Remedies to Help After Tooth Extraction

Avoid the Ache, Hasten the Healing

“My dog is scheduled for dentistry next week. What can I do to help him through this with natural medicine? Oh, and I know they’ll want him on post-op antibiotics – are those truly necessary?”

Inspired by a live "Drs. Hours" chat I held for Dogs Naturally, this post will help you be prepared when your dog, cat, horse or YOU need to get dental work done.

Dentistry is, of course, best avoided by raising a Vital Animal. I’ll review prevention with you in a bit.

For now, imagine you find yourself with a tooth or two that need to come out. Maybe in you, maybe in your animal.

My Mouth, My Remedies

As a dedicated homeopath, I use homeopathy not only for my animal patients, but for my own health challenges as well.

In acute situations, I’ll reach for appropriate acute remedies, just like you can learn to do when you join our monthly membership group, Vital Animal Alpha.

After years of trying to prescribe for my own chronic disease without lasting success, I’ve turned that over to a colleague I’ve hired.

And you should do the same for chronic conditions, whether in your own being or your animal’s.

For acute problems, dentistry and surgery among them, DIY homeopathy is smart medicine and often brings remarkable results.

A few years back, having finally decided it made sense to get my mercury amalgam fillings removed, I found myself in my holistic dentist’s chair, about to get drilled upon.

Gulp.

I came prepared however, with two high potency remedies in my pocket: hypericum 10M and arnica 10M.

Here’s what happened.

“Are you ready to start, Dr. Cole?”

Affirmative.

“Give me a second, I’d like to try this without drugs, if you don’t mind.”

Open minded affirmative. (That’s why I chose Griffin Cole years ago to be my dentist.)

I dropped several drops of hypericum 10M into my mouth, kept the bottle by my side, and said, “Okay, go for it.”

Having been hooked up to a sophisticated suction system that would keep the mercury contained, away from me, Dr. Cole, and the environment, I settled back and gave entry to the drill.

I heard the creepy whining drill sound, felt a bit of downward pressure but, one filling after another, I felt zero pain.

Nada.

This was the exact opposite of what I felt when I was so young and had these fillings put in!

Nerve pain is one of the worst kinds, and hypericum completely kept me from it. It's a remedy well known for nerve injury.

In total, half a dozen amalgam fillings were drilled out, and half a dozen resulting holes were filled with a porcelain composite resin.

That resin hardened up, each filling was ground a bit to get my bite just right, and I walked out of the office freed of half of my mercury load and free of drugs of any kind.

I never even used the arnica I had brought just in case hypericum wasn’t going to cut it.

I repeated this protocol a month later, and was mercury free.

In each session, I might have repeated the hypericum mid-way through, but it was not for feeling any zingy pain. More just a sense that I wanted to be sure not to feel it!

Caution: Pre-Op Remedies May Be Dangerous

As I've taught my Alpha students,  I discourage the use of pre-op remedies (usually arnica) in the animals getting ready for surgery. It doesn’t happen in every case, but there have been a number of reports of horrible difficulty maintaining a state of anesthesia in those animals who received arnica before surgery.

How’s that look?

OMG, he’s moving! He’s got to be feeling this! Turn up the gas, STAT!”

Hypericum may well have similar cautions, especially if the time between dosing and actual physical insult is longer than a minute.

I felt justified taking it right before my drilling for two reasons:

  1. I was having no drugs of any kind, so there was no risk of failed anesthesia.
  2. I had virtually no lag time between dose and drilling.

So, if your pet is having surgery, dental or otherwise, it’s best to wait for post-op to begin remedies. That can be immediately after tooth extraction, if your vet is open minded.

You could send a remedy dropper bottle along and ask a vet tech to give a 1/4 dropperful immediately on waking up.

The Remedy for All Trauma

As is widely known, Arnica montana is the classic remedy that, of all the remedies in homeopathy, likely has a one-to-one correlation between disease label and remedy.

In this case, trauma = arnica.

Hypericum may be a close second, as in nerve pain = hypericum, but few other remedies are this specific in comparison.

