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abscess on tooth root

bubblerawk

New Kit
Hi everyone,
im new here.
i have a nearly 3 year old french lop called Stan.
in july this year he had an operation to have his teeth shaven down.
he went for a check up yesterday and we found he had an abscess on his tooth root, the vet got the puss out and hes on medication and he needs to be seen next week.
i was told that these are hard to treat in rabbits and it could end up with him having to be put down. i was in tears yesterday and ive come for some information and advice on this.

thanks

Helen
 
Tooth root abscesses are common, sadly and are part of progressive Dental Disease

They require aggressive treatment from the outset. This nearly always involves surgical removal, not just draining of pus. Skull radiographs are useful to assess the extent of boney involvement (osteomyelitis). The results of radiographs will aid the Vet in giving a prognosis and also in the choice of antibiotic therapy. The most common antibiotic used for Rabbits is Baytril. BUT Baytril alone is seldom very helpful in the treatment of tooth root abscesses, especially if osteomyelitis is involved. Taking a swab from the abscess wall would enable the exact bacteria involved to be identified and thus the most appropriate antibiotic treatment can be prescribed. The swab needs to be taken from the abscess wall not just the pus, which may be sterile and thus not provide any useful information.

Good pain relief is an essential part of treatment. Metacam is a non steroidal anti-inflammatory which is well tolerated in Rabbits and can be given orally or via injection.

If additional analgesia is needed, as may be the case in the first few days after surgery, an opiate such as Vetergesic can be given.

Post surgical nursing care may also include assisted feeding (syringe feeding) as the Rabbit may be anorexic due to pain and general stress. Fluid therapy (subcutaneous) may also be beneficial. Medication to keep the Rabbit's GI tract working may also be required initially as the possible complication of post surgical gut stasis is something which always needs to be kept in mind.

The Rabbit may require assistance in cleaning him/herself and the surgical wound may also need attention, the Vet should give specific instructions about this.

Whilst tooth root abscesses are serious, they are not all necessarily an immediate death sentence. Some Rabbits are able to have a good quality of life even with a chronic tooth root infection. However, the condition is often progressive and in time it may be that treatment is futile and PTS is necessary to prevent suffering. But as I say, PTS does NOT have to be the first option.

I hope that your Rabbit is able to enjoy some more time with you and that his abscess can be controlled with treatment xx
 
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We went back to the vet's today and his abscess has got bigger since monday when we went.
the vet is talking about having him put to sleep. is this the best thing for him
i dont know what i will do without him
 
Jane's post is excellent.

Try to find a vet who has a lot of experience with rabbits. The abscess needs to be removed with surgery as a whole item. Then the usual first treatment is penicillin injections.

I have two rabbits who have had abscesses in their tooth roots. Grimlock had two in his incisors and they were treated two years ago and he is doing fine. Samus had one removed two weeks ago and is still on treatment.

You need painkillers and to ask about penicillin injections. Never be scared to get a second opinion. Rabbits are exotic pets so not all vets know a lot about them. If you let us know what area you live in someone on the forum might be able to suggest a good vet.

Wishing you lots of luck.
 
i live in derby,
all my pets go to companion care at pets at home in derby.

we are seeing a senior vet on Monday, they are going to have an xray to see if its in the bone.
im so scared they will put him to sleep, ive just cried all day :cry:.
the vet said that since he has a tooth problem, he will always have a tooth problem.
he is on antibiotics but the vet said they didnt work as the abscess just got bigger.
 
i live in derby,
all my pets go to companion care at pets at home in derby.

we are seeing a senior vet on Monday, they are going to have an xray to see if its in the bone.
im so scared they will put him to sleep, ive just cried all day :cry:.
the vet said that since he has a tooth problem, he will always have a tooth problem.
he is on antibiotics but the vet said they didnt work as the abscess just got bigger.

They cannot put him to sleep unless you say so.
He might have ongoing problems but there are other ways to treat them. I'll make a thread to see if anyone knows any really good vets. Otherwise you can ask your vet to confer with an expert.
 
thank you so much

my boyfriend is very upset and he seems to think the best thing to do is to put him to sleep because he doesnt want to see him in any pain.
wereas im selfish :(
the vet has suggested going through with the appointment on monday were we can see how bad this is, but my boyfriend doesnt want to put him through this just to have him put to sleep later on.
there must be something they can do.
it worries me though how the abscess got bigger in 5 days. the vet didnt get to drain all the puss out though and we were unable to drain it, im not sure if this was why it got bigger.
 
thank you so much

my boyfriend is very upset and he seems to think the best thing to do is to put him to sleep because he doesnt want to see him in any pain.
wereas im selfish :(
the vet has suggested going through with the appointment on monday were we can see how bad this is, but my boyfriend doesnt want to put him through this just to have him put to sleep later on.
there must be something they can do.
it worries me though how the abscess got bigger in 5 days. the vet didnt get to drain all the puss out though and we were unable to drain it, im not sure if this was why it got bigger.

At the end of the day he is your rabbit and only you can know what's best for him. If you think it's best to end it then do that and because you love your rabbit you will have done the right thing. There are things that can be done, like I said there are the penicillin injections and there are other treatments too like using manuka honey, but I'm not there so I can't say if they will definitely work for your bun. It sounds like a horrible abscess. :(

Rabbit abscesses are very different from ones we, or cats and dogs, get. They are enclosed in a 'wall' that the rabbit's body makes so it's very hard for antibiotics to get to them. The best way is to remove the abscess in its sack in one go, like removing a tumour, but with a tooth root abscess they are often on the bone. My vet actually had to remove some of Samus' jaw bone to get the whole abscess. :( With Grimlock the infection was right in the jaw, my vet removed what she could and we used the penicillin injections with him. Grimlock recovered fully, Samus I don't know yet. Abscesses in rabbits are really horrible. :(

I've made a thread in rabbit chat asking for a good rabbit vet, but you could also look on Google or a phone book to see if there are any exotic vets near you and get a second opinion. Follow your gut instinct. Wishing you both loads of luck.
 
at the moment they are unsure if it is on the tooth root.
me and my boyfriend have just drained the abscess as we were told to do so.
he is still eating normally (he is on a diet at the moment though)
ive been reading things online about rabbit abscess most dont talk about putting the bun to sleep.
i hope we can fix this and im not just kidding myself
thank you for your help
 
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