Ever heard of an epulis??

[Frankys_mom]

WARNING******** Photos attached


Hi this is Dawn, Frankys mom (& Dee too).  I was wondering if any of you have ever heard of, or one of your babies has had an "epulis"?  We had Frank at the vet on Wednesday to check his teeth and nose because he has yucky fishy breath and had some oogy discharge from his nose earlier in the month.  He had become pretty naughty and bitey about having his teeth brushed, so I wanted the vet to take a look.  We had his teeth cleaned about 2 years ago and I was always pretty good about keeping their teeth clean, until Frank suffered from IVDD and had surgery, so that became the focus of care rather than "routine maintenance".

It took 3 weeks to get into our vet, so his nose had cleared up, but she checked his teeth and said they look pretty good.  When she lifted his upper lip with a tongue depressor to check his mouth (so she wouldn't get bit) I freaked out because he has this goony looking pink tumory thing inside his mouth.  Its between his cheek and gumline.  She called it an epulis and said not to worry, just keep an eye on it and get back to them if it gets bigger or interferes with his eating etc.  I NEVER would have noticed it if she hadn't flipped his lip up.  Right away I thought "TUMOR...CANCER" and almost passed out.
Have any of you had experience with this before?  Some of the web searches I did scared me about cancer, while others said its usually nothing.........
Sorry this is long and thanks for letting me vent my concerns!

Dawn

[Barb]

Now I need to go home and flip my kids lips up......I don't know that I have ever seen this?  If some of your research indicates cancer - I think I might suggest they take a scraping and have it tested - just for peace of mind !

Both my kids had dentals about a month ago - so I would have hoped if they had seen something like that they would have said something.

Is Frankie's breath still bad?  My Brandy has always had bad breath and this last dental they removed 7 teeth - they weren't decay -just very loose in her mouth - so probably some infection in her gums.  You might want to consider trying to work a full dental into the schedule....I know it is expensive....but they may find more than they see at a glance.

Sending rays to Frankie that he feels ok - let us know if you find out any more !

[Rich]

Stormy has something like this in his mouth near the site of an extraction he had 3 years ago.  The vet saw it on his last visit at the end of May and said it was probably nothing to worry about but we should watch it for an increase in size.  It does look nasty but doesn't seem to bother him.

[Frankys_mom]

Thanks so much Beth & Rich for the replies.  So far so good... still the same size although Frank getting fed up at me poking in his mouth so much.  Although he certainly has NO Trouble eating!
The vet didn't feel that Frank needed a dental or we would have definitely had it done, after 5 grand for surgery on his neck, a hundred bucks for a cleaning is "nothing". I didn't push the issue because I sometimes feel like they think that I over-react. ("But these are my kids!" I want to yell.) We got something from the vet called "OraVet"  which is a plaque prevention gel that we rub on his teeth and gumline once a week.  Its suppose to help prevent plaque, tartar, and gum disease by preventing bacteria from adhering to the teeth and gums.  We have a six week supply and just started, so if it works well, I'll let everyone know.
Oh and yes Beth, Frank still has fish breath, although their food does contain fish (Wellness Senior). I switched to the tooth cleaning pads instead of a doggie toothbrush and he seems to tolerate it better.
Thanks again.... I was pretty upset.
Dawn