For example, apis, a remedy made from bees, has applicability in many chronic conditions, including chronic diarrhea, constipation, bladder disease, vomiting, and throat problems.

Oh, and it may help in stings, but only if they fit the apis symptom picture of shiny swellings that are often red.

It's definitely a great remedy for the acute swelling and hives that look similar to bee stings.

Arnica could apply to extensive dental extraction surgery, certainly. Talk about trauma, right?

Let’s look at a sensible protocol to use both of these remedies to hasten healing after tooth extractions.

A Post-op Dental Protocol

A good place to start with remedies after tooth extraction is this.

  1. Arnica immediately post extraction
    Give a dose of 200C hourly for the first three hours. Then, follow with…
  2. Hypericum. If you have a 30C, give it every four hours the first day, three times the second day, twice the third day post dental, and then as needed if you see a painful mouth returning.

What would a painful mouth returning look like in your animal?

  • Hungry, racing to eat as usual, but stopping either before biting in, or dropping food out of the (sore) mouth.
  • Less likely, pawing at the mouth.

If you had a bleeding socket left behind that just doesn’t seem to stop, a third valuable remedy is

  • Calendula.
    A 30C could be given immediately after tooth extraction and repeated every 15 minutes till the bleeding stopped. It could be repeated later if the bleeding resumed, but just give the minimum number of doses that stop the seeping.
    If you have a 200C, one dose may well be sufficient to arrest the hemorrhage.
  • If calendula doesn't stop the bleeding, Phosphorus 30C can be tried next

How to Administer Remedies to Animals

Here's a simple trick I teach my students if they have an acute situation that may demand remedy repetition.

It's making a water remedy. Here’s how you do that.

    • Pellets: if your remedy comes from the store, it’s often in big fat BB-sized #35 pellets. Take three and crush them in a folded 3x5 card by rolling over them with a bottle or glass bottom. Now you have powder.
    • Granules: If I’ve sent a remedy, or you have my 50 remedy kit, you’ll have tiny little mustard seed sized granules, called #10 pellets. Use 5–15 of those.
    • Pure water: your water should be a pure source, free of chlorine and fluoride, like reverse osmosis- and/or carbon-filtered water, or distilled or spring water. [A sweet countertop model that needs no installation is here (<--click that link to see more or just click the image below right.)]

 

Pour a 1/2 cup of this pure water into a glass, add your remedy, stir it vigorously for 30 seconds before each dose, and get started. A dose is a dribble from a spoon or 1 cc in a syringe, squirted into the mouth.

You now have a big bunch of doses, but won't need them all. If you'd like to save the solution for later, fill a 1 oz. dropper bottle with some of this solution and add a dropperful of brandy.

Why This Works

Remember, all homeopathic remedies have been tested on humans (a sweet irony when we use them on our animals, eh?).

The materia medica confirms the following about hypericum’s particular usefulness in the nerve rich areas:

  • Injuries to nerves, esp. of fingers, toes, and nails. “Attended by great pain.”
  • Crushed fingers, esp. tips.
  • Excessive painfulness is a guiding symptom to its use.
  • Relieves pain after operations.
  • Pain in coccyx (the tail bone, rich in nerves).
  • Injuries to dental nerves.
  • The Arnica of the nerves.

As hypericum has repeatedly shown success in all manner of nerve-rich injuries, it stands to reason that it would help the pain after tooth extraction or drilling.

Arnica also has both a long history of helping traumatic injury, and calendula has repeatedly shown benefit in bleeding wounds.

But, He Needs Antibiotics, Right?

Ah, no, he doesn't actually.

An oft-made recommendation with a good twenty year history based on hearsay is this: we need to give your dog antibiotics if we are doing dental work on her.

The reasoning sounds logical enough: there are lots of bacteria in the mouth. We’re going to open up the blood supply with our procedure (pulling a tooth, maybe even cleaning could cause some bleeding). Those pesky little buggers will get picked up by the blood, travel throughout the body, and land (horrors!) on the heart valves, causing all sorts of bad, bad problems!

