The Patient
Baby, a 5 year old female spayed Italian Greyhound, came to see me when her owner noticed her left cheek was very swollen and tender. She was also hesitant to eat that day.
The Case
On examination, Baby looked like a little chipmunk with her cheek stuffed with nuts. :) There was a soft swelling on the outside of her left cheek near the corner of her mouth. Using a bright light and some very helpful assistants, I was able to identify something abnormal jammed into the soft tissues at the back of her left inner cheek near her upper molars. I used a long cotton-tipped applicator (like a long Q-tip) and gently swabbed the area to remove what appeared to be several pieces of stick or other plant material that had embedded into the soft tissue of her mouth. There was also some blood and pus present and it had a bad odor. Baby was so brave and trusting to let me help her remove the foreign material. Thankfully, her nearby teeth were unaffected.
The Treatment Plan
I prescribed an oral antibiotic as well as a pain medication to help with the swelling and inflammation. I instructed her owner to only feed soft food for about a week while her mouth was healing. I showed the foreign material to her owner and she wasn't sure what it was either but suspected she had chewed on a stick in the yard the previous day.
The Outcome
I checked on Baby five days later and her owner was happy to report that Baby was back to normal, the swelling had resolved, and she was eating normally again. No more chipmunk cheek! 
The Drake Center for Veterinary Care is an AAHA-accredited animal hospital located in Encinitas, CA. The Drake Center loves being a source of information for all pet owners across the country however if you have any questions regarding pet care and do not live in Encinitas, CA or surrounding cities, we encourage you to contact your local veterinarian.
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