Posted By: Anonymous
How do you know a glider may have dental problems? - 04/03/04 12:54 PM
I pose this question because my rescue glider, Zoe has just been found to have a gum infection in her lower front jaw area. The infection was so severe, the bacteria actually ate a hole through the bottom of her chin without any type of facial/chin swelling being noted. The first physical sign I had that something was wrong was when I was trimming her nails and Zoe was crabbing up a storm. While she was crabbing, I noticed that her two lower incisors had developed a gap between them which is not normal. Examination by the vet showed she had a severe gum infection/swelling which was causing the gap between the two lower incisors. The vet was able to aspirate a large amount of pus from the infected site and Zoe has been started on an antibiotic for a 14-day period. It is our hope that after the infection clears up, the teeth will move back to their normal position. However, there is also the possibility that the two lower incisors may no longer be healthy and might have to be removed. We will not know until after the course of antibiotic treatment has been concluded and the vet takes an X-Ray of these teeth to see if they are healthy or loose/rotting.
Were there signs prior to my noticing the gap between the two lower incisors? I believe there were:
1) the constant crabbing may have been an indicator of pain.
2) despite being told by the prior owner that Zoe ate crickets and mealworms, she would never touch either for me. The only insect she would eat for me were waxworms. Why? because waxworms do not have a tough exoskeleton to them as do crickets and mealies. It was, therefore, less difficult/painful for Zoe to eat the waxworms.
3) When I took Zoe in 8 months ago, I asked her prior owner why she was feeding strained baby fruits/veggies as opposed to fruits and veggies in their natural state. I was told that Zoe would not eat real fruits/veggies so she substituted the strained type in their place. Therefore, while Zoe was technically on the BML diet, everything in Zoe's diet was soft. I changed this by providing real fruits/veggies and noticed that Zoe only ate them occasionally. The reason is believed to be that Zoe was already having periodontal problems in the lower front jaw area and was having difficulty/pain eatting anything that was not soft. Since periodontal disease can be a long, slow process before actual physical symptoms (redness/swelling of gums, gapping of teeth) are noted, the vet believes that switching from the strained fruits/veggies to real fruits/veggies exacerbated the periodontal disease and brought it to a head. We can only hope that it is not too late and that the antibiotic treatment was started in enough time so that Zoe's two lower incisors can be saved.
I would ask everyone here to note the early signs/symptoms Zoe exhibited and should you note similar ones with your glider, get the glider to the vet for a dental checkup to rule out periodontal disease as a possible cause.
Were there signs prior to my noticing the gap between the two lower incisors? I believe there were:
1) the constant crabbing may have been an indicator of pain.
2) despite being told by the prior owner that Zoe ate crickets and mealworms, she would never touch either for me. The only insect she would eat for me were waxworms. Why? because waxworms do not have a tough exoskeleton to them as do crickets and mealies. It was, therefore, less difficult/painful for Zoe to eat the waxworms.
3) When I took Zoe in 8 months ago, I asked her prior owner why she was feeding strained baby fruits/veggies as opposed to fruits and veggies in their natural state. I was told that Zoe would not eat real fruits/veggies so she substituted the strained type in their place. Therefore, while Zoe was technically on the BML diet, everything in Zoe's diet was soft. I changed this by providing real fruits/veggies and noticed that Zoe only ate them occasionally. The reason is believed to be that Zoe was already having periodontal problems in the lower front jaw area and was having difficulty/pain eatting anything that was not soft. Since periodontal disease can be a long, slow process before actual physical symptoms (redness/swelling of gums, gapping of teeth) are noted, the vet believes that switching from the strained fruits/veggies to real fruits/veggies exacerbated the periodontal disease and brought it to a head. We can only hope that it is not too late and that the antibiotic treatment was started in enough time so that Zoe's two lower incisors can be saved.
I would ask everyone here to note the early signs/symptoms Zoe exhibited and should you note similar ones with your glider, get the glider to the vet for a dental checkup to rule out periodontal disease as a possible cause.