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Cat Forum / Health and Behavior / May 2004chipped tooth
Hi there, I have a 13 year old indoor male kitty who I adore. He's in great health. But at a routine annual physical today, my vet (who I also adore) noticed that the very tip of one of his canine (fang) teeth has been chipped off. I'm guessing that only about a 16th of an inch is missing. Maybe only a 32nd of an inch. She said that vets now know that even a small chip off a cat's tooth can reach down into the pulp and that this can cause pain and cause other serious problems. So she wants to put him under to get a good X-ray to see if the chip is, in fact, down into the pulp and then extract the tooth if it is. Yikes. It seems like such a tiny chip. My vet is wonderful and she knows how much I love my cats, so she probably sides on caution in situations like this. But maybe this is being too cautious? I don't want to put Tiger through the stress of this (and possibly unnecessarily remove a good tooth) just because one of his teeth has a tiny chip off the top. But I also want to do what's best for him! Any thoughts? Thanks! Brad > Hi there, > [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] > Thanks! > Brad I think your Vet's baby needs a new pair of shoes and business is slow. If the chip is as small as you say, I wouldn't bother. Your cat has at most only a few years left anyway. Could the chip cause infection though? If that is the case, I can see where some dental work might be needed.  SignaturePanther TEK: Staying On Top Of All Your Computer Needs! www.members.cox.net/catprotector/panthertek Cat Galaxy: All Cats, All The Time! www.catgalaxymedia.com > "Brad Stone" <brushyland@yahoo.com> wrote in message > I think your Vet's baby needs a new pair of shoes and business is slow. If > the chip is as small as you say, I wouldn't bother. Your cat has at most > only a few years left anyway. << If the chip is as small as you say, I wouldn't bother. Your cat has at most only a few years left anyway. >> Well, that's sweet. While I don't necessarily think Brad should have the tooth yanked, I certainly think "a few years" would be quite a good enough reason to have treatment done on an older cat. If the cat's in pain...if you were in pain, would it bother you if it was only for a few more years? Candace (take the litter out before replying by e-mail) See my cats: http://photos.yahoo.com/maccandace "One does not meet oneself until one catches the reflection from an eye other than human." (Loren Eisely) > << If the chip is as small as you say, I wouldn't bother. Your cat has at > most [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > have treatment done on an older cat. If the cat's in pain...if you were in > pain, would it bother you if it was only for a few more years? If the cat was in pain of course you would do something about it right away! You have me confused with someone who doesn't love pets. The original poster said the chip was so tiny, he never noticed it before. While I have great respect for Vets, it is not beyond the scruples of some Vets to recommend unnecessary procedures. There are people in this world who would spare no expense when it comes to their beloved pets including 25 thousand dollar funerals. Vet offices make billions every year on procedures, medications and foods not entirely necessary to your pet's life. Some Vets are more scrupulous than others. I myself spent thousands of dollars the last three years of my last cat's life on medications and medical supplies to keep her alive and well. I learned to shop on the internet and save a bundle over what that Vet was charging me. All I'm advocating is to use your best judgment, and don't feel obliged to do absolutely everything your Vet recommends. When in doubt get a second opinion. << All I'm advocating is to use your best judgment, and don't feel obliged to do absolutely everything your Vet recommends. When in doubt get a second opinion. >> Fine, I agree, it's just that, the way your post read,it seemed as though you thought it was pointless to spend money on a cat who only had a few years left. A few years is a long time... Candace (take the litter out before replying by e-mail) See my cats: http://photos.yahoo.com/maccandace "One does not meet oneself until one catches the reflection from an eye other than human." (Loren Eisely) circa Thu, 06 May 2004 21:31:26 GMT, in rec.pets.cats.health+behav, Professor (vze3vvj2@verizon.net) said, > I think your Vet's baby needs a new pair of shoes and business is slow. If > the chip is as small as you say, I wouldn't bother. Your cat has at most > only a few years left anyway. What an ignorant thing to say since you've not seen the cat. If you think this is a case of veterinary avarice, then recommend a second opinion, not letting the cat go on with what could be a painful, dangerous break. Cripes. Laura SignatureI am Dyslexia of Borg, Your a.s will be laminated. >My >vet is wonderful and she knows how much I love my cats, so she probably >sides on caution in situations like this. But maybe this is being too >cautious? I've had cats that cracked over half of their fangs off and the vet didn't recommend anything. I of course kept an eye on it myself and the cat didn't seem bothered at all. I'm not a vet. Could the chip cause infection though? If that is the case, I can see where some dental work might be needed. SignaturePanther TEK: Staying On Top Of All Your Computer Needs! www.members.cox.net/catprotector/panthertek Cat Galaxy: All Cats, All The Time! www.catgalaxymedia.com > I've had cats that cracked over half of their fangs off and the vet didn't > recommend anything. I of course kept an eye on it myself and the cat didn't > seem