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If your vet messed up...what would you do?


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My lhasa puppy went in to get spayed, her cherry eye fixed, and her baby teeth pulled (adult tooth grew in but not all baby teeth came out first).

 

We just picked her up and I noticed that puppy doesn't have her front four teeth on bottom. These had grown in crooked (actually 4 where they should have been and two behind those). I figured they would pull the two that grew in behind, but I can't imagine why they would have pulled the front two (the two next to the incisors are still there).

 

I HONESTLY do not believe these were baby teeth. She is 8.5 months old.

 

What should we do? I figure there is nothing that CAN be done really.

 

Why does everything go wrong for this puppy? <sigh>

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Thing is that she HAD straight baby teeth. Puppies really don't seem without teeth very long. It is POSSIBLE, I guess, that only two or four front teeth came out and the two where they belonged were baby teeth while the two behind were adult teeth (though I can see why those probably needed to be pulled). *I* can't be positive. But if I AM right, my baby will never have those four front teeth!

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Awww, poor munchkin.

 

OK.

You have a right to all the medical records.* Call and ask them to fax them to you. Better yet, go in and get the copies. AFTER you've got them, ask to speak to the vet. The reason you want the records first is that unfortunately there have been a # of cases where the records were altered after it became obvious that there was some sort of issue or there was going to be a complaint.

 

After that, if you're not satisfied with whatever explanation you get, you can call your state veterinary licencing authority and launch a complaint. They have a duty to investigate and take action as required. Vets can get penalized, suspended, ordered to take continuing ed, or forbidden to practice - depending on what the authority determines. Usually these are public too so you can search & find out if your vet has had complaints....

 

*btw - I keep my own set of files on my pets. Every time they go in, I aske for a photocopy of test results and the chart. If I move, go to another vet, whatever...I have my own copies.

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Poor baby! Sounds like she went through quite an ordeal! I have the worst luck with pets, and have literally spent thousands over the years at the vet. I would also call and ask for clarification.

 

I'm not really sure what can be done if they messed up though, I hope they have good news for you when they call!

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I called. She tried to explain to me. I didn't really understand and thought what she said was even more ridiculous that what I thought in the first place. However, until I can get into Jazz's mouth better, I couldn't discuss it much further. We do have to go back in 7-10 days for stitch removal and I told her that if I still had questions, we could discuss it then.

 

I really think the poor animal is going to end up not having four of her front teeth for 15 yrs <sigh>

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I called. She tried to explain to me. I didn't really understand and thought what she said was even more ridiculous that what I thought in the first place. However, until I can get into Jazz's mouth better, I couldn't discuss it much further. We do have to go back in 7-10 days for stitch removal and I told her that if I still had questions, we could discuss it then.

 

I really think the poor animal is going to end up not having four of her front teeth for 15 yrs <sigh>

 

What did she say?

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She said that the two teeth in the normal gum line were baby teeth they had to remove (though her reasoning was that they do that for overcrowding reasons and the issues that go with but having only 4 teeth between the incisors already solved THAT problem). She said they left the two teeth that were set back behind those two teeth. That is NOT what I thought I saw. And that made no sense to me that they WOULD do that. Those teeth could not possibly function correctly and would be, I would guess, uncomfortable.

 

Okay, so I've checked. Jazz does not have ANY of the four teeth in question so what she told me was just incorrect.

 

I REALLY hate the idea that she is under a year old and will not have those four teeth. I COMPLETELY agree with having two set back removed. I thought they would remove those (as well as the extra four incisors). But there was NO reason to remove the front two regardless of whether they were baby or adult teeth (and I believe they were adult teeth--I thought it incredibly weird that she lost her baby teeth and not all came back in--but then the two showed up behind the four between the incisors accounting for all 6 teeth).

 

*IF* the lady was correct that those were baby teeth (she's not correct about this), then Jazz still has two adult teeth that haven't come in. But she's a bit old for that to be the case.

 

GRRRR.

 

Thing is that Jazz will probably never care. But *I* care. Why should my dog have a physical problem CAUSED by a vet? And by the way, the most expensive vet in town; supposedly the best vet one could ask for. And I've liked him and my pets' care. But I'm REALLY frustrated about this.

 

And there just isn't a way to fix it because dogs don't wear dentures <sigh>

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Some dogs get fake teeth... the ones that go directly into your gums.. what are they called? Oh I forget. I read it in a magazine a few years back. So that is an option lol.... a pricy option. When I worked at a vet clinic we also had owners that showed their dogs put caps on their dogs teeth to improve their "smile".... and one lady that did Schutzhund with her dogs even made her dogs canine teeth bigger with caps so her dog could bite harder. Pretty uncommon, but it was interesting to see.

I'd ask for a refund from your vet. Thats ridiculous they pulled out those adult teeth. Is the dogs tongue hanging out now?

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She said that the two teeth in the normal gum line were baby teeth they had to remove (though her reasoning was that they do that for overcrowding reasons and the issues that go with but having only 4 teeth between the incisors already solved THAT problem). She said they left the two teeth that were set back behind those two teeth. That is NOT what I thought I saw. And that made no sense to me that they WOULD do that. Those teeth could not possibly function correctly and would be, I would guess, uncomfortable.

 

Okay, so I've checked. Jazz does not have ANY of the four teeth in question so what she told me was just incorrect.

 

I REALLY hate the idea that she is under a year old and will not have those four teeth. I COMPLETELY agree with having two set back removed. I thought they would remove those (as well as the extra four incisors). But there was NO reason to remove the front two regardless of whether they were baby or adult teeth (and I believe they were adult teeth--I thought it incredibly weird that she lost her baby teeth and not all came back in--but then the two showed up behind the four between the incisors accounting for all 6 teeth).

 

*IF* the lady was correct that those were baby teeth (she's not correct about this), then Jazz still has two adult teeth that haven't come in. But she's a bit old for that to be the case.

 

GRRRR.

 

Thing is that Jazz will probably never care. But *I* care. Why should my dog have a physical problem CAUSED by a vet? And by the way, the most expensive vet in town; supposedly the best vet one could ask for. And I've liked him and my pets' care. But I'm REALLY frustrated about this.

 

And there just isn't a way to fix it because dogs don't wear dentures <sigh>

 

:grouphug: I'm sorry. How incredibly frustrating.

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Pamela,

Go in and talk with your vet. Sit down and look over the dental rads and bring the dog with you so your vet can show you EXACTLY which teeth were extracted. You keep referring to "the teeth between the incisors" but the incisors ARE the ones in the middle of the front, both upper and lower. Are you referring to the canines? Those are the large hook-like teeth, one on each side both upper and lower for a total of four. Retained deciduous teeth (baby teeth) are usually retained canines that are just behind the large adult canines. Those are the ones that should have been removed. If your vet removed baby incisors as well, that is less common but OK. If your vet removed totally normal adult incisors then that is NOT OK.

I'm so sorry you have to deal with this. We usually send home a diagram of exactly which teeth were extracted and show the owner before they ever leave the clinic.

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Thanks Soph...

 

No wonder the lady couldn't understand me! LOL

 

Okay, there are CANINES on each side...and supposed to be 6 teeth inbetween each of them, right? Jazz had 4 teeth between them on the normal gum line and two set behind (way behind, not just behind). They pulled the two set behind...that makes sense. They also pulled the baby CANINES that hadn't come out. That ALSO makes sense. However, they pulled two of the ones in the normal gum line. So now she looks like a 6yo missing her bottom teeth! But she's ALWAYS going to look like that!

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