Our 12 yr. old Fox Terrier has severe teeth problems

[Sugarcoated]

His breath is godawful, but that's the least of our worries. He won't let us brush his teeth, he fights it, probably because he's in pain. We put him on antibiotics which seemed to beat the infection, then had the vet clean his teeth. This involves an overnight stay and $170. He was good for awhile, but he still wouldn't let us brush him so it came back.

The vet says the best options are quarterly overnight stays for cleanings a year, or a monthly dose of antibiotics. The meds just don't seem to be working anymore. We give him soft food, but he still seems like it pains him to eat. He flinches when we touch his mouth area and is generally not looking well. He's been a little stiff getting up from laying down in his old age, but it seems to be getting worse as well. Tonight he's been crying randomly when he gets up, or other times, little yips. Could this be from the infection?

I can't even pay the electric bill let alone afford a cleaning every 3 months. In one of our many visits to the vet I vaguely remember him saying an option is to pull the teeth. Of course I dismissed this idea completely at the time, it seemed ridiculous. But now I'm actually wondering if it would be a more humane option. He wouldn't be in pain 24/7 with a chronic, and possibly worsening, infection.

His name is Pete, btw and he's a nice old bloke. I'm feeling terrible about this. Does anyone have any similar situations or options that I'm not aware of?

[blaze]

1. Oh man

I'm sorry you're dealing with this.

I had a pup, probably about the same age as yours, who had a number of teeth pulled, and it took forEVER to stop bleeding. I had to stay up with him all night on the kitchen floor because every time he would get up, it would start bleeding again. I just had to calm him down and force him to lay back down... It *did* eventually heal, but MAN that was a long, worrisome night. He never did yip or cry, but I think that probably varies from critter to critter. (I have a dog right now that yelps bloody murder if I catch a knot in her fur when I'm brushing her :eyes: )

Tough call on what to do. Only you and your heart can lead you to the right decision. I don't envy your position, but I certainly understand. :hug:

[Sugarcoated]

2. Thanks blaze

My husband's company may go on strike in a week or two . . . we have to hang on to every penny. These are tough times, I can't even afford a vet visit.

[Dangerously Amused]

3. If your vet recommends it, pulling the teeth sounds like a good solution.

I know of cats who needed to have all of their teeth pulled, and they did fine with it.

Have you talked to your vet about setting up a payment plan? Especially in this economic downturn, I highly doubt that you would be the first client to approach him/her with this request. I know that my vet is very aware of people's worsening financial situations and would rather see pets getting necessary medical care, even if the payments are made via payment plan, than see pets go without.

Alternately, is there any good or service you could offer to your vet in exchange for full or partial payment of the bill? Could you clean the office, or do some of the billing, or run errands... or heck, even clean or landscape his/her house, or babysit, or anything at all like that? Maybe make a list of anything and everything you could do before you approach him/her with that idea.

Good luck.

[flvegan]

7. Agreed with everything you said.

[InvisibleTouch]

4. Bad teeth can lead to a whole host of other problems in the body.

If his teeth are infected, that infection can travel to other organs and really cause major problems. My first dog, way back when, ended up with heart problems and reproductive system problems from her bad teeth, and nearly died. She made it through that, had almost all teeth pulled, and lived to be 17. From what I know now, her tooth problems were caused by the diet we had her on, in well-meaning ignorance: mostly soft canned food. If your guy's teeth are already so bad that it hurts him to chew food, it's likely too late to put him on food that he has to chew that will clean his teeth (hard kibble isn't actually all that effective, but raw turkey necks are wonderful), but you definitely don't want to leave the problem unaddressed.

[Corgigal]

5. Happen to Rusty the weiner dog

He was crying in his sleep so I took him to the vet. They found 4 teeth that just had to be removed. He's an old man but we went through the surgery well and he's no longer in pain and feeding well. Cost about 400 dollars for the surgery and the painkillers and antibiotics.
Not only did I take away his pain, but I might have lengthened his lifespan. He has this surgery 2 years ago and he's 13 years old now.
Might not be a bad decision for you and the pup.

[Lil Missy]

6. I had a somewhat different situation, but it may apply here.

My dog had constant allergies and ear infections since the day I adopted him. His constant itching and scratching caused some problems that resulted in two surgeries over the years.

After 12 - 14 years of this, his ears became so necrotic they couldn't even get a look in there, and he was on alternating antibiotics every month. The vet suggested a surgery that would ultimately render him deaf.

I just couldn't do that to him, make him deaf, even though the vet insisted he'd be better off deaf than suffering with the constant itching and infections.

I finally came around and allowed the surgery. I've had to make some adjustments for him being deaf, but he is truly a lot better off now and feels a lot better.

He's still skittish with storms because he can feel the vibrations. And 4th of July? I'm going back to puppy prozac next year. He can feel it, and it upsets him.

My vet allowed me to make payments, since I'd been such a long term customer. Maybe you could work something out like that with your vet too?

[Hell Hath No Fury]

8. My 16 year old cat...

had severe teeth problems. I had fought for several years to keep his teeth, including antibiotics, steriods, and daily sub-qs to counter the side effects of the drugs.

It got to the point everything I was doing not helping and he had increasing difficulty eating.

I finally had all but his four canines removed (they were OK and could stay).

It was the best decision I ever made.

Within a week he was eating completely normally again, no pain whatsoever. He stayed on soft food for the rest of his life and, most importantly, had a great quality life.

I highly urge you to go the same route with Pete -- he will be sooo much happier.

[Debi]

9. Our vet told us that it's better for a dog to have no teeth than to have teeth

that are rotting in their mouth.

We pulled three teeth on our dog (10 yrs old - cost $250.00) and he was a much much happier puppy!

[Sugarcoated]

10. Thank you all for sharing!

I think I'm feeling better about getting rid of his teeth. Hopefully it will be some, and not all. It's amazing how animals adjust and move on.