Hi there!
 
I have a question on a topic I haven't faced.  My beautiful plump and plush
lady albino, Claudette Ladybird Pirahnette Poufay, Momma for short,
completely broke off her right upper fang - at the root!  it happened
between a week and two weeks ago.  I first noticed an indentation in her
upper lip and, as I started to show it to my husband, realized that not
only was there an indentation where the lower canine was jutting into the
upper lip, there was no right front fang!  (the reason the lower canine was
now cutting into the upper lip).  Fang?  Canine?  I think that's right.
Anyway, my GREAT vet loves me to run things by lots of folks.  She did,
however, take one look at where the tooth was broken off (at the gumline;
it's no longer visible) and slapped my sweety on amoxicillin, saying the
root should come out soon as the area would be a hotbed for bacteria and
infection.
 
So Momma is scheduled for a quick surgery on Thursday.  I'm happy to have
the procedure done, but I haven't seen any sign of infection yet (it's been
a week to two, just a day since antibiotics started).  So, I'm just curious
if anyone else has had this happen and what the upshot was.  If you could
write before Thursday, that would be great.  See, I starting wondering if
there were any hard tooth surface left, if that would help her chew a little
(I'll call and ask my vet this Monday; I had three fuzzies in at once,
chasing one while it urinated to try and get a sample).  Momma Ladybird
hasn't lost a BIT of weight, and still happily displays her round pink tummy
like a prize.
 
As to how it happened, I have no idea.  Momma is very timid and lost a
litter of kits, her second and final litter, including her one surviving kit
at six months, to neural tube birth defects.  She was also spayed soon
after, but she went from a gutsy, sassy lass, to a timid, shy lady (she
really cried the night her kit Squeek first fell very ill).  She now gets
chased a lot, even by our wimp Petey!, though I always rescue her.  (Thank
goodness she has her little runt Minnie from her first litter to play with -
really wonderful to watch).  She doesn't see very well either out of her
beautiful cherry-red eyes.  She could have been chased into a wall (she
flees beneath my cedar chest), or perhaps off my bed.  I keep a pretty close
eye on my seven fur kids, but sometimes stuff happens.  I was brokenhearted
to see her this way, especially as her other fang is already chipped near
the bottom (never caused her any problem).  She is eating fine, and the
indentation in her upper lip seems to be healing over.  She does a little
chewy thing where the tooth was, sort of like my sweet old dad does when he
takes out his dentures :)
 
Anyway, please let me know soon if you have any ideas.
 
Oh, by the way.  I was worried that she would be even more defenseless, but
she adores (or hates) toes and the other morning I was pleased to find that
she has teeth enough left to make me dance!
 
Thanks,
 
Lynn and the seven fur pirates (watching our remembered furry
star-pushers in the glinting night skies...)
[Posted in FML issue 2310]