Most ferrets over 3 years of age have some form of dental disease.  Tartar formation on the teeth then leads to gingivitis and ulcers in the mouth.  This can cause pain when eating, secondary infections in the mouth and intestinal tract, and eventually increase the risk of kidney and heart disease from bacteria that buildup in the mouth.  It is especially important to treat dental disease in ferrets affected with insulinomas because they need to be able to eat consistently to keep their blood sugar levels in the normal limits. 

Lift up your ferret's upper lip - normal, healthy teeth are white with a nice pink gum line.  There may be a slightly darker pink line right at the gum line, and this is normal.  If there is yellow or brown tartar, or if the gums are swollen, red, or you can see teeth roots, your pet is suffering from dental disease.  There are different levels of dental disease which we use as a rough estimate of how involved your pet's treatment will be.  They include:   

• Grade 1: mild tartar, little to no gingivitis or bad breath
• Grade 2: mild to moderate tartar, gingivitis is present but there is no or only minimal tooth root exposed, gums are swollen
• Grade 3: moderate to severe tartar, gingivitis and swollen gums are present, bad breath is present, and teeth roots may be exposed (antibiotics will be given prior to dental cleaning)
• Grade 4: severe tartar or tooth root exposure, loose teeth may be present, bad breath is present (antibiotics will be given prior to dental cleaning)
  

Some symptoms that can be attributed to dental disease include:

• Bad breath
• Decreased appetite, or a reluctance to chew hard food
• Excessive drooling, licking the lips or pawing at the mouth
• Chronic coughing, gagging or sneezing
  
• Nasal discharge that is green or yellow

It is necessary to place our pets under general anesthesia to clean their teeth.  Most of the time we are cleaning the teeth we do cause some bleeding, and this would be painful in the awake pet.  With all of our patients, we use inhalant isoflurane or sevoflurane anesthesia during our procedures, which allows your pet to wake up within minutes of the end of the cleaning.  The heart rate, blood oxygen saturation, and respiratory rate are monitored throughout the procedure and patients receive fluids during anesthesia.  The teeth are cleaned with an ultrasonic scaler device to remove the tartar and clean under the gum line.  Any problems are then assessed by the doctor, including loose or broken teeth, possible infections, and pockets of inflammation in the gums.  Depending on the pet, we may recommend full mouth x-rays or teeth extractions at this time.  After all necessary medical procedures are done, the teeth are polished and a fluoride treatment is done.  The pet is then woken up from anesthesia with appropriate pain medication if necessary.  Though we do not require pre-anesthetic bloodwork in our ferrets, we highly recommend it as part of a thorough workup in order to minimize the risks associated with anesthesia.