Medication post teeth filing

[cucuzel]

Hello. My piggie had started eating with difficulty while still being active and generally in good shape. I took him to an exotic vet who diagnosed maloclusion and filed his premolars. The x-ray showed a bridge had formed over his tongue preventing him from eating properly.

What I’m actually concerned about is the medication the vet prescribed after the filing: gabapentin (for a month) and tramadol for 7 to 10 days. The piggie doesn’t seem to be in any pain and I have seen the numbing effect gabapentin had on my dog post surgery. The piggie is not eating by himself yet, today is only the second day after the filing, but he does still seem pretty active.

The x-ray also showed low tooth density, the vet prescribed vitamin c and another mixture of vitamins for children.

Could anyone tell me if I should give him the pain killers and if there is a solution to increase tooth density?
Thank you.

[Lynx]

I believe both of the medications should help with pain. Guessing that you may have to monitor to make sure it is helping but not knocking him out (I may be thinking of buponephrin). Read all the advice on the pain page, especially links to Talishan's pain advice, for a better understanding of pain management.
https://www.guinealynx.info/pain.html

Multivitamins can cause a buildup of fat soluble vitamins which may actually cause new problems. The vitamin C should help (it is water soluble).

Are you hand feeding? Most hand feeding formulas have added vitamins and minerals too.
https://www.guinealynx.info/handfeeding.html

[cucuzel]

I had another conversation with the vet who said that gabapentin is also supposed to help with his dental issues. I am also hand feeding Critical Care. I was looking for some supplements that might help to prevent dental problems.

[Lynx]

I don't recall running across any supplements for dental problems but perhaps you could chop some fresh grass and add it to the Critical Care in hopes he would eat and chew a bit more?

[cucuzel]

He gets fresh grass all the time, from spring till fall. Normally he’s very excited about it. I chopped up some grass into his Critical Care, he didn’t appreciate it. I had to fight him :). He’s starting to eat a liitle bit, but mostly new, exciting stuff like broccoli which he doesn’t get very often. I also stopped the tramadol as he doesn’t seem to be in any pain and there’s no change in behaviour. I’ll keep on feeding him vitamin c. I hope he’s on his way to a comeback. 😀
Thank you for your kind advice.

[Lynx]

It sounds like you have a plan. If he always has fresh grass available, that should help. I don't know if you recall reading some members using hay that has been soaked in water - it seems to be popular with some guinea pigs. One might soak a small bit and leave it out for an hour or two - removing it so any mold that might start forming isn't eaten.

You are very observant - this helps greatly.

[cucuzel]

Wednesday will be 2 weeks since his molar filing. He started eating everything except hay. He won’t touch the timothy so I gave him orchard hay which is thinner, still he ignores it. I’m still feeding him Critical Care which he enjoys greatly. His stool is soft which concerns me. Should it take so long for him to fully recover?

[Lynx]

Each guinea pig seems to be different. It may be the specific issue, how the molar planing/clipping was done.

I hope you see success, Try the soaked hay I mentioned above. Good luck to you both!

[Talishan]

Ditto Lynx.

Critical Care can result in some soft-ish stools. Don't be too concerned about that unless they get really mucky.

Best to him and to you.

[cucuzel]

Thank you. I stopped hand feeding, he’s still not eating hay. I am also alternating timothy and orchard hay. He gets fresh grass everyday, he might prefer it to the hay. I hope that’s a good explanation.

[Lynx]

Fresh grass is great! Somehow I think not quite as abrasive as hay but still helpful. Thanks for the update.

[cucuzel]

Update. My piggie finally started eating hay. Back to his former self. I noticed an inquiry on one of my pigs on a different topic. It eas the same pig, same problem after a filing. He seems to have an issue with one of his premolars that grows abnormally and presses against the tea[r] duct. So his problem reappears every 6 months or so. It took him two weeks to bounce back the last time, this time one month. We’re just happy he’s ok now. Cheers.