Prevalent for years, most vets believe this idea and so routinely give antibiotics to every dental patient, or at least those getting extractions. And, as you likely know, the antibiotics kill good and bad bacteria indiscriminately.

Loss of the good flora impairs the immune system, digestion, vitamin elaboration in the gut, etc. etc. Not to mention their use adds to the likelihood of creating more superbugs.

I routinely tell my clients to avoid these killer drugs, and, if they really feel strongly that infection is a worry, to use Transfer Factor for a few days before and after surgery or dentistry.

And here’s the proof, from the conventional dental world, no less.

"The long held belief that oral infections (particularly endodontically treated teeth) result in systemic illness or cause disease processes in distant locations, does not have scientific merit(4). This concept often drives recommendations for systemic AMD (anti-microbial drug, aka antibiotic) use. Therefore, most prophylactic AMD use in dentistry has no scientific basis." [From two board certified veterinary dentists.]

Holistic Prevention: Keep Those Teeth Healthy!

You might think this is where I’ll tell you to brush your animal’s teeth every day.

Nope.

I think that’s a huge, unnecessary waste of time.

  • Read up instead on feeding raw bones. You’ll see how much sense it makes.
  • Diet, not surprisingly, makes a big difference in tooth health.

Are you feeding your inner carnivore a bunch of starch-laden kibble? Stop that, if you want strong, white teeth.

Want easy, home delivered raw food? Here’s a great source for you.

  • Vaccinations are detrimental to teeth. This is especially notable in FORLS, where cats lose teeth due to their own cells dissolving them. Hmmm, that sounds a lot like immune confusion to me.

Biggest cause of immune confusion?

You guessed it: vaccinations.

One more reason to really think hard about revaccinating or perhaps, vaccinating at all (aside from that rabies vaccination, right?).

The Hand You're Dealt

  • Inherited chronic disease plays a role in how healthy an animal’s teeth are going to be as well.

It’s pretty rare, but I’ll occasionally see a scenario like this: a dog or cat is fed a balanced, raw food diet, given raw bones regularly, minimal early life vaccines, and their teeth still look grungy.

That’s when my suspicions wake up: “Oh, something from the ancestors here…”

While it might seem that you’d have little to no say over inherited chronic disease, you actually have quite a bit of help to offer. Epigenetics speaks to this.

And, deeper yet, homeopathy does. If you’ve done all the right things in natural rearing and still see lingering symptoms that tell you a low, smoldering of chronic disease is present, hire a veterinary homeopath to get it cured.

It’ll take time, close attention to symptoms, and patience, but I know of nothing better to really extinguish the chronic stuff for good than classical homeopathy from someone professionally trained in it.

Discover Acute Veterinary Homeopathy

If you want to start by learning how to prescribe for the acute things life throws you, join our monthly membership training in animal homeopathy, Vital Animal Alpha.

You’ll get helpful know-how from our library of recorded lessons and join a supportive group that's online learning with me. We have a live monthly Q/A meeting to help you lose any confusion before it grows.

Learning acute homeopathy will save you money and heartache and risks that the ER serves up in plentiful supply.

And you know homeopathy is multi-species medicine, don’t you? So, everything you learn for your dog can apply to your cat, horse, iguana, or yourself! The remedies are "species agnostic" (the same remedy will work for a person or a horse, if it's prescribed properly).

When we have something so safe and so readily available to help these potentially painful operations to go smoothly and heal rapidly, it’d be a shame to not use homeopathy.

Tell us in the comments if you’ve tried homeopathic remedies in dental (or other surgical) procedures, and how your animals fared.

Leave a Comment





40 Comments

  1. nancy cerns on May 31, 2019 at 9:44 pm

    My cat is 17 yrs old Her lower molar is infected. Gums bleeding. Vet wants over $1,000 for “oral surgery”to pull the tooth.
    Said she might not make it thru. (He uses Ketamine)

    I can’t afford $1,000 & I’m very frightened what will happen to my kitty? What can I do to help her

  2. Amy Reed on November 2, 2018 at 12:50 pm

    What would you recommend if you only have 30c pellets? Put inside of gum?? How many? My dog had 6 teeth extracted because they were loose or fractured. Looking for pain and anti inflammatory.

