Thursday, November 16
Nov. 16th, 2023 10:20 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gottawonderToday I am grateful for:
More mild weather.
River's dental appointment went okay, overall.
The whole thing has been exhausting. The last time he got his teeth done was two years ago. Not a terrible amount of time to let it lapse, but I was just reluctant to have them done last year because when he did last have them done, he had some kind of reaction to the sedative, and one vet I consulted said that given the risk, it might be better to go a little longer between appointments.
This vet that came today had no issues with the sedation, which is a relief. She did say that there was a LOT of issues with his molars.
What is a mystery to me, is that I have had River's teeth done many times, and the vet that did his teeth two years ago did express that he had a lot of issues in his molars, BUT, the four or five times he got his teeth done previously, those dentists said his teeth were pretty good overall. So, how did his teeth go from "pretty good" to "lots of problems" in the year between Dr. Ian doing his teeth, and Dr. J doing them?
Now this vet says there is enough going on that she would like to do his teeth again in six months, instead of 12 months.
What has been exhausting, is the struggle I have with R. She has this very woo-woo equine dentist that she swears by. I went to his Facebook page, and it is all about "energy healing". Equine dentists do not have to be veterinarians, and this guy is not a vet, and the world of equine dentists is a bit like the Wild West in that their certifications are not regulated the way that veterinary medicine is, so a complete hack can totally be an equine dentist, and so on. It can vary WILDLY in terms of how good they are, or safe.
R wanted me to have HER dentist do River's teeth, except for the concern about the sedation. I felt that he needed an actual vet to do them, and I hope she doesn't give me too much grief about it.
Of course R had to come over and give the vet her opinion about how River's teeth needed to be done, and I actually talked to the vet quietly when she first arrived saying "R, the barn owner, will have to express her opinion, but you're working for me, not her. You and I will work out what River needs together".
Our focus was to do as much correction to the molars as possible, and that was our priority. That was the worst part of the mouth, and had to be done before the sedative wore off.
I believe that the issues River had two years ago were because the vet gave him a second dose of sedative because she wanted to do more on his mouth, and probably over dosed him.
Anyhow, after the vet left, R came over and had to pick apart the work she did, being very critical, even though even SHE had to agree with me that this was about fixing the molars first, and not all the little niceties that take a lot of time like rounding off the canines more etc.
I feel like I'm back to needing to defend River against a barn owner with well-intentioned perhaps, but views that don't match mine. I would like to feel that my needs and views are respected more, and that I don't need to be defensive or have to lie to her.
So, after all of the drama, River woke up fine from the sedation and I turned him out, and I went home.
I had to finish the chores I didn't get done earlier, and by then my Sweetie was home from work.
We didn't watch anything, just talked, and I kind of made him go to bed early. I said that if he was too tired to do anything else or watch a show, he didn't need to just sit around and stay awake for nothing.
I know how that gets, you're exhausted but you feel like "8 pm is just too early to go to bed", so you mill around like a dying housefly instead of just getting some sleep.
I learned about Dr. Frances Oldham Kelsey, the woman who pretty much single-handed-ly blocked the use of Thalidomide in the United States, and proved that it crossed the placental barrier to cause birth defects.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frances_Oldham_Kelsey
More mild weather.
River's dental appointment went okay, overall.
The whole thing has been exhausting. The last time he got his teeth done was two years ago. Not a terrible amount of time to let it lapse, but I was just reluctant to have them done last year because when he did last have them done, he had some kind of reaction to the sedative, and one vet I consulted said that given the risk, it might be better to go a little longer between appointments.
This vet that came today had no issues with the sedation, which is a relief. She did say that there was a LOT of issues with his molars.
What is a mystery to me, is that I have had River's teeth done many times, and the vet that did his teeth two years ago did express that he had a lot of issues in his molars, BUT, the four or five times he got his teeth done previously, those dentists said his teeth were pretty good overall. So, how did his teeth go from "pretty good" to "lots of problems" in the year between Dr. Ian doing his teeth, and Dr. J doing them?
Now this vet says there is enough going on that she would like to do his teeth again in six months, instead of 12 months.
What has been exhausting, is the struggle I have with R. She has this very woo-woo equine dentist that she swears by. I went to his Facebook page, and it is all about "energy healing". Equine dentists do not have to be veterinarians, and this guy is not a vet, and the world of equine dentists is a bit like the Wild West in that their certifications are not regulated the way that veterinary medicine is, so a complete hack can totally be an equine dentist, and so on. It can vary WILDLY in terms of how good they are, or safe.
R wanted me to have HER dentist do River's teeth, except for the concern about the sedation. I felt that he needed an actual vet to do them, and I hope she doesn't give me too much grief about it.
Of course R had to come over and give the vet her opinion about how River's teeth needed to be done, and I actually talked to the vet quietly when she first arrived saying "R, the barn owner, will have to express her opinion, but you're working for me, not her. You and I will work out what River needs together".
Our focus was to do as much correction to the molars as possible, and that was our priority. That was the worst part of the mouth, and had to be done before the sedative wore off.
I believe that the issues River had two years ago were because the vet gave him a second dose of sedative because she wanted to do more on his mouth, and probably over dosed him.
Anyhow, after the vet left, R came over and had to pick apart the work she did, being very critical, even though even SHE had to agree with me that this was about fixing the molars first, and not all the little niceties that take a lot of time like rounding off the canines more etc.
I feel like I'm back to needing to defend River against a barn owner with well-intentioned perhaps, but views that don't match mine. I would like to feel that my needs and views are respected more, and that I don't need to be defensive or have to lie to her.
So, after all of the drama, River woke up fine from the sedation and I turned him out, and I went home.
I had to finish the chores I didn't get done earlier, and by then my Sweetie was home from work.
We didn't watch anything, just talked, and I kind of made him go to bed early. I said that if he was too tired to do anything else or watch a show, he didn't need to just sit around and stay awake for nothing.
I know how that gets, you're exhausted but you feel like "8 pm is just too early to go to bed", so you mill around like a dying housefly instead of just getting some sleep.
I learned about Dr. Frances Oldham Kelsey, the woman who pretty much single-handed-ly blocked the use of Thalidomide in the United States, and proved that it crossed the placental barrier to cause birth defects.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frances_Oldham_Kelsey
