Great question. The truth is that we don’t know what causes the immune system to go into “overdrive” and turn a normal immune response into autoimmune disease. Have I had dogs that I diagnosed with encephalitis that had recently had a dental cleaning? Absolutely. Do I think there was a link? Probably. Can I prove it? No. Does this make me recommend against dental cleanings? Absolutely not. The health benefits of having a dog’s teeth cleaned are well-documented. Any potential link between a dental cleaning and developing encephalitis is purely anecdotal. There are thousands and thousands of dogs that get dental cleanings every day that do not develop encephalitis. I’ve only seen a handful of dogs with encephalitis that I thought could have an (unproven) link to a recent cleaning.

Thank you for your reply. So hard to live in a country with limited diagnostics for animals. Neurologic issues especially for dogs scare me as we do not have the ct scan or mri or large centers like yours to handle neurologic cases. It is a go then for his dental tomorrow and we bump up the watchful eyes for several months. Thank you very much. We highly appreciate your very informative videos.

Doing great. Receiving cytosar. Thanks for asking.

@@SEVNeurology how long is the Cytostar treatments planned for Coco? My 10 year old Maltese was diagnosed with this very thing about 1 1/2 years ago. We found out because she started having seizures. Initially, her neuro treated her with Keppra, Denamarin (her liver enzymes were off the charts) but then we were finally able to stop that. Simultaneously, she was being treated with prednisone and we tapered slowly down to none only to for her to relapse so we increased and tapering down again. This last increase of prednisone a few months ago, we also started Cyclosporine and Cytostar. She will have her 7th treatment and then if she is still managing well, we decrease that treatment by a week less than each time until January. In total, she will have had 9 treatments. She is mostly blind in her left eye after the early seizure she had and has less strength in her back legs, particularly her back left leg. The right side of the brain is where we saw the brightness on her MRI. Her spinal tap presented no concerning abnormal results. She still has sight in her right eye - but definitely not as energetic like she was before the first seizure occurred in December 2021. She did not have a dental cleaning or anything before and it was just sudden onset. At this point, we are extending her life (as long as she’s not in pain which she isn’t) but I’m curious if you’ve seen the treatments above successfully manage the inflammation so that a Maltese can live a few more years. Do you typically extend Cytostar out of its doing the job and sustaining? The plan is to keep her on the minimum maximum amount of prednisone and eventually cease the Cytostar if she remains in remission. She will continue with the Keppra and Cyclosporine forever (and a very small amount of prednisone).

One other question? Is it advisable to give dogs antibiotics prior to dental surgery? Our JoJo only got the IV antibiotics and subcutaneous shot after surgery…no antibiotics before or to take home after surgery.

Ours was treated for an infection too initially. Died seven days after showing first symptoms. I cannot believe how aggressive it was. Sorry for your loss.

@@neilbridgeman7768 was it for your pup’s dental work as well? I’m sorry for your loss too.🐶😢

@@pattytyndall1021 no, but he did have something in his mouth that was infected as the smell was really bad.

@@neilbridgeman7768 did he pass from encephalitis too?

Jaymie Salvador Sorry to hear. How is he or she doing?

Hi, thanks for your comment. This dog had inflammation of the brain, or encephalitis. 26% of dogs with encephalitis die of the condition if not treated quickly and appropriately. 100% of dogs with encephalitis that are treated with chiropractic or acupuncture die. What makes me sad is meeting dogs that I could have saved, but the pet owner didn't know experts in neurology existed, or they get misinformation from other laypersons online so they don't seek help until it's too late. Think about it this way. If your human loved one started being confused, walking in circles, acting blind, having seizures, didn't recognize their family member, etc -- would you take them to a chiropractor or acupuncturist or would you take them to a neurologist? Fortunately, the holistic veterinarians in south Florida are all fantastic veterinarians and if they saw a pet like this, they wouldn't recommend chiropractic adjustments or acupuncture. They would recognize this as a serious neurological condition and refer them to see us. Thanks for the opportunity to talk about this.

Get some theory on the toppic. Doing acupuncture in encephalitis? I dont think you would get any benefit from it, you would only delay the suffering of the animal

​@@SEVNeurology Love your reply to this comment! Thank you for providing education to those who simply don't understand & might sway someone away from critically time sensitive treatment by a Neurologist for such a serious condition! The fact they think acupuncture would fix this, is what's 'very sad.'