# Teeth need to be pulled... What to expect?



## Beyond Trouble (Apr 20, 2012)

My 7yo cat Boo needs 3 teeth pulled and goes in on Wed. He already has lost 2 teeth from them falling out & has bad gingivitis. He never acts like his teeth hurt so I feel awful for how long he's been dealing with the pain! I didnt know until they told me today. He has just a bad set of chompers  

We have to give an antibiotic for 3 days beforehand and 7 days after. They think it will cost $450.00 and said he can come home the same day. They said he should be back to normal right away. 

For those that have had kitties get teeth pulled before, Is this true? Won't it hurt him to eat? What if something gets stuck in the hole where they pulled it? Should I give him cat milk formula until he's healed anyway? How long will it be until he is totally recovered?


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## laurief (Jun 22, 2008)

That depends on which teeth need to be pulled, how firmly they are still attached, and whether or not infection is present. I've had teeth pulled on my cats that were already just about ready to fall out on their own that were no big deal, and I've had teeth pulled that were such difficult extractions that they caused intense pain for a few days following the extractions.

I would not expect a cat having multiple extractions to be normal immediately afterwards. I'd typically expect a couple of weeks for the cat's mouth to heal. In the meantime, I'd feed canned food soup (canned food mixed with warm water) that the cat could lap up easily. I've had cats refuse to eat kibble for as long as a couple of months following multiple tooth extractions.

Again depending on the condition of the tooth and underlying gum, the vet may suture the hole closed following an extraction. My cat, Noddy, however, just had a tooth extracted last Tuesday. The underlying gum was so badly infected and mangled that the vet couldn't place any sutures, so it's having to heal as an open hole.

Laurie


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## Beyond Trouble (Apr 20, 2012)

Thanks Laurie! They look pretty bad and I imagine infected. The 3 teeth are his back ones. She said that they will take X-rays and clean them up to see if the 3 all need to be pulled. I think she said something like a chance of just grinding some down if the root looks ok and they get past the cavity. Not 100% sure if that's right cause my head was spinning from info but she def. mentioned something about a chance of just grinding some down. 
Ok so, cat soup afterwards. He eats that already. I was worried it could get all up in the hole if it's not stitched up.


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

Kobi had 2 teeth pulled a couple months ago...they weren't bad and all he cared about was that he hadn't eaten in 18 hours. He inhaled the first meal (half of what he normally gets) and then bothered me non-stop till he got more about 90 minutes later. Vet said to feed him canned only for 2 weeks which wasn't a problem because he eats mostly canned anyway.


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## OctoberinMaine (Sep 12, 2006)

Murphy had 2 teeth pulled last year. I don't know if your situation would be the same, but when they say "pulled," it may not be as bad as it sounds because they don't necessarily take out the root with it. Somehow they separated and removed the tooth while leaving the root there, so it wasn't painful afterward at all. Actually, the worst of it is that he got diarrhea for 2 months afterwards because of the antibiotic they had him on. That finally ended, thank you very much.


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## Tutubean (Jun 11, 2012)

Beyond Trouble said:


> For those that have had kitties get teeth pulled before, Is this true? Won't it hurt him to eat? What if something gets stuck in the hole where they pulled it? Should I give him cat milk formula until he's healed anyway? How long will it be until he is totally recovered?


You know, I never thought about the crypt of the tooth being an issue... Well, my Tutu had one of her upper canines pulled when we adopted her (they paid for it, also ~$400!!). I was never told to avoid feeding her at all. The gum area of the extracted tooth was not a gaping hole or anything. 

I never had any complications, except now she is a snaggletooth! Her upper lip now tucks under the corresponding lower canine. She started to get really raw in the area, but I just put antibiotic ointment there (which the vet agreed was the only thing to do) and now she just has scar tissue there so her snaggletooth doesn't harm her anymore.

She came home from the surgery loopy and searching for something that wasn't there, but other than that and the snaggletooth, no complications at all.

On more thing, I couldn't get her to take the liquid meds in her mouth so I just squirted it on her soft food (which is what she should be eating after surgery, not kibble).


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## Tutubean (Jun 11, 2012)

October said:


> when they say "pulled," it may not be as bad as it sounds because they don't necessarily take out the root with it. Somehow they separated and removed the tooth while leaving the root there


Was that what the vet said? It doesn't sound biologically possible considering they are a solid mass, nor probable since an infection can spread easily from crown to root without being obvious. 
Maybe in that case the crown was diseased and polished away with a drill while still leaving some crown covering the root? Because otherwise that leaves the nerve exposed and, well, that wouldn't be a happy cat. 

I hope they didn't do that to my cat... they said the canine was diseased and already pushing itself out (which it was), so leaving the root there would be a disaster.


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## Beyond Trouble (Apr 20, 2012)

Yeah, they mentioned about in some cases not pulling the root and just grinding down the tooth if it was possible and wouldn't cause further issues. It confused me but I trust my vet. They saved my other cats life 2 1/2 months ago.


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## Tutubean (Jun 11, 2012)

Ah ok, yeah, I knew they could grind down teeth (offered to do that to Tutu's lower canine to prevent it poking her lip, but that just means more anesthesia!)


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## OctoberinMaine (Sep 12, 2006)

His explanation about leaving the root was that the root grows down and attaches itself to his jawbone, so if you removed to root you'd damage the jawbone. I was just happy to hear that it wasn't as big a job and that he wouldn't have as much pain.


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## Tutubean (Jun 11, 2012)

ah yes, that's true in the cases of a mainly healthy tooth, at least. the root will be nice and snug and not at all easy to remove. I'm thinking this is why her lip is now always snagged under her lower canine, because the maxilla/nerve/muscle may have been compromised.


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## LaurulFeatherCat (Sep 16, 2011)

Usually when a tooth is removed, the body immediately fills the open hole with a gelatinous and dense blood clot to take up the space and to become a conduit for the scar tissue that will form to fill in the hole. The scar tissue grows in from the bottom up and from the sides of the hole in toward the center. The blook clot protecting the hole is very squishy and rubbery and does not allow stuff to cling to it, so usually there is no problem with things getting down inside the extraction. The complication to look for is a dry socket, which happens when the blood clot gets accidently removed. This exposes the nerve in the bottom of the extraction and causes great pain and also causes the cat to salivate uncontrollably. In all the times I have assisted with a tooth extraction, I have never seen a dry socket in a cat; and only one in a dog. It is mostly a human problem.

Your cat should do very well with slightly soupy food for three days and then soft food thereafter. One unusual cat the mobile vet had woke up from anesthesia and within two hours had captured, killed and ate a mouse after having all his teeth removed. Dr Stevens said he never saw anything like it before. The old cat had no side effects or complications after eating his mouse.


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## Beyond Trouble (Apr 20, 2012)

Wow this is great info! Thank you so much. I hope he feels a million times better after getting this taken care of. He is such a loving boy now & I look forward to him being even happier.


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