  3. michelle larsen on January 27, 2018 at 12:20 am

    Hi! My cat just had his upper teeth removed he still has the lower. His left side has healed fine but the other side they said needs to be watched or they might have to removed the rest of the teeth. I would like to prevent this and would like to know whIch one the treatments above would help the most with this? Thank you so much. And right now he’s been eating fine.

    • Will Falconer, DVM on January 27, 2018 at 1:10 am

      Hey Michelle,
      The remedies I describe are for after dentistry has taken place. The reason your cat lost a whole bunch of teeth won’t addressed by a remedy like these. There’s underlying chronic disease at work causing the tooth loss (thought to be autoimmune). For that, you’ll do best hiring a homeopathic vet to work on curing that underlying disease.
      I’ve got a free list of them for you on this blog post.

  4. Natalie Lawler on August 18, 2017 at 8:31 pm

    Dr Will, my german shepherd had two teeth extracted I gave her arnica for three days then hypericum for three days the stitches have come out the vet says this is not a problem what can I give her to prevent any infection? Calendula?
    Thanks so much

    • Will Falconer, DVM on August 18, 2017 at 9:25 pm

      Hey Natalie,
      I don’t worry about it, but if you’d like, immunity boosters make most sense. See Immune Strong in the sidebar or grab your free Insider Immune Protocols on your Home Page. Doses in there.

  5. LOLA on June 5, 2016 at 4:23 am

    I hope you can answer DR.
    I live in Sweden and finding holistic vets is difficult.
    My baby was found in a farm house nearly eaten by rats. the mother was dead there. She became very sick as a kitty.
    At 1.5 years we noticed her one eye was shaking. Seems she has the rare cat catarcts as a child. To get her surgery on that is wayyy overpriced and is an atypical surgery here. Only 1 vet does cat cataract surgery here!
    Apparently it seems her teeth also are falling out. Now she is 5.
    They wanted to pull her teeth before and I said no way.
    Now she has lost too much weight and doesnt eat how she used to.
    They said she has FORL. They showed me her tooth is inflamed and again said it should come out.
    I made the appointment for the tooth extraction.
    Her immune system is not like other cats.
    I tried homeopathy…salts…and got temporarily better..its hard to give her medicine. She is a bit fragile.
    Now I have the appt in 2 weeks and please if you can give advice, I would appreacite it.
    THANK YOU for your site.

  6. Nichole on April 25, 2016 at 2:17 am

    I have been treating my little chihuahua myself ever since he was given a death sentence with a fast growing cancer almost 6 years ago. Needless to say they call him “miracle dog” at my vet’s office because it disappeared and they can’t explained what happened.
    After the diagnosis, I started making his food, said no more vaccines, heart guard or frontline, and got him on some great supplements. One thing I’ve never been able to get control of though, is his dental health. He’s had horrible teeth and gums from the very start of his young life, despite brushing and cleanings.. He’s down to 9 teeth now (with extractions every few years), and I’ve just discovered that the top two canines seem to be surrounded with pus, and all the rest seem bad off as well. I’m afraid with his age (11) and the fact that his health has been in decline this past Year (he seems to have congestive heart failure as I’ve just very recently gathered) that he cannot undergo anymore anesthesia.. Or so I’m guessing. I’m afraid to take him anyway, because I don’t want to have to struggle with having to put him on pain meds and antibiotics, but I do not have a homeopathic vet anywhere near me.. I have done so many things and spent so much on this little guy to give him a happy pain-free life. He doesn’t seem to be in pain now. He’s still eating, but he’s bloated and sluggish from the edema and he had pus around his teeth.. I know getting rid of infection in his mouth would help! I’m just afraid of his heart..
    I just feel like I’m swimming against the current with him, but I don’t want to give up if there’s something else I can try! The vet said he’s just got inheritantly bad teeth, and it could have something to do with where the cancer was (roof of his mouth) so sometimes I just wish they would have extracted all of his teeth the last time:( Now with his health the way it is, I wonder if it’s too late.. I wish I could just call you or had someone to get advice from for him. It’s hard to explain in a comment and I truly want to make a quick, good decision for him..
    Is there anything I can do with him at this state?
    Nichole Brown

