Bell Equine? And tooth abscess advice.

Mince Pie

Mince Pie

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Anyone used them? Are they good? My boy may have to go in for a minor surgery as he has a tooth abscess, hopefully the anti-biotics will clear it up but if not he'll have to go to Bell to have it removed.

Also has anyone any advice on tooth abscesses and costs of removal - we're not insured for abscesses any more after last year...
 
I live around the area and they have a very good reputation from the people I have spoken too. However I have never used them myself as I dont have a horse.
 
That's good to hear, never had any major vets bills before (well apart from the TB but then, it's a TB!) and the only "surgery" we've ever dealt with was lancing an abscessed haematoma last year. Any idea on costs??
 
£6500 for removal of tooth and nearly 3 months in hospital after complications......I think the original cost should have been about £2000 but the hospital made errors, and I ended up getting handed the bill for their mistakes! (But this was at a a major vet hospital - not Bell Equine!)
 
If they manage to remove it without general anaesthetic it shouldn't be anywhere in the region that I was quoted - also depends on whether they can remove it orally or whether they have to remove it by repulsion (through a bone flap in the side of the face). Mine ended up being rushed into surgery for general anaesthetic after attempts to remove it orally went wrong. :(
 
Are you sure you are not covered for abcesses? I assume this is in a different place to last years abcess. Have you contacted your Insurance company?

Mine had 2 teeth removed via bone flap and spent 10 days in hospital. Thats came to £2500 12 years ago.
 
Yes and definitely not covered which is annoying and I have just started the ball rolling to switch to Stoneways.

HH would have thought that vet is confident that tooth could be extracted orally if he is thinking of referring to Bell instead of (I would assume) Liphook?

Also could an EDT remove the tooth? My EDT was fantastic with my friends horse when it had a wolf tooth removed even though the horse was a sod! It is a top molar - number 9 we think?
 
If you are talking about Bell Equine in Kent they are my Vets and Rob Pascoe is the Dental Tech there and is great. If you look at his info (taken from the web site) I think your horse will be in very safe hands;-)

"/BVDA Approved Equine Dentistry

Rob Pascoe qualified from the University of Bristol in 1999 and started in mixed practice in North Devon immediately afterwards. During the next two years he became very interested in equine dentistry and moved back to the University of Bristol to join their equine practice to further hone his skills. There he worked with recognised experts in equine dental disease. He also attended courses run by the British Equine Veterinary Association (BEVA) and has since become a tutor on all the BEVA dentistry courses. Rob has also traveled widely to lecture on equine dentistry, with regular visits to the USA. In October 2003, he sat the British Equine Veterinary and British Veterinary Dental Associations’ exam in equine dentistry and became only the second veterinary surgeon in the UK to successfully pass and achieve BEVA/BVDA approved status. In 2004, he became an examiner for the BEVA/BVDA equine dentistry exam and was appointed as the chairman of the examination committee from 2005 to 2008. Rob joined Bell Equine Clinic in 2006, bringing both first opinion and referral dentistry services to the practice. Outside of work, Rob enjoys many outdoor pursuits including walking, mountain biking and sea kayaking."
 
Thanks Chavhorse, I'm hoping it doesn't get to that stage but if it does I like to know where he is going :o
 
Rob at Bell is a truly gifted and lovely man and extremely good with equines and their teeth! Wouldn't have any one else!
 
We had a full work up on one of ours, including x-rays, the whole procedure took 6 hours and the bill was £500. They were fantastic, really nice honest people who wre not rip-off merchants and who don't treat you like an idiot. Friend also had her stallion there after he got a piece of wire in his foot and a major infection, he was a very sick boy, came home and had to go back again. In total he was probably there three weeks with a lot of treatment, drugs, drips etc. Her bill was around £2k, but we still considered it very cheap for all that was done. AND they saved his life and he returned to work as good as he was before.
 
Bell Equine are fabulous. I am on their Christmas card list, after the amount of money I have put their way over the years lol! They have saved the lives of 2 of my horses, and that isn't being melodramatic, that is simply a fact. I wouldn't go anywhere else for equine treatment.
 
I used to live in the area Bell equine cover and they are brilliant. I know many people who use them and havent heard any complaints. Price wise they used to be much more reasonable than some of the other vets in the area.
Good luck and hope it all goes ok for your horse.
 
In a similar situation, my guy seems to have an tooth abcess - not had him long (a few weeks and I was slow off the mark with insurance!) so insurance wont cover him yet as its a new policy.. Not had the vet out but have had a secret conversation with him thats not gone on record and decided its best to leave him and try and manage it best I can until insurance policy can be used and I can claim for the work.

I can't help with the vets, but can you keep me updated on how it goes?

The other possibility for my guy as he is only 4 is that he has an adult tooth pushing up but hasnt lost his baby molar yet therefore has caused an abcess.. I have no idea which one is better to have or if they are both the same in dramatics!

He seems fine though and is eating... Get well wishes to your guy hope he makes a swift recovery!
 
Had a horse referred there for injuries after going through a fence. He came back with all sorts of problems he didn't go with, inc maggots. Our vet took it up and we didn't pay the bill. This was about 4 years ago now, and it obviously wasn't for dental.
 
My friends horse has just been in for a tooth removal, and they got it out without going threw her cheek (tooth was quite far back) think they are one of the only vets to remove it in this thread method
 
If this is the Kent one, a good friend of mine's horse was recently sent here for a lack of performance workup-they diagnosed "wobblers" without even seeing him move bar come off the trailer, they took biopsy's then didn't give results for weeks, and then they bone scanned.....well considering the horse has just been x-rayed somewhere else and shows massive trauma to his sacral area and all down his spine to his tail.....they told her the bone scan showed nothing wrong with him and he was fine!!
 
I went up with a friends horse a couple of years back to have a few teeth removed under sedation by Rob. He was brilliant with her horse and I'd not hesitate to take my own horse to him if it were ever neccessary.
 
I went with a friend when her horse was referred there for an MRI scan. Everyone we met was very approachable and happy to answer our never ending questions and explain everything in detail. What they quoted was just over what friend paid.

ps: if you do go there dont follow sat nav. There are some very narrow lanes that it sends you down...thank god we were only in 3.5 van!
 
Bell used to be my vets before I moved out of the area and I couldn't fault them. My boy went back there in January for an MRI and they were brilliant, great service, great people and all the paperwork through in no time. I really like them. :)
 
Thanks guys, it's nice to know that Bell have a good reputation :)

There is good news! Olly's temp. has come down from 38.3 to 37.2, the swelling has gone right down and the discharge from his nose has stopped :) Fingers crossed still but the A/B's seem to be working. His course finishes on Wednesday and I think the vet will give him another as it seems to be helping, hopefully things will continue to improve and we won't need to go to Bell after all :)
 
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