Front Teeth Breaking regularly

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iain123

Post   » Wed Mar 21, 2018 7:46 am


Hi Forum

I have a 4.5 year old boar and his front teeth have bee breaking regularly over the last 9 months?
Not sure (due to memory) if its the same tooth each time.

Has created a bit of a crisis in the past ie not wanting able to eat/learning how to syringe feed.
"Needing dental work" to get him eating again/pick up his food/used to his teeth after they break the other grows too long.

Today a lower front tooth has broken again, why treatable?

He has a varied fresh diet and fortified (vitamin c) pellets (Burgess Guninea Pig Excel).
Fresh diet consists of lots grass.
Lives in cage so physical trauma limited and only handel by adults.

What is most likely the cause for fragile front teeth and are there any tests eg Calcuim blood levels that might reveal cause?

regards
iain

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Wed Mar 21, 2018 8:15 am


Is the tooth that grows back discolored? Any signs of tenderness or possible infection?

Sometimes if a tooth breaks, it takes one or two regrowths to get it to grow back properly.

Read over https://www.guinealynx.info/teeth_broken.html for some tips on what to expect. Do weigh him regularly (maybe get in the habit of daily).

Sounds like careful management of the remaining tooth/teeth, perhaps filing using a glass file, might help give optimum conditions for growing back well.

Perhaps you can give some spinach or other nutrient rich greens to supplement vitamins. Are the pellets fresh?

iain123

Post   » Wed Mar 21, 2018 9:39 pm


Hi Lynx
Thank you for the suggestions.
I Need to look more closely at the teeth/gums and eg note if its the same lower front tooth that breaks, which lower tooth grows too much requires the vet etc.
Need to keep better records.
However as He is my girlfriends pet and lives with her so i cannot give exact answers to all questions examin him immediately to report back.

His pelleted food (4kg) i believe is "fresh" as i bought within the last 4 months but i will check the pack date.
He is kept in the living room, so is under "close observation" all the time, what we are able to pick up on.

However i known he has always had baby leaf spinach every day, i realize spinach has its good and bad points with guinea pigs.

The teeth problem appeared to start about 9 months ago.
After he jumped (out of charcter) off the knee for the first and only time on to carpet.
He appeared ok at first after the jump, but a week or so later went off his food.
Had a number of visits to the vet to get his teeth right/eating/picking up food happily again.
It was noticed at one of the vet visits that one of his front feet legs must have been broken in the past (one of his pads is not normal).
Believe this break must have been due to the jump which was just before the teeth problem appeared to start.

However, maybe his teeth problem had happened before this, but had not been noticed due no observable eating problems?
As the eating roblem was only first observed a week or so after the jump as not eating/picking up food normaly.

We are now "very" observant (as in the living room) for eating problems, as he pulls faces when his teeth are playing up and cannot eat/pick food up as well as normal.

regards
iain

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Wed Mar 21, 2018 10:22 pm


It is possible his jaw or the root of the tooth was damaged. I would continue to monitor. If this continues, you may find it worthwhile to have an xray done to rule out an infection of the root or issue with the jaw. The teeth may still correct in time.

davidblackshoes

Post   » Mon Mar 26, 2018 3:03 pm


Our boar has had this problem for 4+ years now. One lower central incisor never came back. The two upper break off regularly but grow back (roots must not be damaged). We manage this chronic issue by observing when he isn't tearing his romaine and for the next couple of weeks, tear it for him.
He's almost six and so has weathered this for a good portion of his life.
He has other issues which I may post about elsewhere but this particular fragile tooth issue is very manageable and he's happy.

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cucuzel

Post   » Sun Jun 17, 2018 8:12 am


Hi. I’m having the same problem with one of my boars, only he’s only 3.5 years old. His upper incissors have been breaking, growing back and turning brownish for the last 8 months. He has a diet of fresh greens and vegetables, grass and hay. He has had a recurrent problem with fungus on his lips which was treated successfully. I can’t tell if the teo are related. He has never refused food, I just had to offer him strands of lettuce and vegetables.
And now his teeth grew back and starting turning brown again.

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