bit noisy & that would stress them out but I have no idea really.
There have been quite a few threads about tooth problems & no one has posted any experience of burring so far that I remember, I think it's all been clipping.

[Callum]

Just thought I'd update you all - those who have been following...

Smudge has received medical attention and was put under aesthetic before getting her tooth shortened. In the process all her other teeth that were damaged with a previous vet were all trimmed to align properly. She now only has 3 teeth - 1 fell out over the last 6 months. The one big tooth was cut and is now fine. She's just got back to her feet and is now resting for tomorrow

Really recommend Pets at Home's partnership with Companion Care