Success At Last

Misty's dental procedure went very well and that tooth is outta there!  Finally!

They let me take a couple of pictures during the procedure, but asked that I not post them online.  I'm not sure why.  Maybe because someone might think it looks like abuse rather than a veterinary procedure.  It did look rather Frankenstein-ish, but was fascinating to watch.  I think it is safe to share one of Misty's xrays. After all, I paid for them and they are not as disturbing as seeing a metal pin sticking into her sweet face.

First the dentist inserted a needle into Misty's jaw, above her bad tooth (#207), and took an x-ray to check the alignment.  Next she inserted a Steinmann pin, following the same path as the needle.  Another x-ray was taken and the pin realigned slightly, and another x-ray to confirm the desired positioning. I don't have a copy of the final confirmation x-ray.  After this shot the dentist chose to reposition the pin forward by about 2mm.  Since the tooth was rotten, the dentist was being very careful to aim the pin at the strongest part of the root to lessen the chance of the pin passing through the diseased tooth.

Then the dentist began tapping the pin with a metal surgical mallet, while her tech kept a hand in Misty's mouth, feeling for the vibration on the bad tooth.  It looked like the pin kept sinking deeper and deeper into Misty's jaw, when the tech finally said she was feeling the tooth move slightly.  The dentist switched places and felt the tooth.  The tech continued the tap...tap...tapping...and finally the tooth, root and all, dropped right into the dentist's fingers and everyone rejoiced.  Vets and their techs get really happy when procedures like this go as planned.  My local vet and her tech were there too.  Everyone got a learning experience feeling inside Misty's mouth, including me.  I've never had my hand inside Misty's mouth before.  It was amazing to feel her big teeth and the sharp point of the Steinmann pin still inserted through Misty's jaw and protruding into the huge gap where the rotten tooth had been.

The procedure took about 3 hours.  Misty was discharged a couple of hours later and spent the night at home in her pressure bandage.  I fed her soaked Timothy grass pellets when we got home.  She was very hungry and that bandage didn't slow her down one bit.

The next morning I removed her bandage.   She'll get her little pink stitches out around July 13th.  Until then I will be giving her oral antibiotics through a syringe and flushing her mouth twice a day with diluted Nolvasan.  Surprisingly, she likes the Nolvasan flush.  I don't even have to halter her for it.  She readily opens her mouth and lets me flush it 4 or 5 times with a syringe.  When she realizes I'm done, she tries to grab my container while I'm putting the cap back on.  Silly mare.

Misty is doing well and happy to return to napping with her good buddy SaraJane.  Goodness gracious those two princesses like to nap.  Must be nice.  I think we humans should follow their lead and take more naps.

Here is the official treatment report:

Misty was sedated with Dormosedan and Torbugesic, given anit-inflammatory (Banamine), and a maxillary nerve block was performed. Oral extraction not possible with missing crown. A Steinmann pin repulsion was performed successfully with radiographic guidance. The Steinmann pin tract was flushed with saline/dilute Betadine solution. The socket was packed with Metronidazole and Technovite packing.

Oh...you might be curious what something like this costs.  Me too!  I haven't received the final invoice yet, but the office told me it looked like it would be about $800.00.

Click HERE to see another Steinmann pin repulsion that is documented online by
The Academy of Equine Dentistry.