Our new pet mouse "Scooter" has serious dental problems. His upper and lower incisors are misaligned, with his lowers sticking out the front of the left side of his mouth, and his uppers growing back into his mouth. This leaves him unable to chew, which for a mouse is the primary pastime. The serious consequence of this misalignment is that his teeth grow continuously, and if left growing, the uppers would pierce his skull and kill him in a matter of weeks.
Enter the Mouse Dentist. Armed with a very small pair of fingernail clippers, the Dentist trims the lower incisors first, then with a clear working path, trims the uppers. The uppers don't grow parallel to each other, so this requires two snips. The hard work is actually performed by the Dental Assistant, who holds Scooter perfectly still and upside down for the duration of the dental visit. Mice don't like being upside down. Scooter tends to kick his back legs and squeak during his visit to the dentist.
Scooter has come to recognize the fingernail clippers and will try to turn and bury his face in his tummy when he sees them. The dentist however, is lightning fast. Since Scooter literally couldn't chew his way out of a wet brown paper bag, the Dentist has no fear for the safety of his fingers. After his dental visit, Scooter licks his lips for about ten minutes, as if he can't believe that his teeth are short again.
When his teeth are getting long again, Scooter runs around his cage with a cashew nut stuck on his lower incisors. This lets the Dentist know it is time for a follow up visit.
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