I have a question on teeth, and would be most grateful for any input anybody
might have.  My Paddington was found in Connecticut last year, and I adopted
him through the FML.  At that time, the vet estimated him to be about two or
three years old.
 
I've now had him for a year, and I just took him back to the vet for another
set of distemper and rabies shots today.  The vet confirmed his age by
looking at his teeth.  He also pointed out to me that Paddington's two front
"fangs" (the long, pointy teeth; are they the canines?) are discolored.  One
of them has its tip broken off as well.
 
This condition was already present last year when he was examined.  My vet
today speculated that it might be due to somebody having given Paddington
tetracycline when he was little, or might be due to a past injury.  He said
that since there is no sign of infection and Paddington eats just fine with
those teeth (including HARD Milkbone dog biscuits), that there is nothing
that needs to be/should be done with his teeth right now.  The only advice
that he gave me is to use an oral cleaning solution on the teeth once a day.
 
He gave me a small bottle of the oral cleaning solution to use.  It is
called Nolvadent, and is 0.1% chlorhexidine.  He suggested that I put two or
three drops of this in Paddington and Scooter's mouths once per day.  He
also said that it is safe for them to swallow.
 
Does this information sound good to everyone?  Does anyone else have
experience with Nolvadent, and any tips on how to make it more palatable to
my boys?  (We tried it on Paddington at the vet's office, and he REALLY
didn't care for the taste.  The vet said that the value of the Nolvadent
would be lost if I tried mixing it with something else, like Ferretone, to
make it more palatable, though).
 
Thanks in advance for any help you can give me!
 
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    |           |         Ela Heyn                   /
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[Posted in FML issue 1711]