    • Will Falconer, DVM on April 26, 2016 at 9:26 pm

      It’s likely homeopathy can help him. Whether he’s got time to make it to cure is another question, but it’s likely he’d improve with careful prescribing that fits his pattern of illness. Visit my Resources page and find the AVH list there. Hire someone who works with mostly homeopathy and does telephone consulting, unless you’re lucky enough to have someone living close enough to see.

  7. T om Kiten Volkov on January 17, 2016 at 8:14 pm

    Miaou! In my haste to join you guys and guyesses I mis-spelled my name …how can I correct it ? So much informative reading this time, a real treasure trove of reading, I would also like to knw the ins and outs of using borax and appropriate dosages. Many thanks from Ukraine.

    • Will Falconer, DVM on January 17, 2016 at 9:08 pm

      Hi Tom,
      You merely login and go to Member Home. Scroll down on that page to My Account, and you can change everything but your user name. That’s fixed, once you make it.
      Let me know if you have any trouble.

  8. carol on March 29, 2015 at 7:51 pm

    My dog has regular chiropractic to keep a seizure condition under control. One visit she immediately asked when the dental work was done. She could see the miss alignment. She stated the speculum holding the mouth open invariably causes TMJ. She has been advocating the vet techs learn a few simple adjustments to prevent TMJ and further discomfort and complications to the animals.

  9. L on February 11, 2015 at 4:25 am

    Sorry for your troubles, I am glad that you have found something that works for you.
    I have found nice vets that I trusted, and ones that didn’t seem to help at all.
    I lean toward a homeopathic approach for my pets and myself, but I also appreciate traditional approaches and pharmaceuticals (when needed)
    I have worked in healthcare and I have seen the good, the bad and the ugly.
    Peace

  10. L on February 10, 2015 at 3:49 am

    Obviously you have never had an abscessed tooth. If you are old enough to remember, Bobby Darin the entertainer died young because he forgot to take his antibiotics prior to a routine dental procedure, he had a cardiac condition. For example.
    I always listen to what everyone has to say, especially when they have spent years educating themselves and practicing their trade. I wouldn’t dream to imagine that I know more than them…….traditional or homeopathic veterinarians.
    “To each his own”

    • Nora on February 10, 2015 at 8:56 pm

      Me either. Always good to have an open mind. I have Systemic Scleroderma so I spent YEARS on antibiotics until I couldn’t take ANY of them anymore–allergic to all of them. I was forced to re assess my view of drugs because they had damaged my liver to the point that the Dr. said there was nothing more they could do for me. I was crippled, couldn’t open my mouth, waiting in bed to die. Then I found Borax. In two months I was well! So I’ve come to believe in nature’s pharmacy, and I give man-made stuff the stink eye. Bobby Darin isn’t the best poster child for antibiotics because he had cardiac problems, but he was a cool guy, wasn’t he? Shame he died young, and I almost joined him!

  11. L on February 9, 2015 at 2:28 pm

    I lean toward a homeopathic approach toward healthcare. I don’t understand why you folks are so against antibiotics???
    I just don’t believe in doing things to extremes, antibiotics can be a life saver.

    • Nora on February 9, 2015 at 10:09 pm

      I can tell you why I’m against their routine use; they kill off the good gut flora in the process of killing the infection being treated. Then you struggle to re balance the the intestinal state by improving the numbers of good bacteria. Immune function depends on a healthy gut. When the immune system functions as it was designed to, all disease can be overcome.
      I agree that antibiotics can save a life, but I feel that they’re over prescribed and should only be for critical, life threatening disease states. The new antibiotic resistant strains or MRSA infections are the result of over-use. I also had a cat given a Convenia injection die immediately, so I am ever-so wary of antibiotics now! (and Whitecoats!)

