Gingival hyperplasia is the technical name for a condition where a dog's gums become large and inflamed. In some breeds this is primarily caused by plaque buildup and ensuing bacteria growth. It is often accompanied by super stinky breath.
But certain breeds are just prone to having this condition and by far the number one breed is, of course, the Boxer.
Sisko's gums have been overgrown for a while but they weren't terrible and his breath was fine indicating it was caused by his breed not bacteria. But they became very overgrown over the last few months and at least three times when he was wrestling with Booker, Booker bit into the gums and they bled like crazy.
We couldn't put it off any longer, and the only fix is to put a dog under anesthesia and cut away the excess. So we brought him in yesterday.
Before the surgery:
Sisko has never had anesthesia so I got to worry all day.
But the surgery went fine. Sometimes they find very rotten teeth under the gums and those have to be pulled but Sisko's teeth were all good.
After the surgery and a thorough cleaning of all the teeth we picked him up and his mouth looks so much better!
They cauterize where they cut which is the white you can see, and the gums will be a little swollen for a few days. Bleeding some is normal, but he was hardly bleeding at all. But last night he was clearly disoriented from the anesthesia and sore. He wouldn't eat and just curled up on his bed with a toy.
Fortunately he was much better this morning. He ate a bunch of food and played with Booker. As soon as the swelling goes down and the cauterized areas heal up, I think he will start chewing on bones and will be a million times more comfortable since he won't have all that tender and uncomfortable tissue filling his mouth!
For some breeds regularly
brushing the teeth can help prevent this issue. So can chewing on
bones. Let's hope us doing both will prevent it from recurring!
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