My dog's face is swollen with nasal discharge after dental work?

Nasal discharge can be caused by many different things, including bad dental disease/infected teeth, bacterial or fungal sinus infection, a foreign object in the nasal cavity, or even nasal cancer. Your veterinarian, after performing a physical exam and obtaining the complete medical history, will be able to determine which of these causes are more likely. If a dental procedure and tooth extraction is recommended, your veterinarian will determine whether Spike is healthy to undergo the anesthesia. Just like in humans, anesthetic procedures are not without risk. However, as long as a good physical exam is done and pre-operative bloodwork indicates that he is healthy, he is not at a higher risk than any other dog. Oftentimes dogs vocalize during anesthesia recovery because of the effects of the medications or they are confused. Talk to your veterinarian about this concern and steps can be taken to ensure that he has a safe and minimally stressful recovery.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. Judging from the pictures, I would be suspicious that this is an abscess / infection or a nasal / sinus tumor. If this is a tumor, it may have developed a secondary infection, which is why it likely responded to the previous treatment. Unfortunately I do not have an answer for you on what this is other than it would need further testing such as rhinoscopy or CT scan to help determine what this could be. If you are unable to do further testing, I would consider continuing the antibiotics / steroids long term to help keep Luna comfortable. 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.

Poor Spike! I know this is a tricky situation due to his age. Every dog handles this dofferently but the older they get the harder it is. I would consider his age and talk to your vet in best case scenario how many GOOD QUALITY months could you get out of him. If it is only projected to add a month to his life then I am not sure it is worth putting him through an extensive and painful surgery plus radiotherapy. On the hand, if it 6 more months, then it may be worth it. If you dont plan to do the radiotherapy and surgery alone wont extend his life then I personally wouldnt do surgery at his age. I would talk to your vet abot what can be done just to make him comfortable - pain meds, appetite stimulate, long term anti-fungals or antibiotics, etc. In seniors, I always like to consider how to give them a good QUALITY of life over QUANTITY. I hope this helps!

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! If nasal discharge is on one side and the pet is also sneezing a tooth can be the problem. I doubt it is the epulis per se. If it is a tooth is is usually from a tooth root abscess. It isn't unreasonable to have a dental done where dental X-ray is available and have all the teeth on that side X-rayed to check for a tooth root abscess. If one is found it would be removed and you can see if his symptoms resolve. You just need to be prepared for the internists recommendations if it isn't the answer. I wish Wiley the best!

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Poor Spike! I am assuming since you have had extensive diagnostics done that you and Spike are in the care of a specialist. If there is an infection in his sinuses then it could be resistant or be fungal. Fungal infections do not respond to antibiotics and the Vet would want a diagnosis before starting anti-fungals. My concern is for a tumor due to Spike's age. I can't view your image as it is very very small and out of focus. I would ask what other imaging like an MRI can be done to confirm if there is a tumor or not. Also I would just do the scope with the hope that they will see the tumor and are able to get a good culture and biopsy. If they can't then consider surgery. I wish you and Spike the best!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Yes, a CT scan would be the next diagnostic for something like this. This is very important as I am afraid this could either be a nasal cancer or possibly a severe nasal fungal infection. A CT scan helps to distinguish these conditions and a biopsy will help confirm it. Rhinoscopy is needed in some cases to better visualize the nasal cavity after the CT scan is done. Good luck and have a great day!

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Poor Neo! I am concerned about the swelling on her nose. Since she isn't responding to antibiotics I would worry that she has a tooth root abscess, a nasal tumor or a fungal infection in her nasal cavity. I would do full blood work and then sedated her to take skull X-rays and X-ray the teeth on that side of her face. I hope this helps and I wish Neo the very best!