    • Dede on February 13, 2015 at 10:38 pm

      I’m opposed to antibiotics for several reasons. First, they’re a drug. All drugs are chemicals that are both unnatural to the body and they all have side effects. One side effect is that they destroy both the good and bad bacteria. Good bacteria is essential in the digestive system for good health. 70-80% of the immune system is in the gut and it’s obviously imperative to keep this strong. Second, the issue of resistance to antibiotics because of their over-use. Third, my family has been able to resolve every infection and even pneumonia using natural remedies like colloidal silver, oil of oregano, olive leaf extract and coconut oil. My girlfriend cured a rescued dog of MRSA using natural remedies after none of the antibiotics her vet prescribed worked. Nothing (bacteria, virus, etc) can live in the presence of silver; oil of oregano is more powerful than antibiotics – all this without harm. I believe Dr. Pitcairn is correct when he stated that our Creator gave us everything needed not only to live but to thrive. It’s up to us to learn all about it and thrive instead of just survive.

  12. Esther on February 9, 2015 at 1:25 pm

    Last year I had two gums grafts done each at a different time. I still need one more. But to do this they take a piece of your flesh from the roof of your mouth and put it on the gums. Leaving you with a gaping hole on the roof of the mouth. No stiches, just a bit of glue. I only took Hypericum 30 C for the pain 3 x times a day, and only the first couple of days. I did not know about this protocol Dr. Falconer is suggesting here. No antibiotics either. Everything healed real well. So I imagine that adding Arnica and Calendula would be a would idea. I just did not know it at the time. Thank your for the protocol.

    • Will Falconer, DVM on February 9, 2015 at 3:49 pm

      Wow, Esther. Another remedy I mentioned in my Miracles in Healing course (which I think you took) is symphytum. Famous for filling in gaps left by surgeons or accidents. We also discussed this on Dogs Naturally Academy’s Drs. Hours last week.
      But you can’t argue with your results: you healed well, naturally. Nice work!

      • Esther on February 9, 2015 at 7:21 pm

        Dr. Falconer I did not take symphytum. I learned about symphytum from you at the Academy, before we had the live session reading the course. You probably thought I have taken it because I gave that answer of Arnica, Ledum and symphytum to the question you posted for everyone on Facebook. A dog that was shot….
        I have used symphytum before several years ago when I had a real bad car accident. I broke my pinkie and one toe, besides other injuries, for deep bruising on almost all my body, especially the front due to the bag and seatbelt; I used Arnica, then Bellis and Symphytum for the bones. It is good to know it is for filling gaps. So now in my next graft I will use it.
        The doctor that did this is not holistic and he did not prescribe antibiotics either.

  13. SANDRA HOLCOMB on February 9, 2015 at 12:24 pm

    Hi Dr. Falconer can I give homeopathic remedies to my cat? He is a15 year old male Persian, he survived Congestive Heart Failure when he was 3. Beethoven has been dealing with Grade IV dental disease and most recently an abscess. Dr. White coat prescribed Clindamycin and Burprenohine to clear up the infection and discomfort, and suggested 1 week on 3 off using a prophylactic dose of Clindamycin.
    Is there anything I can use in place of the antibiotic? Beethoven is closely monitored by a Dr. of Cardiology from A&M. He takes the following meds daily. Atenolol, Benazepril, Plavix and baby aspirin every 3 days.
    I also recently started him on your feline Transfer Factor. Fish oil and coconut oil are also given daily. His recent blood work is beautiful. Please tell me I can use homeopathy instead of the antibiotics.

    • Will Falconer, DVM on February 9, 2015 at 3:47 pm

      Hi Sandra,
      As you’re dealing with a chronic illness, homeopathy would be by far the best approach, but not do it yourself. There’s not a remedy to take the place of an antibiotic, there’s a remedy for the state of your cat’s health. And that will change over time.
      Homeopathy for anything chronic should only be in the context of a professional homeopath’s guidance over a period of time. How long? For a 15 year old cat who’s had heart disease since he was three, it’d be for the rest of his life.

