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Dreavyn

New member
Joined
Jun 16, 2022
Messages
2
Location
Stroudsburg PA
I have an elderly chin that for the past few months has just been problem after problem. It started with her teeth, fixed that, teeth issues came back but with a vengeance and while I was on vacation. I successfully had fixed her teeth again and she is back to eating normally and being her old lady self, but when I came back from vacation she had already drooled on herself. I tried everything I could think of but at this point I don’t know what to do. Her chin and her chest are all stained and she has started to lose hair on the chin and side of her cheek and the skin is clearly irritated. Is there anything I can do for this or buy to help? She is no longer drooling since her procedure, but it’s like every time I fix one thing there’s another problem and I feel so horrible.
 
Have x-rays been taken to check for root involvement? As well as were x-rays done during each filing to make sure they are still not becoming an issue? With chins not only do all their teeth grow but their roots can grow too, up into their skull and down into their jaw, and you can only file the crowns of the teeth, there is nothing you can do for the roots. Unfortunately with tooth issues there is no real "fix" (short of removing all their teeth which is NOT advised) once their teeth aren't lining up it's an ongoing problem that needs treatment of regular filing the teeth down for the rest of their life, either they pass away or you put them down. With luck you are still at the every few months stage (I can't tell from your post) and she is able to go back to eating her pellets and plenty of hay without issue and chewing on toys for awhile. Once it's to the point that she isn't able to go back to normal or back to normal for long before having to go back for another filing, it's best to look at quality over quantity of life. Is she on any pain medicine? Sometimes that can help if the roots aren't too bad yet. Even if the hair loss isn't from drooling anymore it could still be pain causing her to rub on things, but if the staining on her chin and chest is still happening after the filing it's most likely she is still drooling, just not as bad, and it's drying before you notice the wetness.
 
Have x-rays been taken to check for root involvement? As well as were x-rays done during each filing to make sure they are still not becoming an issue? With chins not only do all their teeth grow but their roots can grow too, up into their skull and down into their jaw, and you can only file the crowns of the teeth, there is nothing you can do for the roots. Unfortunately with tooth issues there is no real "fix" (short of removing all their teeth which is NOT advised) once their teeth aren't lining up it's an ongoing problem that needs treatment of regular filing the teeth down for the rest of their life, either they pass away or you put them down. With luck you are still at the every few months stage (I can't tell from your post) and she is able to go back to eating her pellets and plenty of hay without issue and chewing on toys for awhile. Once it's to the point that she isn't able to go back to normal or back to normal for long before having to go back for another filing, it's best to look at quality over quantity of life. Is she on any pain medicine? Sometimes that can help if the roots aren't too bad yet. Even if the hair loss isn't from drooling anymore it could still be pain causing her to rub on things, but if the staining on her chin and chest is still happening after the filing it's most likely she is still drooling, just not as bad, and it's drying before you notice the wetness.
We have not done xrays since it wasn’t suggested to us. She had her teeth trimmed twice now under anesthesia in the last few months. I’m guessing what you mean is the time between filings is just going to become shorter and shorter? :( The teeth issues just started this year and i know she’s had a long life without any big issues till now so I don’t want her end of life to be suffering. She was on pain medicine after the last procedure and I was syringe feeding her with critical care for a few weeks because she wouldn’t eat. She started eating pellets and hay on her own again afterwards. I’ll look into getting X-rays taken. Thank you for your advice.
 
Yeah unfortunately the time between trimming will become shorter. Something is causing her to not chew as much as she should, could be pain, could be a tooth shifted so they don't line up perfectly anymore, could be just simply not eating as much, but whatever it is unless she goes back to wearing them down fast again the problem isn't solved. I know it sucks, and is so unfair, I've dealt with it with a few chins over the years. You need to look at how long it takes to recover vs how long she is feeling good, so for example if it takes 3 weeks to get back to normal (which is actually kind of long, most only take about a week), is she then able to be a normal chin for at least a month or more before needing another trim? Keep in mind that during that recovery time she isn't wearing down her teeth, meaning they are growing (about 1-3mm a week, though in rare cases even more) without being worn down so she needs to do even more chewing to make up for lost time. Also another thing to keep in mind since you said she is elderly, so I'm guessing late teens? Anesthesia is hard on them especially older chins, the more often she goes under the higher the risks she wont wake up.
 
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