Deformed Jaw and Teeth Problems

The Rat Shack Forum

Help Support The Rat Shack Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Inutaru

Member
Joined
Nov 27, 2011
Messages
6
Location
Ontario, Canada
Within the last few months, one of my boy's bottom teeth began to grow at an angle, up into his top lip. I took him to the vet and he had surgery to file the tooth down and to see what was causing it to grow funny.

The vet told me that he has an abscess under his front teeth because his jaw is too small/slightly deformed. She informed me that there wasn't anything I could really do aside from bringing him in regularly for teeth clipping.

This is where my problem begins.

My bill for that one trip was quoted at $530 dollars, but when I paid it came out closer to $470. That being said, she made it out to sound like I'd have to bring him in every couple of months to have this done. He spent a week on antibiotics and pain killers.

What she didn't say was that after two weeks, his tooth would already be half way grown in with the same problem I had a few weeks ago. I understood that rats teeth grow fast, but I figured I'd have more time before I'd have to drop another 400 something on him.

This all being said, I'm 23, I live at home and I have three other pets on top of this little guy- spending 400 every couple of weeks on his teeth just isn't realistic for me to achieve.

I love smudge to death, but I don't know how I can keep this up, his tooth is in a way where he can't chew blocks to file it down himself- and I'm not comfortable clipping his tooth myself because I'm afraid of splitting his tooth and or hurting him in any way.

Is there anything I can do? Or will my rat have to live in pain because I can't afford to help him as often as he needs it
 
Where is Ontario do you live - asking because someone might know of a different vet

Please go see another vet that knows more about rats
If he has a tooth abscess then it is very dangerous and life threatening, imo (I am not a vet) a week on antibiotics is not going to be enough. Facial abscess need to be treated immediately and very aggressively, sometimes surgery is needed.
http://ratguide.com/health/integumentary_skin/abscess.php

As for the cost, that is insane. Most vets charge little more then the visit expense and the cost of anesthetic and I believe that vets use a dental burr to trim the teeth and some use anesthetic so that the rat is unconscious so they can do a good job

While it is not unreasonable to trim a rat’s incisors with guillotine clippers or cat claw nail trimmers due to the narrow size of their incisors, serious complications can arise particularly if the underlying cause is neither understood nor properly evaluated. Subsequently, both British (BSAVA) and exotics specialty (AEMV) organizations currently recommend the use of a high speed dental burr, ideally while sedated. Sedation and/or anesthesia reduces stress of the procedure in our prey animals while also preventing potential soft tissue injury from the burr in a conscious pet. However, depending on the vet’s technique, and the calmness of the animal, anesthesia may not be required.
The use of a high speed dental burr prevents the potential tooth and jaw fractures that may result from the unnatural shear forces exerted by the use of nail trimmers. Additionally, while trimming incisors is considered palliative as overgrown teeth are typically due to permanent abnormal changes to underlying bone or root structure, correction, if possible, would be best accomplished by correction of the underlying issue combined with frequent atraumatic shortening of the incisors to a normal length using a dental burr that forms the smooth tooth tips that contribute to the painless normal chewing and bruxing behaviors that may ultimately create a functional wear pattern.
Depending upon the growth rate the affected teeth may need to be trimmed every two weeks to every 2 months. Where a misaligned tooth is the result of trauma, the opposing tooth can either be trimmed till the damaged tooth has reached its proper length or removed if the overgrowth is caused by a missing tooth.
In the event of infection, treat aggressively with an antibiotic such a clavamox, and by flushing the infected area several times a day with saline.
For pain management an analgesic such as infant Tylenol or an anti-inflammatory analgesic agent such as: Metacam (meloxicam) or Banamine (flunixin meglumine) may be given.

Please see http://ratguide.com/health/digestive/malocclusion.php for more info as well as info on how to do it yourself - although that is not recommended because of the danger of splitting the tooth or the rattie's jaw breaking
 
Last edited:
Where is Ontario do you live - asking because someone might know of a different vet

Please go see another vet that knows more about rats
If he has a tooth abscess then it is very dangerous and life threatening, imo (I am not a vet) a week on antibiotics is not going to be enough. Facial abscess need to be treated immediately and very aggressively, sometimes surgery is needed.
http://ratguide.com/health/integumentary_skin/abscess.php

As for the cost, that is insane. Most vets charge little more then the visit expense and the cost of anesthetic and I believe that vets use a dental burr to trim the teeth and some use anesthetic so that the rat is unconscious so they can do a good job



Please see http://ratguide.com/health/digestive/malocclusion.php for more info as well as info on how to do it yourself - although that is not recommended because of the danger of splitting the tooth or the rattie's jaw breaking

I live in Burlington, Ontario; the main issue is that there are only so many small animal vets near me and the last ones I went to charged me $480 for check up for two rats, and a bottle of respiratory medication. The vet was also super icey and blunt, so I wasn't huge on going back there. I ended up at this place because his tooth had gotten bad, and they took him in same day; fitting him in on the end of a rabbit dental.

The fact they didn't have to set up is probably the reason why I didn't end up getting charged the full quote.

I'm not huge on clipping them myself, I can barely clip my dogs nails without being afraid of hurting him- and he's 62 pounds. I'll try to take some pictures of his teeth and post them. The tooth has already grown quite a bit in a couple of weeks and he's been pretty wheezy lately so I'm concerned that you're right in the fact he wasn't on meds long enough

Thanks for replying
 
One of my girls had tooth issues, and I had to bring her in to the vet every 4 weeks to get them trimmed. What I found was that the price for this varies GREATLY from vet to vet. The first vet I took her to charged $160 for a trim, the next suggested $30 per visit, since he knew I would be bringing her in so often. We just had to figure out the timing so that we got the teeth trimmed soon enough, so they didn't have time to grow into her lip and cause an infection. I know it's not exactly the same issue as with your guy, but I'm chiming in to recommend looking at lots of vets to get someone reasonable.
 
I'm guessing that your vet wants to see the results of the antibiotics with a recheck. He/she may want to change to a different antibiotic if the first on is not working fast enough. I do definitely ask around for a different vet. Those prices are outrageous.
 
Back
Top