Epilus - Tooth Turning Black - Failed Pre-Dental Anesthesia Test

My 12.5 year old Lab has an Epilus around his canine tooth. When he went for his dental and epilus removal he failed the pre-surgery anesthesia bloodwork. Vet recommended against surgery due to kidney disease so we brought him home. This was the beginning of March. Now the tooth is turning black. Are there any options or do we wait for it to fall out? Thanks.

Hello!   There is no clear 'pass' or 'fail' mark when it comes to kidney tests.  The results simply quantify levels of various chemicals in the bloodstream, which make up one to three jigsaw pieces in the complex landscape picture of your dogs' health.  For example, if urea were to be raised, it may signify dehydration in which case a drip might sort it out.  But it could also directly reflect kidney health.  I don't know what your vet found with your dogs' kidneys - perhaps they measured creatinine or a level called SDMA -  or indeed how many jigsaw pieces they have at this point.  The better clinical picture the vet can build up (the more jigsaw pieces they have), the more information they have about the safety of carrying out the operation and about whether or not the kidneys will need their own treatment plan.  You do not indicate how far along you are with this process, so it would make sense to ask your vet.  In dogs who are known to have kidney failure, sometimes vets like to remove the tooth anyway if the circulation through the kidneys can be adequately supported under anaesthesia.  This is because dental disease can introduce microbes into the blood and put an extra strain on the kidneys.  However, in some cases antibiotics will be needed first and in others, it's deemed too big a risk.  The person who almost certainly has the most information about your dogs' clinical situation is your vet,  so it would make sense to ask them the following questions:   1) What they have found with the kidneys  2) What this means  3) Whether any more tests are needed  4) What they expect to happen with the kidneys from here    5) How the severity of this affects their willingness to operate on the tooth at this time  6) What they would advise you to do next.   The answer is sometimes a little complicated, so do not be afraid to ask if you can take away a copy of the clinical notes afterwards, or if they could write out very rough notes.  Best of luck and we hope that you find the answers you seek.

Thank you.