We have seen the vet far more than I intended this year already, and it is only February 13th!
Some of you may remember that Ben had colic on New Years Day (typically in the middle of the night). I then asked my vet to come and check his teeth the following week. He found a hole in a tooth and referred him to the specialist dentist. We were there yesterday and Ben had 2 root canal fillings on either side of his mouth. The dentist said that his teeth were not sharp but were slanted as he favours eating on one side. The x-ray showed a suspicious shadow above his sinus and was interested to know if he frequently had a snotty nose, which he doesn't. This shadow could be something or nothing. If it is causing him pain or pressure it may account for the slanted teeth and the way he prefers to eat on one side. So the plan is to bring him back in 6 months to do the x-rays again, monitor any changes in this shadow and see if his teeth have become more slanted in that time. He also has pretty bad gum disease in his whole mouth. His could be a sign of cushings disease so he is being tested for that in a couple of weeks (they couldn't do it yesterday due to the sedation). In the meantime they have ordered a mouth wash for me to rinse his mouth out every day. That will be interesting as I know he won't like it!
My over riding thought in all this is that I am extremely grateful that I didn't cancel my insurance! I may well have multiple claims to put through as there are a number of conditions which could result from this but thankfully all his exclusions are due to arthritis, stifle and back conditions, so I can't see a reason for any rejections. I have mixed feelings about it all, he is still happy and I can still continue to exercise him in walk and trot (his trot work is coming on so well). But at the same time I think how much more can he take? I'm trying to not be worried about the shadow but it's hard to not let my imagination run away with me as I automatically think it is a growth of some kind.
Some of you may remember that Ben had colic on New Years Day (typically in the middle of the night). I then asked my vet to come and check his teeth the following week. He found a hole in a tooth and referred him to the specialist dentist. We were there yesterday and Ben had 2 root canal fillings on either side of his mouth. The dentist said that his teeth were not sharp but were slanted as he favours eating on one side. The x-ray showed a suspicious shadow above his sinus and was interested to know if he frequently had a snotty nose, which he doesn't. This shadow could be something or nothing. If it is causing him pain or pressure it may account for the slanted teeth and the way he prefers to eat on one side. So the plan is to bring him back in 6 months to do the x-rays again, monitor any changes in this shadow and see if his teeth have become more slanted in that time. He also has pretty bad gum disease in his whole mouth. His could be a sign of cushings disease so he is being tested for that in a couple of weeks (they couldn't do it yesterday due to the sedation). In the meantime they have ordered a mouth wash for me to rinse his mouth out every day. That will be interesting as I know he won't like it!
My over riding thought in all this is that I am extremely grateful that I didn't cancel my insurance! I may well have multiple claims to put through as there are a number of conditions which could result from this but thankfully all his exclusions are due to arthritis, stifle and back conditions, so I can't see a reason for any rejections. I have mixed feelings about it all, he is still happy and I can still continue to exercise him in walk and trot (his trot work is coming on so well). But at the same time I think how much more can he take? I'm trying to not be worried about the shadow but it's hard to not let my imagination run away with me as I automatically think it is a growth of some kind.
