Toothy Thomson

YES! You saw that right, a number 2 pencil ✏️ FIXED that luxated TMJ!!
AND a few buttons and suture hold the joint in place while additional injuries heal.
NOW that pencil needs to place in the correct location, AND rotated in the correct direction, WITH the correct pressure when closing.
Location: between the carnassials (maxillary PM4 & mandibular M1) on the affected side.
Direction: rotate the pencil ✏️ down and back
*counterclockwise for the left and clockwise on the right*
Pressure: just enough to engage the ✏️
By rotating the ✏️ while applying pressure on the closed mouth, you will push the mandible DOWN to get the condyle under the articular eminence and back into the mandibular fossa.
AND for the buttons, they need to be placed bilaterally andddd allow the cat to open their mouth enough to eat, BUT nit so much that the condyle re-luxated.
Check out my colleague’s paper on the BEARD/modified labial buttons technique: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27487655/

Please stay SAFE while staying COOL 🧊
Given the hardness of large ice cubes, AND our pet’s oral anatomy and thus how the teeth come together to chew COMBINED with PHYSICS this can lead to tooth fracture.
The main chewing teeth, maxillary fourth premolar and mandibular first molar, come together like scissors ✂️
Therefore, of something harder than the teeth is placed between them there is an OUTward force on the maxillary tooth and an INward force on the mandibular tooth.
The RESULT = tooth fracture.
So instead of large cubes (IF your eye likes to check 🧊) instead go for small cubes or even better crushed ice.
Stay cool 😎 and FOLLOW Amy | Veterinary Dentist | Dentistry Courses & Advice for more oral health tips!