From:
sukiec@optonline.net
Date: 2004-09-10 22:44:47 UTC
Subject: RE: Abscess Tooth in 6 Year Old
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <5660903.1094856287680.JavaMail.root@thallium.smartgroups.com>
Age itself without other health considerations does not prevent surgery, but especially after 5 you want to be sure to do pre-op blood work (CBC with Chemistry Panel), and maybe even a chest x-ray (though for most we wait till after 7 to include that, too, before surgery in our family). Those tests prevent jumping into surgery when there may be a hidden medical problem which would make surgery too dangerous.
If the infection is from a soft tissue mouth injury and the root cause is gone then it has a chance of healing, but if the tooth root is cracked or the nerve is dying it may not clear up without surgery. (Even in something as large as a human these will NOT alwqays show up in imaging -- been there.) Another option may be that the problem is based in the sinus or in the bone.
Were skull x-rays done? If not, I think that they likely should be.
There are considerations with teeth that have roots that go into the sinus cavity and it sounds like this one may, the up and down sides of removal vs. root canal will need to be discussed. You may need to go to a specialist in veterinary dental surgery.
As usual, I am not a vet, just someone with ferrets in the family for 23 years.