  14. Darci Michaels on February 9, 2015 at 10:08 am

    I successfully healed a ruptured gland in my dogs mouth in a week with a homeopathic remedy. The allopathic vet said the only way to treat it/ fix it was surgery. I said. “Hold on!” Called a Homeopath, she prescribed a remedy and boom, all better. Dodged s few bullets and my dog is the winner!

    • Will Falconer, DVM on February 9, 2015 at 3:42 pm

      A ruptured gland, Darci? A salivary mucocele, or something like that? Do tell. You’ve had a great and rapid response to a well chosen remedy. Bravo!

    • Georgia Rosen on January 24, 2016 at 9:08 pm

      Darci , that ruptured gland your dog had ,was it his salivary gland underneath his tongue ? Like a lump on one side ? My dog has a blocked salivary gland, and Dr. White coat wants to do surgery. I would love to know what remedy you used and what dose ect. Georgia

  15. Madeleine Innocent on February 9, 2015 at 1:00 am

    Nora, that was a fabulous first paragraph!
    But with homeopathy, you won’t find one on every street corner. Why not engage this great guy you are writing to? You don’t need a physical contact to get benefit from homeopathy. Phone or Skype are just great.

  16. Nora on February 8, 2015 at 9:22 pm

    Well, either you have psychic powers, or February is Pet Dental month, dunno which, but Dr. Whitecoat’s office sent us an invite to get 20% off dental procedures this month. They claim that because Pookie is such a small cat, her back teeth are “crowded” and four of them need to come out. To me it seems like removing one nostril to make room for the other because of a too-small head. Um, doesn’t she need those teeth to chew food? When they want to do something invasive, I automatically react with, “not so darn fast, there…” while I protectively hold my purse, tightly.
    I know she has a few tooth problems, mostly inflammation, and she won’t let me brush the back ones, but is it REALLY necessary to pull ANY tooth that’s healthy, prophylactic-ally?
    I’ve searched high and low for a holistic vet, there’s none in my vicinity. So rather than subject my tiny cancer patient to any more bad juju, I am doing the best I can with colloidal silver, Anti-inflammatory drops and a gel made with plant oils specifically for pets, to kill some of the bacteria and hopefully save her teeth. I finally have her eating about 50% raw food mixed into her baby food, and I must say I never thought it would happen. She’s been a tough nut to crack. I threw out a lot of expensive, uneaten, organic meat until I came up with a concoction she’d eat. She should be eating ALL raw before long. But, this article on remedies for dental pain couldn’t have come at a more apropos time, doc. She’d need much smaller dosages, but these remedies could come in handy if she does go to Dr. Whitecoat–I’m still on the fence about yanking molars. I do think healing the teeth is terribly important to her all around health, and if we have to pull them to get her healthy, we will, I’d just like to be sure it’s right. Our other cats who eat raw have good teeth. I’d like to hear opinions to help me make up my mind. She wouldn’t be “toothless” she would just have fewer teeth, and I definitely don’t want them giving her antibiotics!

    • Will Falconer, DVM on February 8, 2015 at 9:58 pm

      Whoa, Nora. She’s got cancer, and they think pulling teeth is justified in the face of that? Doesn’t sound like they are looking too holistically here. If she had significant trouble eating or had horribly inflamed gums because of these teeth, perhaps it’d be justified.
      I suspect this is a non-issue compared to the elephant in the room (cancer), and it’d be a tough argument to make to see how multiple extractions and antibiotics would be a plus for her cancerous state of illness.
      Realize I’m a bit removed…

