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Old 03-08-2022, 05:06 AM   #1
Alishakins
Newborn Pup
 
Join Date: Jul 2021
Posts: 4
Default vet wants to extract hamster tooth, advice please!

Hiya,

I have a dwarf hamster who is currently 11 months old, she has had misaligned teeth her entire life pretty much and goes to get her teeth trimmed every month.

The last few days I noticed Misty was no longer eating properly or playing on her wheel like she usually does. She refuses to eat any solid food or even open up her flax seeds etc so I figured something was wrong with her teeth.

I took her to the Vets yesterday and they said it looks like one of her bottom incisors looks loose and the gum around it is red/inflamed which is most likely causing her discomfort. She has advised to get it extracted but I am waiting on a phone call to discuss further details. She also got her teeth burred down yesterday too.

She's been prescribed Metacam for pain relief in the meantime and I have gone out to get some baby food and have started to mash up some pellets with water so it's easier for her to eat.

Is extraction the best option here since it's causing her pain?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
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Old 03-08-2022, 05:53 AM   #2
Ria P
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Join Date: Mar 2019
Location: Wiltshire, UK
Posts: 7,103
Default Re: vet wants to extract hamster tooth, advice please!

You ask if extraction is the best option.

What's the alternative and what's the likely outcome if the tooth is left in place? I would ask the vet this question and then make an informed decision if you're unsure about whether extraction is the best option or not.

I'm inclined to think that it is but i'm not a vet.
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Old 03-09-2022, 02:52 PM   #3
Stanza
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Join Date: Jan 2022
Location: Essex
Posts: 354
Default Re: vet wants to extract hamster tooth, advice please!

Sorry to hear your hamster has always had trouble with her teeth. I am a new hamster owner so would probably follow the vets advice, if they think it’s an infection maybe it will clear up with some antibiotics? Wishing her well.
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Old 03-10-2022, 09:32 AM   #4
Alishakins
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Join Date: Jul 2021
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Default Re: vet wants to extract hamster tooth, advice please!

Follow up:

I went to her normal exotic vet today who initially used to trim her teeth before i found someone a bit more local. She took a look at Mistys teeth and one her bottom incisors is still red/inflamed, she also said it looks like the tooth is growing crooked.

Her painkillers have been upped by x2 and she's also given some antibiotics (baytril) just in case of an infection but it seems like it's just inflamation for now.

She doesn't want to go ahead with tooth extraction as due to the inflamation and crookedness it seems like it could be pretty difficult to do and a high risk of infection etc.

She will go back to the Vet in 7-10 days for further assessment, until then she will be on soft foods. She has become a little more active playing on wheel etc though which is nice!

Will keep this thread updated in case anyone else is going through something similar! Thank you Stanza and Ria for the kind words.
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Old 03-10-2022, 11:57 AM   #5
Stanza
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Join Date: Jan 2022
Location: Essex
Posts: 354
Default Re: vet wants to extract hamster tooth, advice please!

Poor little Misty, hope the treatment plan works and she starts feeling much better very soon. Nice to read she has been more active as it’s always such a worry when our pets are poorly. Best wishes.
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Old 03-10-2022, 01:12 PM   #6
Pebbles82
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Default Re: vet wants to extract hamster tooth, advice please!

Poor thing. It sounds a bit like human dentists - they don't like extracting when there's infection so give antibiotics first. After the antibiotics I would get it extracted - and ask about getting both extracted, She'll do fine with baby food and softened hamster mix. It can't be nice for her having to have the burring regularly. Is it the top teeth you're talking about? Our last but one Syrian, when older, actually lost a couple of teeth (the bottom ones) - I never found them. So he was on soft food after that.

Best option is baby food in a little dish - maybe a heaped teaspoonful. Regular hamster mix in the food bowl plus a bit of softened hamster mix in another little dish. Because they still like to pouch and hoard the regular unsoftened mix even if they can't eat it - eg like to keep their normal behaviours. You could also put out a pinch of hemp seeds daily on another little dish - they just lick those up and they're chock full of minerals and vitamins - to make sure they're getting enough.

I use the baby food lids as extra little dishes for the baby food, softened food and seeds.

For the softened food you could get some science selective, which is an all in one food - not good as a main mix as variety is better, but for a softened mix it's good as you know they're getting all the nutrients - and they like it - it kind of smells of gravy.

If it's a top long tooth I can't see how she can manage with just one remaining if the other is extracted and it's likely to break. Having them both extracted means she can grow older without all the vet visits for burring and enjoy the softened food and extras.
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Old 03-11-2022, 06:45 AM   #7
Alishakins
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Join Date: Jul 2021
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Default Re: vet wants to extract hamster tooth, advice please!

Thank you so so much for all the suggestions for soft food. At the moment she's been on mushed up Science Selective pellets along with some baby food. Her hamster mix has a variety of super small seeds which i've been scattering around her cage still so she has something to forage for and still gets enrichment.

The baby food lid is a brilliant idea too I will defo be using that, I am happy to say that Misty is at least more active in the night now and is exploring like she usually does. I'm just struggling for enrichment ideas as her flower forage mix i've removed along with her sprays as she can't open the seeds up

It's her bottom incisor that is inflamed, i'm hoping the inflammation will go down in the next few days so that the Vet can do a proper assessment to see if extraction is 100% required.

Will keep this thread updated.
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Old 03-11-2022, 10:58 AM   #8
Pebbles82
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Default Re: vet wants to extract hamster tooth, advice please!

Yes do update us. Do you have a photo of the cage - might be able to suggest some enrichment ideas. I worked on that kind of thing with our first syrian when he was elderly and couldn't have shelves any more so everything had to be at ground level.

I almost hope your vet decides to extract both bottom incisors - so she doesn't get pain and tooth problems any more. I'd ask about having them both out. I don't think it's a good idea to leave it there once it's been infected. It's likely to be a tooth root abscess (as humans get) and they just keep coming back. Extraction is the only way to stop it coming back.

Also it means she can have the anaesthetic for that while she's still healthy enough - if it's left too long and she's too old or not healthy enough for an anaesthetic she may then need to be pts.
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