Full Mouth Extraction?

daftcat75

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When is it necessary for extraction of all a cat's teeth? How would doing so affect their quality of life? What are the risk involved during and after the procedure?

Has anyone had to go through this before? If so, how old was your cat and what was it like?
I wish I could do an FME for Krista. She has resorptive lesions and every few months, her eating goes way down or stops altogether and I take her in for another dental and another round of extractions. Each time, the Dr reminds me that taking healthy teeth from her mouth can break her jaw. We just have to wait for them to go bad. That's the life with resorptive lesions.

Now stomatitis, on the other hand, I believe that affects the gums and basically all the teeth are going to be affected as well. I believe it is stomatitis that an FME is recommended as the best way to stop the inflammation and end the pain.

Krista's quality of life has improved every time if you count that she was in too much pain to eat before the procedure and can once again eat after the procedure. That said, some extractions were easier on her than others. This latest round has left her mouth so unbalanced (1 canine, a few incisors), that it's taken longer than previous extractions for her to get the hang of her new mouth. I want to say that without the paired teeth on the other side of her mouth, she's probably biting her gums with the few teeth remaining. I give her soft pate warmed up so it's easy for her to eat it up.

Cats who have had FME's (instead of Krista's piecemeal extractions) have great recoveries and usually return to eating whatever they want to eat without issue. For dry food, they never really chew it to begin with but they'll gum it a few times and swallow it whole. So in that respect, you may want to watch the dry food for a toothless cat. I couldn't tell you if bigger pieces too big to swallow are better or smaller pieces that pose no choking risk. Krista hasn't eaten dry food since her IBD started last year.

The FME recovery and outlook is good, and I'm sure the cats prefer being toothless and painless to having teeth and pain.
 
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Graceful-Lily

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daftcat75 daftcat75 - Thank you. Your post is very helpful. Felix also has resorption lesions. Had all the bad teeth pulled but in just 2 weeks time, a pre-molar and another molar are progressing so quickly.

I'm trying to figure out if it would be best to just pull all his teeth if his TR is progressing so quickly. I don't know what would be best for him.
 

Willowy

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I have a stomatitis cat who had FME (except for the canine teeth) about 2 1/2 years ago. He was about 4, maybe (he was a stray so I don't know for sure). Honestly it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, but also he was fairly miserable from the stomatitis so I guess anything would be an improvement. He was able to eat his mush (a special blend I made for him with Babycat canned food, chicken baby food, and KMR) the day after the surgery, and didn't seem to have any problems with the general recovery. He did need a second procedure to close up a fissure; I don't know if he pulled a stitch or something went wrong or if it was just one of those unforeseen complications.

Unfortunately he still has stomatitis and takes low-dose steriods. But it's definitely better than it would be if he still had all his teeth.
 
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Graceful-Lily

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W Willowy - 4 years old is pretty young. My concern is Felix's age and such. He's almost 9 years old. They said he'll need more work done in the future but if all his teeth are being eaten up such a short space of time, I don't know what is best for him.

I don't like seeing him in pain or suffering. It makes me cry my eyes out. The vet said he is perfectly healthy otherwise, it's just his teeth are really bad.
 

daftcat75

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I tell the vet every time I take Krista in for yet another dental because she stopped eating again, "take as many as you can without breaking her jaw. if you can reasonably get proactive, I'd prefer that to waiting for them to go bad." Krista is 15 years young with IBD. Every time her teeth act up, I have to play the "eat what you will eat" game which is usually at odds with her gut. So the sooner we get bad teeth removed from her head, the quicker we can get her back on a diet that agrees with her.

I would say that if you have a vet or veterinary dentist willing and able to do an FME without waiting for all the teeth to go bad, it's probably going to be less stress in the long run to do it all at once. Otherwise, please know that cats recover remarkably quickly from tooth extractions. If you have the opportunity to remove unhealthy and painful teeth, I wouldn't hesitate. The upside in a happier, healthier, pain-free cat is greater than any inconvenience a mismatched mouth might cause.
 
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Graceful-Lily

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I emailed them prior to the surgery and they told me that they never got it. When I went to drop him off, the vet wasn't there yet to talk to personally. So, with that, they went ahead and pulled out the bad tooth but didn't pull out the one behind it.

