Home Remedy for Dog Tooth Situation

Updated on March 07, 2013
L.M. asks from Hicksville, NY
8 answers

Hi I sent a private message to DVMMOM too...but I was hoping maybe one of you or more have had this issue and dealt with it - my 10 year old dachsund mutt has gum disease I think. We just noticed blood on our bedspread, and after checking into both of my dogs, I found it was coming from her, and she has a very swollen, red and slightly bloody gum in the front of her mouth.

I called both my vet and another clinic and it will cost hundreds of dollars to get her examined and then clean the teeth etc. I cannot afford this!!

Has anyone had any luck with at home care in this case?

Thank you.

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So What Happened?

Thank you ladies for being kind and understanding. I found another vet who was willing to do an exam for $60 and then we'll go from there. I am taking her today at 3 pm so I will update and let ya know.

UPDATE:

I sent this also PM to DVMMOM:

Thank you! Ugh. So we went to the vet today - got an exam. They said she DOES NOT have gum disease - that it is a "mass" and that this could either be malignant or benign, they have no way of knowing without a biopsy. They said it would cost $900 for a biopsy ($100 for blood work, $200 for exrays etc etc total bill of $900). Then they said it would need to be operated on to be removed which would need to be done by a specialist - not in this office. They said it would cost $2000 - $3000!!!!

They said we could try antibiotics and see if it is just an infection of some kind (although they did not think so). But he suggested trying this as the less expensive, less invasive option first. So I got 2 weeks worth and he suggested I call them in a week.

I am a WRECK about this. We absolutely cannot afford this kind of expense...but she is my baby. I cannot decide what to do.

I think I will have to reach out to vet colleges in my area, as some people suggested and see what can be done...

I am so bummed out about this.

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K.B.

answers from Detroit on

How did things go? I did respond to the pm, but for anyone else reading, I recommended making a vet appt and then going from there - they should perform an exam and try to give an estimate for treatment. Bleeding gums usually means some significant dental disease going on and no home remedies are going to fix that. This is why we often recommend regular dental cleanings when there's just some tartar starting to build up, before it gets really bad and more painful for the pet (and more expensive to treat).

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C.B.

answers from Sacramento on

How far is your state's veterinarian college? Sometimes they offer reduced rates as they use it as a teaching opportunity for the students.

I would also call the local SPCA and ask if they offer any financial assistance or can give you the name of a low cost vet in the area.

If none of those ideas work, I would make an appointment with the vet and be honest- you want to try the cheapest cures first. Usually that would be antibiotics. Once the infection is under control, you can use the home remedies for maintaining the gums' health.

I switched vets because my old one always seemed to want to do the most expensive possible treatments. My new vet is more of a "lets try this first" type of guy.

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T.F.

answers from Dallas on

Unfortunately, home remedies rarely exist for gum disease in pets.

Once your dog has an issue, it quickly can get worse and effect other parts of the body due to blood issues and infections.

I know it is very expensive. We have 3 dogs and a visit for teeth cleaning and no issues run about $300 and up. The dogs have to be put under anesthesia in order to get a proper cleaning, pulling of anything needing pulled and get antibiotics. They also run a blood test before hand to make sure the dog is suitable to us anesthesia.

Offer to make payments, talk to different vets to fully understand pricing and see if someone will work with you.

I sure hope your pup gets better!

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R.M.

answers from Cumberland on

Tell them you will make payments or get some supplies at the pet shop and attempt to clean the teeth yourself-ask the vet for an antibiotic. Even hydrogen peroxide on a washcloth can be used to wipe off the teeth and gums. Don't use the same cloth twice. Only give dry dog food and no wet dog food or treats. Use bottled water like Aqua Fina or Dissani. There are also dental cleaning liquid treatments that can be added to the dog's water. People laugh at the way I take care of our dog-but it is so much cheaper in the long run-best of luck!

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C.V.

answers from Columbia on

Often, bleeding swollen gums are indicative of a deeper problem.

Please call around and see if you can find a good country/farm/large animal vet. They often seem to charge a lot less for dogs and cats than vets within city limits.

