Shoofly Posted November 1, 2006 Report Share Posted November 1, 2006 Anybody have a dog that had a tooth abscess that showed swelling on both sides of the face? Gael has what appears to be a tooth abscess but it's kind of weird that it's a little swollen and tender on both sides. She's been on antibiotics since sunday evening but it's not cleared up yet. I'm kind of freaking a little and just wondered if anyone else had seen this and could just tell me to chill and stop with the worst case scenario stuff and give the antibiotics more time... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue R Posted November 1, 2006 Report Share Posted November 1, 2006 Robin - Our old Mac had one side of his face swell up like a balloon but it didn't seem tender and he was able to eat, so we thought it was a beesting or something similar. It went down over a couple of days (probably drained inside his mouth). It came back a couple of times (but never so extensive and large) so we took him to the vet, and he had a cracked and abscessed tooth. It turned out that the tooth on the other side where there had never been any noticeable swelling, was also cracked and abscessed, and they were both removed. Perhaps your dog is in the same situation as Mac, with opposite teeth affected? Best wishes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silhouettestable Posted November 1, 2006 Report Share Posted November 1, 2006 Are you certain that there is actually a tooth abcess, or could she have gotten into anything else? Here's why I ask: Several years ago my husband had a hound that lived outside (as a side note here, that's they way my husband's family always kept dogs - hunting hounds tied to their houses - I've since banned that practise at our house). Anyhow, back then the dog in question did have an insulated house and always straw in the house as well. One year it turned out to be really crappy straw that had sharp awns in it. Didn't realize how bad it was at first though. The dog got a swelling on top of her nose that grew and grew and then popped a hole on the top. Out of that hole it looked like there were bits of something sticking up, so I got tweezers and started pulling and "threads" of straw were pulled out. Aside from the swollen nose she was happy and eating so every day I cleaned her face up and kept pulling out more. What I found inside her mouth was even more unbelievable though. On both sides of her mouth, back in by the molars she had long deep cuts in the gums running along side the tops of the teeth and I was able to again use tweezers and pull out chunks of straw bits. I couldn't believe that she had such a mess in her mouth and yet was eating normally, and the sides of her face weren't swollen either. When given fresh flakes of straw hounds like to push it around with their nose and sometimes take mouthfulls and shake it up. I can only guess that when this dog did that with her straw that the sharp pieces punctured into the gums and then travelled up along the roots and bony structures until they worked their way out. I've seen that happen with things like porcupine quills as well. Back when I was a kid I used to go riding at a stable near my cottage and they had a dog that went along on all the rides. I remember that for a while the dog was squinting and blinking and they said that she's gotten into a porcupine. The vet had pulled out most of the quills but was unable to get some and they said that the others had to work their own way out. I think that a few had actually travelled up behind the eye and were coming out at the eyebrows. Just since you mentioned both sides being affected, it made me wonder if it could be something other than an abcess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK dog doc Posted November 2, 2006 Report Share Posted November 2, 2006 I've seen tooth root abscesses bilaterally from having gotten a stick wedged across the roof of the mouth and putting pressure on (usually) both upper carnasial teeth simultaneously. I've seen that months to years AFTER the stick incedent, and I've also seen it within days to weeks of the stick incedent. FWIW. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muddy bob Posted November 2, 2006 Report Share Posted November 2, 2006 Hope you find out what's wrong. I've had a bad experience with three different vets telling me I had no idea what I was talking about when I asked them to remove a broken, darkened canine. They all told me that canines don't cause swelling where my dog had it. Nothing was showing on the x-rays. I asked for a dentistry and removal of the tooth anyway and they did the dentistry and left the tooth. I was furious. I went an hour away to Seattle to have vet number four look at it. One look and she agreed to take it out. She showed me the tooth and there was no root left to cause abcessing where canines are "supposed" to abcess. My dog was in a lot of pain and I spent hundreds of dollars due to their poor skills and not listening to me. I know this doesn't help you with you particular problem. But my point is don't be afraid to get a different vet's opinion if things don't clear up soon. I hope you get this sorted. muddy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shoofly Posted November 2, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 2, 2006 Thanks for the well wishes. I'm going to keep her on the antibiotics and have an appointment with my vet to follow up on tuesday. It sure is weird though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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