Winnie’s Oral X-Ray

8th October 2008

My vet still couldn’t figure out why Winnie’s stomach is so gassy & she wanted to rule out any teeth problems. So my vet referred me to a dental vet. Even though my vet has x-rayed Winnie’s teeth when she was x-raying his stomach, my vet doesn’t have a special oral x-ray machine, so she wasn’t able to take pictures of the roots. Also, Winnie hasn’t been eating on his own & he’s not a big chewer in general (compared to Tubby). As a result, his molars were overgrown a little & my vet managed to trim Winnie’s molars.

The dental vet explained to me the worse scenario: Winnie’s upper tooth root overgrown, to the point that it can protrude to the eye (can cause vision loss) or the brain.

Good news though!! The dental vet said that Winnie’s teeth are healthy & as trim as they can get.


Can’t remember what picture this is, even though the dental vet explained it to me 0_o


View of the top incisors. Check out the large vestibular system (the 2 whitish oval shapes on the right), which is responsible for chinchilla’s great sense of balance. The dental vet said that chinchilla’s vestibular system is very large for its small body.

Winnie’s mouth from the right side. Dental vet said that this is the trimmest teeth a chin can have.

Winnie xray4

Winnie’s mouth from the left side.

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Posted in Chinchilla care, Chinchilla health | Comments (3)

3 Responses to “Winnie’s Oral X-Ray”

  1. furrybutts Says:
    October 9th, 2008 at 12:20 am

    Hi! Good to hear Winnie’s teeth are fine :D I can’t figure out the first x-ray pic either lol!

    How did the vet trim Winnie’s molars?

  2. wiffy Says:
    October 9th, 2008 at 1:57 am

    glad to hear winnie’s teeth are ok… never seen a chinchilla’s x ray b4 and it looks interesting. Hopefully the vet can find out the problem soon =)

  3. furrybutts Says:
    October 9th, 2008 at 6:46 am

    Hi!

    Teeth issues in rabbits and chins are pretty similar.. the roots of rabbits’ teeth are also able to to extend to the point of impacting the nasal passage, the eye socket and so on.

    To file molar spurs in rabbits, sedation is a must. However, for incisors, clipping may be performed without sedation. There are issues with clipping as well, as teeth are brittle and may fracture when clipped. If the fracture goes to the root, that will cause a whole host of other issues, such as abscess / infection.

    In Hans’ case, he didn’t have molar spurs. But still the vet sedated him to file his incisors as he didn’t want to take the risk of Hans struggling while he was filing, which could hurt Hans.

    Did the vet file Winnie’s molar without sedation? If Winnie was awake during the procedure, I’m interested to know how the vet restrained him. Maybe I can do the same with Hans. Right now, I think the bunny burrito is my best option (wrap his body firmly with a towel, leaving only the head exposed so that he won’t be able to move much).

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