I'm happy to say that my baby boy (a Maine Coon mix) is doing much better! He goes back to the vet in one week so follow up on his dental surgery of a week ago. I feel very bad since I can see such a big difference in him; he must have been very uncomfortable (I can hardly bear to think he was in pain) for quite a long time. His original vet never even mentioned getting his teeth looked at, much less cleaned, and that's another reason she isn't his vet any more.
Today he got groomed and he really needed it. Of course it upset him a lot but he really needed to be cleaned up and he's much too big and heavy for me to do it. Now he's smelling sweet, his furry, thick coat is under control and his dental work has given my boy a new lease on life.
I hope that the visit to the vet next week will be the last "torture session" he needs for a long time.
So "thank you" to his wonderful vet and his equally wonderful groomer. His groomer, by the way, has been grooming him for about 5 years or so and I wouldn't let anyone else touch him. And I think we're going to have a long, successful relationship with his veterinarian too. So everything is good.