Dental Disease

[Nerk]

It's been a while since I've posted here but I'm a little at a lose on what to do.
I took in my 10 year old chin because I noticed something odd on her jaw line.
We had get checked out by an exotic vet, she seemed confident on that she just needed a tooth trim but we decided to schedule xrays while she was under.
She has severe dental disease with her roots. I also found out she had lost weight. The vet is following later this week to see how she is.
She is home, and we're monitoring the situation but I'm not sure how to proceed. I know this is not curable but I don't want it to feel like I'm giving up on her. She's still her feisty self.

 

[Amethyst]

It's kind of a tough one, and really it's best to look at quality of life. If you are able to keep her fairly pain free (even if you have to give pain meds) and she is able to act like a normal chinchilla (able to eat, chew on things, and still playing, etc) you likely have some more time. However if when it gets to the point that she is in obvious pain and not able to act normal, or if the x-rays show that the roots have gotten so long that they are or will soon poke into something in her head (eye, sinuses, or even brain) or they are risking breaking the jaw, then it's time to let her go.

Unfortunately there is no timeline, each situation is different, it all depends on how bad it is when you first notice and how fast your particular chin's teeth and roots grow. Some people are able to manage dental disease for months or even a couple years, with pain meds and regular trimming/filing slowing down root growth, but weeks to months is much more common.

 

[Nerk]

It's kind of a tough one, and really it's best to look at quality of life. If you are able to keep her fairly pain free (even if you have to give pain meds) and she is able to act like a normal chinchilla (able to eat, chew on things, and still playing, etc) you likely have some more time. However if when it gets to the point that she is in obvious pain and not able to act normal, or if the x-rays show that the roots have gotten so long that they are or will soon poke into something in her head (eye, sinuses, or even brain) or they are risking breaking the jaw, then it's time to let her go.

Unfortunately there is no timeline, each situation is different, it all depends on how bad it is when you first notice and how fast your particular chin's teeth and roots grow. Some people are able to manage dental disease for months or even a couple years, with pain meds and regular trimming/filing slowing down root growth, but weeks to months is much more common.

Thank you, I'm hoping to get a look at the xrays soon. I noticed something off about two years ago, weepy eyes, but when I took her to a vet they said her teeth looked fine and that it looked like irritation. Her eyes seemed to clear up after eye drops. That was after calling 11 vets over three day span and I feel so naive listening to that.
I'm hoping to get a few more months but I also don't want her to be in pain.