Yorkie tooth abscess burst under eye. What aftercare is needed?

Poor Troubles! A tooth root abscess can be a difficult thing to get rid of. I would see your vet as he likely needs oral antibiotics and pain meds. He will also need that tooth extracted as usually the abscess will continue to come back and never completely heal until that tooth is removed. I hope this helps!

I'm sorry to hear that. Giving antibiotics will only be a temporary fix. If she has an abscessed tooth, it is because the tooth is the problem. I'm not sure why your veterinarian thought 8 years was too old, but perhaps Sadie has other medical problems I am not aware of. Antibiotics could temporarily help, but unfortunately, I would suspect once the antibiotics were stopped, it will open back up and start draining again. I recommend trying to save up, or searching online to see if there happens to be a low cost income based clinic in your area, so that the tooth can be removed. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

I would add that I think it's unlikely for a tooth root abscess to cause the eye to actually pop out (Proptose) however without definitive treatment the problem (the bulging and the infection) are going to get worse. Having that pocket of infection in the gum will likely cause the bacteria to translocate to the bloodstream, where it could cause other problems, including with the heart and the liver. I would consider seeking another opinion, perhaps of a veterinary dentist. I have anesthetized many, many older dogs for tooth removal, and my personal opinion is that removing diseased teeth is necessary. If Enzo has blood work prior to surgery, and possibly even a chest x-ray to check his heart and lungs, in the hands of a qualified veterinarian who is confident with anesthesia and dentistry he will likely do fine. If you don't have the tooth removed, your only other alternative is using antibiotics in a "pulse" fashion, such as 3 weeks on antibiotics, followed by 1 week off. Clindamycin is sometimes used in this fashion, but again, results are suboptimal and the infection within the root pocket will never completely resolve - it may improve, but it won't resolve.

I wouldn't say that you can rule out an abscess, on the contrary, if it got better after antibiotic treatment, it's likely to be a tooth abscess. the antibiotic may solve the problem but you cannot know in advance, you need to finish the antibiotic course and wait a few weeks to see if it comes back or not. if it comes back he will need a dental procedure, and by the way he is nowhere too old for anesthesia, a few weeks ago one of my oldest patients, a cat 23 years of age, went through a small procedure under general anesthesia without any issues.

Unless you had dental X-rays taken under anesthesia, then there is no way to know for sure this is not a tooth root abscess from a bad tooth. This is by far the most common cause for facial swelling in a small breed dog of Jacky's age. Schedule a full dental procedure to include dental X-rays to fix this likely problem.

Any kind of puncture wound can cause an abscess. Most abscessed have to be treated at the very least with oral antibiotics prescribed by your veterinarian, or else the infection will stay underneath the skin. I would recommend visiting your vet within the next day or two at the most to get this treated appropriately . I hope that your fur baby Sessy gets this abscess resolved soon! Best wishes and take care.

Yes it is quite possible this could be related to a dental abscess and a full oral exam by your vet (possibly under sedation) would be advisable, followed by extraction if appropriate as well as pain relief and antibiotics as prescribed