Teeth Space/Gap between top front teeth?

[RaginAzN]

I had just taken in a piggy that the owner did not want anymore. She looked fine when I got her but when I took her home and watched her while she was drinking water I noticed that her 2 front top teeth has a big gap in the middle and they are curving away from each other. I will have to schedule her a vet appointment tomorrow but was wondering if anyone knows what will happen exactly at the vet to make her teeth straight again? Are they going to have to break off the teeth and let it grow back straight? Any response is greatly appreciated, thanks.

 

[bpatters]

They may never grow back straight. Unless the owner knows, you may never find out if she ever had an injury to her front teeth that might have caused the odd growth angles, or if she was like that all her life.

The main thing I'd be concerned about is if she can use her front teeth to get the food into her mouth and back to her molars. If so, she'll be able to eat normally.

The second thing is whether or not her front teeth will hit each other as she chews and keep them ground down. If not, she may need regular tooth trimmings. These can be expensive, so if they're going to be necessary, you may want to learn to do that yourself. It's not something we usually recommend, for several reasons -- usually GPs don't need their incisors trimmed, trimming requires a piece or two of specialized equipment, and you'd need to be trained in how to do it. But over the life of a pig that needs regular trimming, you'll save quite a bit in dental bills.

If this vet you're going to see tomorrow is not an experienced cavy vet with dental experience, then I'd recommend that you save your money on this visit and find one that is. Most small animal vets get very little training in the care of exotic pets, and many will trim the front teeth so short that the pig is unable to eat by itself and requires hand feeding. There's no way I'd let a regular dog-and-cat vet touch my GPs' teeth.

Could you post a picture of her teeth? With top and bottom incisors showing, if possible.

 

[RaginAzN]

The picture is below, also when I was asking questions before I picked her up the owner told me that she was at least a year old but when I actually got there she looked to be probably around 6 month old and she weighs only 580g.

 

[bpatters]

They don't look too bad to me. I think they'll hit enough to keep the top incisors sort of worn down. The outside edges may need trimming, but all in all, it could be much worse.

Some pigs just have dental problems. Some can have very wonky teeth, or more than two incisors, or the incisors can split.

I'd definitely see a vet, but it's not an emergency, and it would be well worth your time and money to find a good exotic vet with experience in rodent dentistry before taking her in.

 

[RaginAzN]

They don't look too bad to me. I think they'll hit enough to keep the top incisors sort of worn down. The outside edges may need trimming, but all in all, it could be much worse.

Some pigs just have dental problems. Some can have very wonky teeth, or more than two incisors, or the incisors can split.

I'd definitely see a vet, but it's not an emergency, and it would be well worth your time and money to find a good exotic vet with experience in rodent dentistry before taking her in.

Thanks for the info, will be taking her in soon and hopefully something could be done for it.