bothered at all. I'm not a vet. Could the chip cause infection though? If that is the case, I can see where some dental work might be needed. SignaturePanther TEK: Staying On Top Of All Your Computer Needs! www.members.cox.net/catprotector/panthertek Cat Galaxy: All Cats, All The Time! www.catgalaxymedia.com > I've had cats that cracked over half of their fangs off and the vet didn't > recommend anything. I of course kept an eye on it myself and the cat didn't > seem bothered at all. I'm not a vet. > cautious? I don't want to put Tiger through the stress of this (and > possibly unnecessarily remove a good tooth) just because one of his [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > Thanks! > Brad My thought would be if the cat is eating fine, isn't acting as if there is a problem, there is no swelling of fever, then I wouldn't worry about it. If there are any additional signs of problems, then start looking into the x-ray > > ... I don't want to put Tiger through the stress of this (and > > possibly unnecessarily remove a good tooth) just because one of his > > teeth has a tiny chip off the top. But I also want to do what's best for > > him! One of my cats has a chipped tooth like that. I asked the vet if it would be any problem and he said, "No, she has three other good ones". circa 6 May 2004 18:07:22 -0500, in rec.pets.cats.health+behav, Fat Freddy (howlin@damoon.com) said, > > > ... I don't want to put Tiger through the stress of this (and > > > possibly unnecessarily remove a good tooth) just because one of his [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > One of my cats has a chipped tooth like that. I asked the vet if it > would be any problem and he said, "No, she has three other good ones". Here's the thing, though- if the pulp of the tooth is, indeed, exposed, even a pinprick amount, then it is open to bacterial infection, which can cause not only serious pain, but can contribute to things like kidney disease as the bacteria is swallowed and spreads to the rest of the body. Have you ever had a root canal? Do you know why they do them? As I understand it, it's because there has been exposure of the nerve to infection and damage via the air and/or saliva. There are very, very few veterinary dentists out there, so a root canal isn't likely to be an option, but pulling the tooth before it becomes infected and dangerous *is* an option. Better safe than sorry, I'd say. Laura SignatureI am Dyslexia of Borg, Your a.s will be laminated. Could the chip cause infection though? If that is the case, I can see where some dental work might be needed. SignaturePanther TEK: Staying On Top Of All Your Computer Needs! www.members.cox.net/catprotector/panthertek Cat Galaxy: All Cats, All The Time! www.catgalaxymedia.com > Hi there, > [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] > Thanks! > Brad Sounds a bit extreme. I have a two year old with a broken tooth, and my vet -- who is a cat specialist -- has only commented on it casually at her annual exams. I am personally of the opinion that the pet tooth care industry has found a cash cow and is milking it for all it's worth. But that's me. M9 > Hi there, > [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] > Thanks! > Brad >Hi there, > [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] >Thanks! >Brad I have a former feral with a chipped fang also. In my case, the vet did not seem concerned about it, and I have observed no problems with it. If his teeth get bad and he needs a dental, I can see taking care of it at that time, but with just a chip that seems to be no problem, I'm not worrying about it (especially since my vet wasn't worried). I think your vet may be being just very thorough. Ginger-lyn > I have a former feral with a chipped fang also. In my case, the vet > did not seem concerned about it, and I have observed no problems with > it. If his teeth get bad and he needs a dental, I can see taking care > of it at that time, but with just a chip that seems to be no problem, > I'm not worrying about it (especially since my vet wasn't worried). I > think your vet may be being just very thorough. Shamrock has a chipped fang also. He did need to get a dental because he was already getting gingivitis, and when his vet did the dental, she put some sort of enamel sealer on the fang. Apparently it wasn't broken to the degree that called for extraction. SignatureCheryl circa Fri, 07 May 2004 18:42:00 -0500, in rec.pets.cats.health+behav, Cheryl (jlhshadow@NOSPAMhotmail.com) said, > > I have a former feral with a chipped fang also. In my case, the vet > > did not seem concerned about it, and I have observed no problems with [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > some sort of enamel sealer on the fang. Apparently it wasn't broken to the > degree that called for extraction. Wow, I am surprised at how many people have cats with broken fangs! Knowing how well all of you take care of your cats, I think I feel much less guilty about the fact that Jacob somehow chipped one of his. :-) Laura SignatureI am Dyslexia of Borg, Your a.s will be laminated. circa Thu, 06 May 2004 16:11:42 -0500, in rec.pets.cats.health+behav, Brad Stone (brushyland@yahoo.com) said, > Hi there, > [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > > Any thoughts? My cat Jacob has a chipped fang, and has for years. The vets checked it, and it doesn't go to the pulp, so it was never extracted. I'd let your vets go ahead and check the tooth, and if the break has exposed the pulp, have it removed. Bad teeth can cause serious health consequences in cats (and others, but that's another issue). Laura SignatureI am Dyslexia of Borg, Your a.s will be laminated. |
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