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K.B.

answers from Dallas on

L.~Two of our dogs had bleeding gums and their issues turned out to be totally different. Our greyhound's gums were bleeding from gum disease. Although we did have her teeth cleaned annually and brushed her teeth regularly, we were told that greyhounds had this tendency to have teeth and gum issues because of their special "racing" diet. Our greyhound came right off the track, so we were on it from the beginning. It was expensive and greys are anesthesia sensitive. I believe that is when we applied for a Care Credit account. We used this for our vet expenses. We always paid it off asap. Our little pomeranian was anemic and that caused the gum bleeding. The anemia can be confirmed through bloodwork, also expensive. But well worth it! Good luck....try the care credit...it helped us keep up with the pet vet expenses!

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A.C.

answers from Madison on

Your dachsund most likely has gum disease if the gums are actually bleeding. She needs to be seen by a competent vet who can assess her condition. Likely she'll need to take antibiotics first to take care of the infection and then after a couple weeks (the meds need to work first) she'll need to be put under so the vet can do a thorough cleaning of her teeth. It will cost something to address your dog's issue, there's no way around that.

If you call around to smaller towns around where you live, you'll see that the further you get away from a "big" town/city, the cheaper you'll pay for services. I took both my dog and cat to a small town that's about a 45 min drive from where I live when I had to have their teeth cleaned because the price I paid to have it done was half what it cost to have the same procedure done here in Madison, WI. Small farming towns, where the vets work a lot with farmers, seem to be the best bet.

I've had the vet clean my dog's teeth a couple times. The last time I was in with the dog for her check up last fall, the vet discovered tartar build up (she actually pulled it off--yuck!) and was concerned about getting her in for another cleaning. However, I took it upon myself to brush my dog's teeth with the toothpaste I bought at the vet's office and managed to get her teeth cleaned to the point they are white and shiny again (she hates having it done. I brush every 2 to 3 nights after she eats her supper, and we play a few rounds of ball catch/chasing as a reward).

I also feed my dog very well. My miniature Schnoodle gets premium no-grain/all meat wet food (I do NOT agree with giving a dog only dry food) from a can, only premium no-grain dry dog food (not much; half of a 1/3 cup, 2x/day, mixed in with her wet food) as well as dental probiotics, vit/min supplement, Krill oil, as well as a muscle/tendon supplement (she has a trick knee) and an allergy supplement (it's helped cut her paw licking by more than half).

If you're using tap water from a town/city water tower, whether you give your dog water from the tap or from bottled water, the dog is still getting the same stuff (flouride, chlorine, other pollutants). Only by drinking well water and/or using Reverse-Osmosis water will your dog have good, clean, no-toxin water.

If you do use R/O water for your dog, though, you MUST also give your dog a good quality vitamin/mineral supplement to help replace the trace minerals that the R/O system takes out of the water. This is vitally important, as I discovered after my Schnoodle became very ill and didn't get better, despite my best intentions. It was only after I ordered some supplements for cancer protocol (yes, she was that sick but did not have cancer) and gave them to her that she got better. Then after I started her on a daily vit/min supplement it dawned on me that all of us in the household--me, my husband, my daughter, the cat (he has Feline Gingivitis/Stomatitis Complex)--we were all taking a daily vit/min, except the dog. Now we ALL take a vit/min supplement because we all drink R/O water.

Yes, it is possible to do a good tooth brushing at home, and feeding the dog good premium food and giving the dog good supplements will also help (I buy the Dental Probiotics at an upscale pet store and all the other supplements I use for the cat and dog from vitalityscience.com), but first you have to "clean up" the mess/infection. Then after her mouth's clean and free of bacteria/infection, you can start doing daily/every other day of mouth cleaning/tooth brushing. In fact, I urge every dog owner to brush the dog's teeth. You'll help prolong his/her life as well as keep costly vet dental cleaning down or nonexistent.

I hope your dachsund is healthy and happy and has perfect teeth soon.

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R.M.

answers from San Francisco on

Oh, so that's what DVMMOM stands for. :)

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