Oral Mass/epulis

[africandreams]

Just wanting to get others' experiences with oral mass/ Epulis.

My dog has had a mass appear rather quickly around her Upper right canine tooth. It is firm, smooth and pink. Doesn't extend to the root (ie is not an abscess)

It hasn't grown in size since. It would be approx the size of 2 peas.

Vet checked on the weekend- confirmed not abscess, however wasn't sure as to what it could be. Suggested recheck if no change and possible dental xrays/ biopsies.

I have been reading a bit on Epulis and oral masses.... has anyone had an oral mass removed? Did they have to remove the tooth surrounding as well?

Anyone had any malignant oral masses?

Not sure how to go about this.... if its something that can be left as it is without doing any harm, would prefer to leave it. On the other hand not sure how to tell if its something cancerous and if so will take it out

Edited May 21, 2013 by africandreams

[SchnauzerMax]

Just wanting to get others' experiences with oral mass/ Epulis.

My dog has had a mass appear rather quickly around her Upper right canine tooth. It is firm, smooth and pink. Doesn't extend to the root (ie is not an abscess)

It hasn't grown in size since. It would be approx the size of 2 peas.

Vet checked on the weekend- confirmed not abscess, however wasn't sure as to what it could be. Suggested recheck if no change and possible dental xrays/ biopsies.

I have been reading a bit on Epulis and oral masses.... has anyone had an oral mass removed? Did they have to remove the tooth surrounding as well?

Anyone had any malignant oral masses?

Not sure how to go about this.... if its something that can be left as it is without doing any harm, would prefer to leave it. On the other hand not sure how to tell if its something cancerous and if so will take it out

It needs to be identified. If it is an epulis then it will keep growing and growing and growing. Benign does not mean harmless.

My old mini schnauzer Zeppi (RIP) had an epulis. We thought he had broken a tooth. It came up very quickly.The vet ended up taking the canine and surrounding teeth with clear margins. There was no option but to remove it.

If it can't be removed, it needs to be cut back. I have seen pictures of a pug called Pumpkin in the states who was rescued with an epulis the size of a small pumpkin (hence the name). I can't find the pages - looks like they have been removed but it was horrible. It was so big that they couldn't remove it all just cut it back and monitor.

[Crisovar]

Just wanting to get others' experiences with oral mass/ Epulis.

My dog has had a mass appear rather quickly around her Upper right canine tooth. It is firm, smooth and pink. Doesn't extend to the root (ie is not an abscess)

It hasn't grown in size since. It would be approx the size of 2 peas.

Vet checked on the weekend- confirmed not abscess, however wasn't sure as to what it could be. Suggested recheck if no change and possible dental xrays/ biopsies.

I have been reading a bit on Epulis and oral masses.... has anyone had an oral mass removed? Did they have to remove the tooth surrounding as well?

Anyone had any malignant oral masses?

Not sure how to go about this.... if its something that can be left as it is without doing any harm, would prefer to leave it. On the other hand not sure how to tell if its something cancerous and if so will take it out

It needs to be identified. If it is an epulis then it will keep growing and growing and growing. Benign does not mean harmless.

My old mini schnauzer Zeppi (RIP) had an epulis. We thought he had broken a tooth. It came up very quickly.The vet ended up taking the canine and surrounding teeth with clear margins. There was no option but to remove it.

If it can't be removed, it needs to be cut back. I have seen pictures of a pug called Pumpkin in the states who was rescued with an epulis the size of a small pumpkin (hence the name). I can't find the pages - looks like they have been removed but it was horrible. It was so big that they couldn't remove it all just cut it back and monitor.

Any oral growth need monitoring, so many of them do grow and cause the dog discomfort. Much easier to remove whilst at manageable size

The Pumpkin story is available here, it is quite disturbing so be warned..Pumpkin

[africandreams]

thanks for your reply SchnauzerMax

How did your vet diagnose Zeppi with an Epulis?

Good to know that if it is this it will keep growing (I didn't know this) I understand that a benign mass does not necessarily equate to harmless

Vet couldn't identify the mass last week- I asked if it was an Epulis, or perhaps an oral tumour but they weren't sure.

[SchnauzerMax]

thanks for your reply SchnauzerMax

How did your vet diagnose Zeppi with an Epulis?

Good to know that if it is this it will keep growing (I didn't know this) I understand that a benign mass does not necessarily equate to harmless

Vet couldn't identify the mass last week- I asked if it was an Epulis, or perhaps an oral tumour but they weren't sure.

My local vet examined Zeppi and said that it wasn't a broken tooth but an infection or a growth of some kind. We tried antibiotics (5 days) because it looked infected but there was no change.

He then referred us to a specialist surgeon at the Animal Referral Hospital (ARH) in Sydney because the surgery to remove growths in the mouth is complex.

The specialist surgeon said identification is by cutting it out and doing pathology on it - you can't be 100% sure until you get it under the microscope. If it is a nasty growth (malignant) then the best option is to get clear margins the first time and even if it is benign, on the whole, clear margins are better.

I don't ever remember discussing taking biopsies - we went straight for the surgery before it got too big.

I hope this helps.

ETA. Zeppi's epulis looked like it was attached to the tooth beside the canine but it was actually the canine.

Edited May 21, 2013 by SchnauzerMax

[africandreams]

Thankyou :)