The one behind it also has a small spot but they kept telling me it's "fine". It doesn't look "fine". I don't know what to do now... They said his gums were just irritated but when you look, there is a tiny piece of his dentin is exposed.

I'm lost for words. They really messed up.
 

kittyluv387

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I'm so sorry. With this I think it's just time to move onto another vet. They clearly just do not care.
 
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Graceful-Lily

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I'm so sorry. With this I think it's just time to move onto another vet. They clearly just do not care.
He's so stressed out, he won't even let me near him. I haven't been able to give him his medication because he doesn't want to be near me. I look at his swollen mouth and I cry because all they had to do is listen to me.

What will happen if I leave the other affected tooth? I can't imagine putting him through this hell again.
 

kittyluv387

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It sounds like he has some time before he needs to pull that tooth (and others) out? And it understandably sounds like he needs a break from procedures anyway so it might be a good time to just look for a new vet. Just let him settle down and feel like his old self for now. His worst teeth are gone so I'm thinking you bought him some time.
 

daftcat75

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Or...

He could be aggressive or frightful (you didn't say which way his stress is going) because after all that, his mouth is still bothering him. Did they send him home with liquid buprenorphine? If so, try to ambush him with that while he's sleeping, squirting down at his gums rather than back into his mouth (it does no good if he swallows it.) I normally wouldn't suggest attempting to medicate a cat, especially a liquid, while they are sleeping because you don't want them to startle and choke. But you're not aiming for inside his mouth. Only between lips and gums. It's also a very mild taste so it's not likely to make him drool and gag like some other medicines. Another option is to get buprenorphine compounded into a transdermal gel to apply to his inner ear. This you can also do while he's sleeping. Try to get him on a pain schedule. I think when you get the pain under control, he'll be a lot easier to handle.

If you can't get medicine in him and his eating doesn't return to normal, take him back and insist they do it right this time. Argue with them about the bill. They didn't do the job right the first time so they should cut some line items from the next time and give you a break.
 
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Graceful-Lily

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It is liquid and it makes his gag and choke. He hates it. He isn't aggressive, just scared. He runs away when he hears me coming and goes into places where I cannot reach him. I call and call and speak softly and sweetly but he won't come out.

They didn't charge me for the second surgery but they still messed up... again. Twice is enough. First time, I gave them a pass because the owner of the clinic was apologetic about the situation (although, she still defended her clinic and said it wasn't her fault but Felix's "bad luck").

The second time, this is just too much - ridiculous rather. They said his gums were irrated but if you look at them, his gums are fine. It's a resorption lesion. The problem with him and this disease is that in his case, it progresses rapidly, which is why I asked about pulling more teeth but they somewhere didn't get the email.

I think I need to wait a good 6 months or so so that we can all cool down emotionally and financially. I'm wiped out and so is baby Foo.
 

daftcat75

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See if you can get the buprenorphine compounded into a transdermal gel. This was a difference maker with Krista. Not only is it easier to give and I don't have to worry about whether she swallowed it rendering it ineffective, but they can send me home with more of it so I don't feel like some potential criminal who can't be trusted with his cat's medicine. I can keep enough on hand for next time to keep her comfortable while we wait for the dental appointment.

Krista has resorptive lesions. Every time a tooth or teeth go bad, I ask them to remove as many as they can without breaking her jaw. They told me they can't do an FME with resorptive lesions because they can break her jaw pulling healthy teeth. I hope you get a good long time between now and the next time. But take him in sooner than later if you don't.
 
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Graceful-Lily

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Felix was on my mom's bed and we were both petting him. He started drooling as he always does when the pettin' is good. The sheets on the bed are white and my mom noticed a faint red spot where his mouth water fell. I checked his mouth and there are more affected teeth. It's only been a little less than 1.5 years and this thing is progressing so quickly. I think maybe I should have all his back teeth pulled. Only 2 are affected for now but knowing how its progressed for him in the past, I might as well remove all his back teeth. I'm wondering if the front ones should come out too? This disease seems to only have taken over his back teeth but I can't afford to keep paying $1,000+ each year to keep taking teeth out.
 
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