sinusitis from tooth root anyone had this

[lastresort]

Well from my post last week "pony with bad breath" the vet now thinks its sinusitis from a tooth root. He has been given meds for 1 month to see if it clears ( £300 for the bottle) and if not he will have to have head xrays.

His smell has gone and the discharge has lessend but it all might come back.

AM so worried its serious now. Played it down to my daughter. Vet told me to get him insured quick. Didnt bother before as he didnt cost alot and bought him as a stop gap but he turned out to be great.

Has anyone else got any positive stories,

 

[vicijp]

If it doesn't clear up, I dare say they expect a broken tooth and take it out. A very simple operation.
I had one the same, you could see right up into his sinus with a scope.

 

[kerilli]

for the sake of about £3.50, get some homeopathic 30c concentration Silicea remedy from Ainsworths Homeopathic Pharmacy in London. it pushes foreign bodies, infections etc out of the body.
it got rid of a deep-seated recurring jaw abscess (prob from a tooth) in my old eventer (had come back 3 times, after full antibiotic courses from vet), when he was scheduled for a £750 operation. after i cancelled the op cos it cleared up, i got the vet to check him and he agreed that it was gone and he would not now need to operate on the horse. the abscess never returned, and the horse's breath stayed sweet from then on, and my dentist never found a problem. it was totally cleared up, whatever it was.
got to be worth a try, i should think. very very best of luck.

 

[lastresort]

What do I do with it put it in feed? can i get it anywhere or can i order it on line.

 

[GreedyGuts]

Your horse needs a head xray to establish whether sinusitis is present, in which of the sinuses and whether this is due to dental disease.

To be honest antibiotics are rarely successful in sorting this out, particularly if it is secondary to a dental problem.

It is likely that he will need the sinus flushing via a trephine hole in his face. This can be done standing, but if the tooth root is involved he will probably need surgery to remove the tooth. This is a fairly routine procedure and most horses do well afterwards, although they need routine dental care to prevent problems as the corresponding tooth in the lower jaw will not wear down.

I think it is very unethical of your vet to suggest insuring the horse now after the problem has been diagnosed, and do bear in mind that if you choose to do this the insurance company may be suspicious and refuse to cough up for what will be fairly expensive treatment (probably £2000ish).

 

[kerilli]

Ainsworth's do mail order, maybe online too, they have a website.
http://www.ainsworths.com/site/default.aspx
they'll advise on dosages etc usually, they are very helpful. you need the 30c concentration.
you mustn't touch the pillules (grease on your hands negates their efficacy). i use a bit of bread or a slice of apple, tip pillules into bread and squish it so they don't fall out, and give to horse, or make tiny holes with a pointy knife in the apple slice and push the pillules into the holes.
this isn't instead of veterinary attention, obviously, but i think it's worth a try, cos it worked for my boy.
GG is right about your vet - the insurance company will be very suspicious, you can't insure for something you/your vet already know is there, and i'd be amazed if the insurance paid on a big op done so soon after insurance commenced.

 

[parsley]

Not positive - but realistic I'm afraid.

My horse has had recurrent synositus for about one and a half years - vet commented on his bad breath when his teeth were being done,
*gave antibiotics which didn't clear up,
*had xrays to check teeth etc and there was a fractured tooth
*went to rossdales to have the tooth out and the sinus flushed (I am very sorry about this move - rossdales said that flushing was all that was needed my vet wanted to do a bone flap - the difference was about £1000 and hes not insured for this)
*the sinositus didn't clear up so he was on more antibiotics, which didn't work
*the infection started to affect all of his body systems - poor doing, lack of breath, runs etc so he went in to have a bone flap done - vet warned me that sinositus might reoccur but there was little possibility of carrying on like he was
*was in vets from end of Feb to beginning of April as there was a stubborn pocket of infection
*infection went, holes were closed up and he came home a different horse
*a few months ago the infection returned, antibiotics cleared up the first bout but not the second one - had him scooped - the drainage hole left by the vet was partially closed due to inflamation. asked the vet if we could try a different antibiotic so we have although vet said he doubted it would work -tried Baytril - didn;t work,
*at present we are waiting to see what happens - vet gives it a 30% chance of clearing on its own and a 60-70% chance of clearing if we operate.

At present it is only faint so he is holding his own. If it gets worse I will transport him to Yorkshire, which is the only place in the country where they do a standing sedation CT scan, which will enable my vet to see where the infection is before opening up the bone flap again.

Cost so far - £1800 for tooth removal and flushing, £3200 ish for bone flap, countless lots of antibiotics at abotu £90 each, latest bill for £350 to include scooping and Baytril. CT scan will be £540 + travelling expenses and the bone flap will be about another £2000. And none of it covered by insurance as he is excluded from tooth related problems

Sinositus and teeth problems do need to be treated very seriously before they get out of hand - talk to your vet a lot!