Dental work on pets

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Have you guys ever had your pet under anesthesia for dental work? The kind of dental work I'm referring to would be ultrasonic teeth cleaning, tooth extraction, or both. The veterinarian today said my cat has a cavity in one of her teeth and more than likely it will have to be pulled. She showed me a red spot next to her tooth at the gum line and told me that it's tooth decay. The doctor doesn't know if my cat will need more teeth pulled unless they're able to get in there and probe her teeth.

They've been telling me for years now that I need to bring my cat in for a teeth cleaning, but they've never been able guarantee me that she'll make it through the procedure under anesthesia alive. Apparently there's always risks involved when putting a pet under anesthesia. Any advice or comments would very much be appreciated.

I'm enclosing a link that describes the procedure for anyone that's interested:

http://www.cathospitalofchicago.com/onli...sthesia-in-cats
 
Get a second opinion from an other vet. From the time my pets are puppies/kittens, i only feel dry food . Only if the get old enough that they lose too many teeth should you feed soft food. I have not have pets with teeth problems, but again i only feed dry food.
 
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Our cat was getting cranky with the kids, and it turned out to be a bad "molar"...well worth the cost/risk, as I was not far off arranging for a different type of injection.
 
We have a couple of cats one is a great mouser and we have spent probably $500.00 on the cat Molar extraction and later an eye problem,,, he is the best cat I ever had. The other cat would be put down be down with out a second thought. Good animals are hard to come by and [censored] animals are a dime a dozen. I don't care for [censored] animals as life is too short.
 
I had my Rottweiler go under for dental cleaning at the age of 4 or 5, I don't remember.

Even with regular brushing using a doggy toothbrush (same as ours basically) and doggy toothpaste, by 4-5 years of age, he started getting some bad breath so it was time for a cleaning.

Afterward, he breath is fresh and clean again and I keep up with brushing pretty much daily. He doesn't seem to mind (toothpaste is minty, not some bacon smell or something like that)

here's the beast...

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We always have our cats teeth cleaned around age 5 and age 10. Yes the vet always says they can't guarantee the cat will survive anasthesia but they always come through it fine.

Hey I just survived a month in a coma so how bad can it be?

John
 
Our cat is 16, perfect teeth. 10 year old lab mix has good teeth, but our 10 year old husky mix has mouth chemistry that loads his teeth with tartar within 6 months of dental work. Each animal has different needs for dental work, a lot having to do with PH of their saliva.
 
Yes, a few times with the cat that adopted us from the neighbors. It lived to be 30 (I know it seems an impossibly high age, but the neighbor swears they got it when their son was born).

The "red spot" is probably as bad on the cat as it would be on us. First time we took him in a tooth or two was extracted. I took him in next time when I saw the buildup getting bad. Takes a few weeks to really be back to normal with an extraction. Then he was a lot happier.
 
We have a cat who had a tooth extracted a couple of weeks ago. She was somewhat groggy when she came home but otherwise no problems to note. Didn't move much for a couple of days. Don't know how her doc did it but we did not have to administer any drugs on the return home which was a huge help; somehow the painkillers lasted long enough. Yes she was fully under.
Good luck.
Kevin
 
We have had a couple of dogs over the years that were getting sick and being cranky, turned out after a couple teeth were pulled they were back to their old healthy friendly selves. So in many cases it's worth it.

Worrying about them surviving the anesthesia is valid, however not doing anything is allowing your pet to suffer with mouth pain and ill health. IMO take care of their health problems...anesthesia is required since there is no way in [*censored* I typed it myself haha] an animal will sit still for dental work.
 
Originally Posted By: Artem


here's the beast...


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Love Rotties...had one in the past, and will be our next dog.
 
Pet dental health is usually a very neglected thing.

I have had miniature dachshunds for years and a few proceedures on them. Anesthesia is always a risk, human or veterinary so that's just a flat "given" in the situation.

If he/she sees one, there's likely two or three more. Cats are usually MUCH more difficult about letting you visualize their mouth vs. dogs. I had a vet tell me once about the importance of cleaning so I made it a routine to scale my dogs teeth myself over the years, and the first pair I had lived until 18 years, not exceptional for a cat but for a dog, pretty unusual and I think dental care had a lot to do with it.

It's really a personal choice; some don't want the expense and hassle of doing the care, but if you want the maximum life quality and time for your cat, it's a good thing to do if you can afford it.
 
yes. just had two dogs get their teeth cleaned in the last month. one is 5 years old; the cost was around $400. around 325 for the actual cleaning and 75 for a blood test before the anestetic. two weeks ago we had a rescue go in for dental work. she is 4 years old; needed teeth cleaned and 6 extractions. no problems at all afterwards. (we just got her 3 weeks ago)

I know that there are always risks; but there are also risks in ignoring the cleaning.
 
Kuato,

Apparently I'm on your ignore list, so I can't send you a PM. Just wanted to say I'm very grateful for the encouraging words. Thank you so much.
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Our cat had a tooth out a couple of years ago - cost more than a human! I asked the vet if dry food was better for a cats teeth - he said the best food to keep a cats teeth healthy is live food. His breath always smells like something long dead.
 
I remember being told this when my cat needed some dental work. Sounds like kitty CYA insurance. My (older) cat came through fine. I put her in a dark room until the anesthisia wore off.

Not all humans are good candidates for being put under either + the trauma of surgery.

Life is like that...there are no guarantees.
 
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