One final update for everyone - Bug is doing VERY well. I think the removal of all her teeth, while extreme, was absolutely the right decision. Before having her teeth removed, Bug had several serious issues going on - the first being a major drooling issue. She would constantly have drool hanging from her mouth and in some cases the drool had blood in it. She also had an issue with coughing/hacking up quite a bit (at least 2-3x a day). Last, to be blunt, her breath STANK. Since having her teeth removed, all of these issues have pretty much gone completely away. We also feel that she is happier in general and even more active than she was before. As for her food, we have continued to use her normal dry food (Wellness) with adding some chicken broth to help soften it up a little. We then put it in a blender for a few seconds just to break it up a little bit. It took a few days to figure out the right amounts to use and how long to blend the food, but Bug is finally eating ALL of her food without much difference than she was before (it takes her about 5-10min extra to finish, but that seems pretty understandable after loosing all her teeth and also having her tongue issue as well). Last, I would highly recommend Animal Health Care Specialists if you are looking into finding a vet (or maybe wanting to try a new one). The staff there is amazing and the prices are amazingly affordable. As an example, Bug had dental work done about 6 months ago where she had her teeth cleaned, as well as 6 teeth extractions. The total cost for everything was a little OVER $1000. In comparison, the total cost for the entirety of Bugs dental work at AHCS was $250. Period. That included all medications, all extractions and even an over-night stay at the hospital where she was placed on an IV and monitored throughout the night. The staff was also very friendly and I received phone calls both right after Bug was out of surgery, as well as a couple of follow-up calls checking on her continued health afterwords. It took me 30min each way to get to this place, but it was WELL worth it. Thanks again to everyone for your well wishes!
Posted on: Mon, 06 Oct 2014 21:55:28 +0000