Birker2020
Well-Known Member
My horse went into the vets on Monday morning to be dropped off for the day following diagnosis by my EDT of fractured upper first premolar (106). The vet spoke to me and said she would have to stay in overnight to keep an eye on her. I'd not been made aware of this before and had to go to work, so didn’t have spare hay, rugs or feed for her, but they looked after her really well and did all that for me even turning her out on a paddock both days for a couple of hours.
The vet text me later the same day to say he’d had chance to look at her and said unfortunately the majority of the tooth was healthy (healthy not unhealthy) and the roots were firmly in place so he had removed the fractured fragment for now and would repack with putty and antibiotics the following day.
I rang him later that day after work to see if he wanted me to take anything up to the hospital for her and he said that I didn’t need to. He said that he had put forceps on the tooth and she had shaken her head and the forceps and fractured loose part of the tooth had flown off. He then said she would have to go back in at some point in the future when he had the appropriate tools to remove the rest of the tooth as the roots were deep, i.e. on a dentistry day. When I asked how far in the future the answer was a bit vague but I was told a few months. I am not sure how I or he can determine when the horse will be uncomfortable enough for this to happen as the symptoms of this tooth were so vague in the first place. As well as this I am worried she will have to go through all this stress again, I have to lose time from work (worked out around £40 in lost earnings) to take her and then leave early to pick her up and the stress I went through worrying about it all, never mind the financial burden I will have to endure a second time round. The vet kindly text me later that evening to say my horse was fine in the stable, they had wanted to keep her in for possible colic following the deep sedation.
Unfortunately the following day my vet wasn’t there to speak to when I collected her but I got discharge papers from another of the vets saying that she had had a slab fragment removed (106) and I was to syringe her mouth twice daily with a salt solution. Bute x 2 daily. Got to ring up in a week. No syringe supplied but luckily I had a spare unused one. Would have been handy for someone to have shown me how to go about this on a horse who isn't taking kindly to having her mouth messed with anymore.
Bill so far although not checked yet is around the £300 mark. So the upshot of it is that she has to go in again to have the rest of the tooth removed at some point and presumably another stay, where I can assume that the bill is most likely to be double this.
I am distinctly worried about the situation. Although this is an excellent practice, I feel that the whole tooth should have been removed at the time and more time should have been allotted to have carried this out. To not have the right tools to carry out the procedure is a bit poor in my opinion, although they did right by her by removing the wobbly bit of the tooth. I am not sure where I want to go with this, I feel like I should dispute the bill yet on the other hand I am also glad she’s had the loose fragment removed to be made more comfortable. I feel intimidated by the vet who can sometimes get a little upset with me, I’ve been in tears before following a similar time when I chose to speak about something so quite frankly I am dreading the conversation. I feel very upset about the whole business and this makes me too emotional to have any real exchange of opinion. Tried to make contact earlier with vet, but phone ringing out. Friends have suggested seeing another vet practice, or finding an EDT to take it out (but sedation/pain relief will still need to be carried out by a vet from some practice somewhere) and I feel it really is a vet job. Also moving practices and getting vet history will be a total nightmare. And of course I doubt that can take place until I have cleared the balance of the account. I feel a certain amount of loyalty towards my vet practice as they have always been very good with her in the past especially in an emergency situation and have been first class in the service they have offered previously. I don't really know what the point of this post is, other than to just update those who were kind enough to reply to me and to share my feelings and worries which helps.
The vet text me later the same day to say he’d had chance to look at her and said unfortunately the majority of the tooth was healthy (healthy not unhealthy) and the roots were firmly in place so he had removed the fractured fragment for now and would repack with putty and antibiotics the following day.
I rang him later that day after work to see if he wanted me to take anything up to the hospital for her and he said that I didn’t need to. He said that he had put forceps on the tooth and she had shaken her head and the forceps and fractured loose part of the tooth had flown off. He then said she would have to go back in at some point in the future when he had the appropriate tools to remove the rest of the tooth as the roots were deep, i.e. on a dentistry day. When I asked how far in the future the answer was a bit vague but I was told a few months. I am not sure how I or he can determine when the horse will be uncomfortable enough for this to happen as the symptoms of this tooth were so vague in the first place. As well as this I am worried she will have to go through all this stress again, I have to lose time from work (worked out around £40 in lost earnings) to take her and then leave early to pick her up and the stress I went through worrying about it all, never mind the financial burden I will have to endure a second time round. The vet kindly text me later that evening to say my horse was fine in the stable, they had wanted to keep her in for possible colic following the deep sedation.
Unfortunately the following day my vet wasn’t there to speak to when I collected her but I got discharge papers from another of the vets saying that she had had a slab fragment removed (106) and I was to syringe her mouth twice daily with a salt solution. Bute x 2 daily. Got to ring up in a week. No syringe supplied but luckily I had a spare unused one. Would have been handy for someone to have shown me how to go about this on a horse who isn't taking kindly to having her mouth messed with anymore.
Bill so far although not checked yet is around the £300 mark. So the upshot of it is that she has to go in again to have the rest of the tooth removed at some point and presumably another stay, where I can assume that the bill is most likely to be double this.
I am distinctly worried about the situation. Although this is an excellent practice, I feel that the whole tooth should have been removed at the time and more time should have been allotted to have carried this out. To not have the right tools to carry out the procedure is a bit poor in my opinion, although they did right by her by removing the wobbly bit of the tooth. I am not sure where I want to go with this, I feel like I should dispute the bill yet on the other hand I am also glad she’s had the loose fragment removed to be made more comfortable. I feel intimidated by the vet who can sometimes get a little upset with me, I’ve been in tears before following a similar time when I chose to speak about something so quite frankly I am dreading the conversation. I feel very upset about the whole business and this makes me too emotional to have any real exchange of opinion. Tried to make contact earlier with vet, but phone ringing out. Friends have suggested seeing another vet practice, or finding an EDT to take it out (but sedation/pain relief will still need to be carried out by a vet from some practice somewhere) and I feel it really is a vet job. Also moving practices and getting vet history will be a total nightmare. And of course I doubt that can take place until I have cleared the balance of the account. I feel a certain amount of loyalty towards my vet practice as they have always been very good with her in the past especially in an emergency situation and have been first class in the service they have offered previously. I don't really know what the point of this post is, other than to just update those who were kind enough to reply to me and to share my feelings and worries which helps.
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