Should I remove lint from my dog's dental stitches? Infection risk?

Hi there and thank you for using pet coach to address your question. There are different types of suture that are used and that are absorbable. Absorption time ranges from 42 days to 180 days depending on what is used. I would contact the veterinarian that placed the sutures and discuss this further. Redness and itchiness van be a sign of healing but can also be a sign of a suture reaction. If this redness and itchiness continues then I would have the veterinarian recheck the mouth. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

Her gum is healing well. I would recommend calling your veterinarian and seeing if they are able to pull the stitch out. If they cannot it typically dissolves rather quickly. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

It is very unlikely that Courage will mess up or open the stitches. Mucous membranes and gums heal extremely fast so the wounds should have healed about 5 days after the surgery. It will take much longer for the sutures to dissolve than it takes for the wound to heal. So you can stop worrying now

This happens all the time so don't beat yourself up. Put the cone back on immediately. Then gently wipe the incision with a warm, damp cloth and pat dry. Apply neosporin (or other antibiotic ointment) tonight and tomorrow morning, then keep your appointment for tomorrow. The vet may decide to wait to take the stitches out now that there is some inflammation involved. They may also prescribe oral antibiotics if they are worried that Diesel might have infected his incision. Or it may be perfectly fine and they will remove the stitches and you and Diesel will be on your way! Hope this helps and best of luck to you and Diesel!

Dissolvable stitches means that it is very likely you will not see anything and there is no need to remove them. To be able to evaluate the the wound breakdown and possible exposure of underlying layers (and so the potential risk of infection) I would need to at least see a picture of the wound. Please repost your question and attach a pic of it. Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further. If this answer was helpful please let us know, this will be used to improve our service!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! It looks a little bruised which can be somewhat expected shortly after surgery. However, this should subside shortly. If you ever notice any discharge or bleeding from the incision site, have her evaluated by a veterinarian for further assessment. Good luck!

Hello, thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. It is difficult for me to comment without knowing what type of suture material was used but, generally, if non-absorbable suture material was used, typically the body will reject the stitches and eventually they will surface and can be removed at that time. If absorbable suture was used the stitches will typically dissolve on their own over time (some suture material takes longer to absorb than others). At this stage the incision seems to be healed well and I would not mess with it if this was my patient. My opinion is that you should just keep monitoring the incision and if the stitches start to come to the surface then take Monty back to your vet so they can be removed. Hope this helps. Best wishes.