Hamster overgrowing teeth - vet experiences?

[Callum]

Long time since I've posted on this forum. I think I need to start getting more involved.

My hamster has had an adventurous journey throughout her life with several 'big' visits to the vet to have her nails clipped, trimmed and teeth clipped too - whilst under aesthetic. She's also had the big cage change too, where I successfully moved her from a plastic one into a large wooden one where she now loves it

Problem is, the teeth problem is happening again. The previous vet that took care of her used clippers to snip her teeth to a length where they would take a while to regrow. Unfortunately, those vets have damaged my hamster's teeth to the point where she has really stubby bottom teeth and 1 top teeth really stubby. Her top left tooth is somewhat growing too long again which is what I need to keep an eye out for ready for when she needs to see the vet again.

I visited the vet again to have her nails clipped and that's when they noticed that her tooth was starting to curl into her mouth again - previous to what she had but worse.

They recommended me to have her tooth 'sawn' rather than clipped which would reduce the chances of her tooth shattering.

I'm just wondering if any other hamster owners have had this experience before? What is this 'saw' and how does it work? Does it hurt her and what is the outcome?

Thanks

[herbi7]

Not had this experience I'm afraid but wondering what sort of hamster you have and how old? Are her teeth misaligned? Sounds like you've had quite a problem with them.

[Fluffagrams]

Two of my previous Chinese boys had what they believed to be a hereditary malocclusion and needed their teeth trimmed regularly. One had them trimmed every two weeks because he'd lost his top incisors so they'd put him under sedation and would file his bottom teeth down with a dental burr. It's almost like a cylindrical file with very fine grains that is attached to a machine.

They told me that it would feel a little bit strange for my hamster but he shouldn't be in any pain and from what you've said it sounds like this might be similar to what they're planning on doing for your hamster.

[Callum]

Originally Posted by Fluffagrams

Two of my previous Chinese boys had what they believed to be a hereditary malocclusion and needed their teeth trimmed regularly. One had them trimmed every two weeks because he'd lost his top incisors so they'd put him under sedation and would file his bottom teeth down with a dental burr. It's almost like a cylindrical file with very fine grains that is attached to a machine.

They told me that it would feel a little bit strange for my hamster but he shouldn't be in any pain and from what you've said it sounds like this might be similar to what they're planning on doing for your hamster.

I don't want to say that my hamster has it but I'm sure its that condition the vet was describing to me..."malocclusion" where she said her teeth would need to be trimmed regularly. She trimmed so short in hope that we wouldn't need to trim them for a while. She managed to damage all three of her teeth but leaving her top one fine ¬_¬ so its now growing continuously.

That's the tool the vet was on about. A dental 'burr'. He said that he'd consider gassing my hamster a little but they shouldn't feel pain just a tingle like you would at a dentist filing your tooth into shape.

[Callum]

Originally Posted by herbi7

Not had this experience I'm afraid but wondering what sort of hamster you have and how old? Are her teeth misaligned? Sounds like you've had quite a problem with them.

I have a grey & snow syrian hamster, she's nearly 2 and a half but she's still active and healthy despite having several problems with her Nothing stops her.

Her teeth are broken almost - damaged - but the one is still growing normally.

[cypher]

One of my hams had this problem as he got older & needed to have his teeth clipped every few weeks, my vet didn't recommend grinding them down as it was something that needed doing regularly & would require frequent anaesthetics which is really not ideal, especially in an older ham, he did warn me that the teeth could break with regular clipping (luckily it didn't happen) but said they would just clip them back again if that happened.
Once you begin to have this problem you really need to stay on top of it so the teeth don't overgrow & cause pain or mouth problems, they grow slower in winter but you may still just have to stick with clipping every two to three weeks, if it is done regularly & they're kept in trim you ham should be able to eat normally or if not you can provide ham mix soaked in water.

[Callum]

Originally Posted by cypher

One of my hams had this problem as he got older & needed to have his teeth clipped every few weeks, my vet didn't recommend grinding them down as it was something that needed doing regularly & would require frequent anaesthetics which is really not ideal, especially in an older ham, he did warn me that the teeth could break with regular clipping (luckily it didn't happen) but said they would just clip them back again if that happened.
Once you begin to have this problem you really need to stay on top of it so the teeth don't overgrow & cause pain or mouth problems, they grow slower in winter but you may still just have to stick with clipping every two to three weeks, if it is done regularly & they're kept in trim you ham should be able to eat normally or if not you can provide ham mix soaked in water.

Thanks for that I've asked my local vet to book me in advanced to get my Hamster's teeth cut. To be honest it doesn't sound like a really bad thing, its as if its a visit to the vet but without having that numbing solution in your mouth. I'm wondering if their teeth isn't really connected to nerves as much which is why it constantly grows?

But either way I will always make sure my hamster and other pets receive healthcare regardless.

[cypher]

I've no idea how the nerves in ham teeth work tbh but my little guy was always quite relaxed having his clipped & it clearly didn't hurt one little bit!

[Callum]

Originally Posted by cypher

I've no idea how the nerves in ham teeth work tbh but my little guy was always quite relaxed having his clipped & it clearly didn't hurt one little bit!

Glad to hear She's booked in for an appointment this week. Hopefully she doesn't wriggle, but they've given me the option to gas her if this does happen.

[peasypea]

The problem with clipping is that it is now recognised to fracture the teeth low down. If teeth are fractured low down they can cause a lot of problems, however they are really hard to remove - if you look at an xray you'll see why. The teeth go really far into their skull and the surrounding bone is so thin that the jaw can just be broken very easily. Burring comes much more highly recommended. I know they do it in most bunnies conscious, however even if a hammy had to be gassed for a few seconds to do it I'd much rather pay that tiny bit extra for that than run the risk of fracturing the teeth and causing more problems. I was told this by 2 very good exotics vets!