From:
"Kevin Farlee"
Date: 2011-09-15 16:17:15 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] Re: Dental clean for ferrets
To: <ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com>
Yes, there are some regimes which can help prevent dental disease, but what
I see described is a ferret that needs dental treatment asap.
One thing we've noticed in the shelter is that there is a very high
correlation between severe periodontal disease and cardiac issues. Very
often ferrets coming in with nasty teeth will also have heart problems.
Conversely when the dental problems are taken care of, the heart issues
improve markedly in most cases. This makes sense to me as there is a proven
link between the two in humans as well.
One thing which may improve the situation somewhat is regular brushing
(starting gently). I use C.E.T. toothpaste, as it has enzymes which break
down the tartar, but any pet toothpaste would be helpful. I have found
Q-Tips to be very handy to use for the brushing. They're about the right
size, keep your fingers out of their mouth when they may be annoyed, and
aren't re-used, so they don't collect bacteria.
As to the immediate treatment, there are some vets that can do minor
cleaning (scaling, etc.) without anesthesia, however I suspect from the
description that more extensive work may be needed. At that point, a
talented vet can balance short-acting agents while monitoring the heart-rate
to safely work on even older cardiac-compromised ferrets.
Kevin Farlee
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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