      • Nora on February 9, 2015 at 9:53 am

        Nope, you won’t get any argument from me there. Contraindicated in my opinion.
        They’re supposed to be cat experts (they don’t treat other animals) but as I’m sure you’ve figured out, they are victims of their own training, the profitable, “cut-poison-burn” deal.
        I won’t subject this loving little creature to anesthesia or drugs, and frankly I have a great deal of guilt over having VACCINATED her, which is what caused her cancer. I did that out of ignorance.
        The tumor isn’t growing, she’s gaining weight and her energy is getting better on the herbal tinctures, I’d like to save the teeth too, even though some people seem to think they should go…
        I don’t have a regular phone, just one with a couple minutes for an emergency. Hubby carries one for work, which I have access to at night, so that makes Skype a no starter, that’s why I keep going to the conventional vet. (and am usually broke afterwards)
        I like to palp, feel the abdomen, see the coat, look at the eyes, look at the TEETH. I study her and I think a good vet would need to do that physical, whole-cat looksee too, but I can’t drive to Vermont to effect it! On your good advice, I’ll continue to ignore Dr. Whitcoat’s suggestions when my gut tells me they’re not right, I think. Heck, the Russians are even re-growing teeth, so there is a lot more to know here. Thanks for weighing in, y’all.

        • Will Falconer, DVM on February 9, 2015 at 10:07 am

          As we’re all born ignorant, there’s absolutely no guilt in learning when the learning comes to you.
          Russians are regrowing teeth? They beat us at everything in natural health! Have any good links? I need to know this for my own mouth, at the very least.

        • Anna on February 9, 2015 at 10:53 am

          Run fast Nora, next thing they will want to put braces on her!

          • Nora on February 9, 2015 at 9:54 pm

            Here’s one article on cutting edge tech to regrow teeth using stem cell technology;
            http://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/forget-fillings-scientists-just-discovered-regrow-full-teeth-using-lasers/#!brB3jG
            Those crazy Russians! They also get their patient’s livers to heal themselves by stimulating stem cells with Low power lasers.
            I lost a lot of links I had saved on this when the computer crashed, but there’s a ton of stuff on the Internet if you put [regrowing teeth] in your search parameters. A new ad campaign may replace the time worn, “Got Milk?” with: “Got Lasers?” or “Got Stem Cells?”

          • Nora on February 9, 2015 at 10:13 pm

            She’s be cute in a retainer, ha ha!

    • L on February 9, 2015 at 11:53 am

      Extra teeth are more prone to cavities and infection, sometimes the baby teeth don’t fall out naturally as they should. Veterinarians always recommend removal during a routine procedure or cleaning to avoid potential problems.
      I needed couple of root canals over the past few years….the only thing that stopped the pain and inflammation prior to the procedure each time was antibiotics. I can’t imagine another way.

      • Robynne Catheron on February 12, 2015 at 4:41 pm

        L, I believe we’ve been stuck in a paradigm for a very long time. Most of us only know antibiotics, and can’t imagine any other route.
        That’s why we need good holistic practitioners (both human and animal) to help unlock our closed minds and show us alternative methods that are not only as effective, but also better in the long run for us and our beloved pets.
        I have just recently let go of the “we’ve always done it this way” mentality and embraced holistic approaches for me, my horses, and my dogs and cats. I’ve been flabbergasted at the overall improvement in the health of all of my animals over the past two years! Their bodies are able to fend off issues that several years ago would have required a visit to the vet. In fact, I haven’t had a vet bill for over two years, which I think is almost unheard of for having 13 animals!
        I LOVE this blog, and I will be eternally grateful to Dr Falconer for not only helping me provide the best care for my beloved animals, but for helping me open my eyes to a better way. God bless you, Dr Falconer!

        • Dede on February 13, 2015 at 10:42 pm

          “I LOVE this blog, and I will be eternally grateful to Dr Falconer for not only helping me provide the best care for my beloved animals, but for helping me open my eyes to a better way. God bless you, Dr Falconer!”
          Same here, Doc! You and the other natural healers are a force for good and a humongous blessing! Thank you, thank you thank you!

    • Wendy on February 10, 2015 at 1:32 pm

      Nora, have you searched on this site for a holistic vet. Select small animal and search your State or Province http://www.ahvma.org/find-a-vet.html

      • Nora on February 11, 2015 at 10:01 am

        Yes, thanks for the link, Wendy. There is only one in the state (GA) but she isn’t a clinical nutritionist and doesn’t treat cancer. She is only an hour away by car, I could do that.
        I wish Dr Falconer would open an office here!