Dental under anesthesia, how often?
Today I took my Miniature Dachshund to a dog dentist. I had gone in last week for an evaluation prior to scheduling a cleaning. There seemed to be a problem in one area and a loose tooth, but he could not say more until the Xrays were taken under general anesthesia, they would then call me. The dog is 7 yrs old. When they called I was in shock, 20 teeth had to be removed, plus work on the other few remaining ones.... When I picked her up, we talked about small dogs and certain breeds ( Pekinese, Basset Hounds, Pit Bulls, for instance) being more prone to dental problems. I asked about Corgis, since i had one at home. Her reply was "Oh, Corgis are the worst!"
Mowgli is 5 years old and I have avoided dentals because of the general anesthesia. What I would like to know is what others are doing in this matter. In particular, at what age to start routine dentals, how often, and generally what experiences you may have had with this, or any other thoughts on the subject.
I had Alaskan Malamutes for over 30 years and they lived generally 12 to 13 years. I never had a dental done under anesthesia and never had one even lose one tooth, except one broke a tooth in a fight with a younger male.... I am scratching my head, feeling sorry for my little valiant Doxie and guilty about not having realized her condition. She ate kibble with no problem up to the evening before I had to take her in.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Anna Morelli on
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I dealt with another Veterinary Clinic regarding teeth for my older dog. The way they proceeded was identical. You drop the dog off first thing in the morning and go home. They cannot basically tell you what work is needed until the dog is under anesthesia and X-Rays have been taken, then they call you and you have to decide, on the phone.
The "dental package" for a cleaning costs in excess of $500 ( including preliminary blood-work ), but that is only if nothing else shows up on X-Rays. The person who told me Corgis were the worst was not the Vet, but the assistant in the clinic who has been with the main Vet in the practice close to 20 yrs. I am not saying this course of action was not needed, I just wish I could be sure it was...... I see a growing trend in this field, reflected in the first article you posted.
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Permalink Reply by Beth on
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My concern is always how pros are weighed against cons.
Maddie, as I said, has had a broken tooth for nearly a year. I look at it periodically to make sure the gum is not inflamed, which would indicate infection. To date, it has not bothered her nor caused any issues.
How bad do the teeth need to be to justify pulling 5 or 10 or 20? I'm not saying the teeth are great, but surely that much trauma to the jaw bone isn't good either? I know in people it can cause issues. That is why they try to keep your teeth even if it involves root canals, and recommend post-and-screw replacements over partial plates wherever possible.
Out of all my animals, my vet has mentioned dentals once, and that was with my current cat. My first cat lived to be 17 and never had an issue. This one was starting to get some signs of dental disease. She suggested I try Greenies on her and see if that could stave off needing a cleaning, and on her last checkup she looked good. Yet I know other people with other vets whose dogs go in every year or two.
Anesthesia is risky. My hunch is that dental work is way overdone on pets. Like I said, my family has had a fairly large number of dogs, most of which lived to be old, and none of them ever had a single dental procedure, even the little cockapoo mix.
When Maddie started having seizures, my vet did all the blood panels and neurological screening (which is a physical exam). When I asked if there were other tests, she said I could do an MRI if I really wanted to do brain surgery on a dog if something was found, which she seemed to think was a fabulously bad idea. When I asked if knowing if it were a tumor or lesion or just epilepsy would change treatment, she said no. And yet most of what I read online now says MRI screening is routine for dogs with seizures, even though the same treatment is used whether the seizure is epilepsy or a tumor.
A lot of human medicine has been transferred to our pets, but the question remains, just because we can do it, should we?
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And a friend of a friend lost a youngish dog who was under anesthesia for a dental procedure. It is ALWAYS risky. The blood panels reduce risk, but one never knows how a dog will react. In addition, my understanding is kidney function can be significantly reduced before anything shows on the blood panel.
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This group recommends annual cleanings under anesthesia, which I think is preposterous. Starting at one year of age! I wonder how the people coming up with this would like to be put under anesthesia and intubated every year.
https://www.aaha.org/pet_owner/about_aaha/why_accreditation_matters...
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The work on my older dog was done at an AAHA accredited Vet. Hospital. The first time they had a Vet Tech who specialized in dental work, while the Vets supervised the anesthesia part. The next time, about a year later, no more Vet Tech. Now all the various Vets did the dentals. That's when I decided to look for an actual dog dentist practice. The cost for what the AAHA recommends is astronomical for people with multiple pets.
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Most of the pro-dental articles I read compare dogs to people. However, sugar is the primary cause of tooth decay in humans. In cultures with no sugar in the diet, tooth decay is almost non-existent.
http://time.com/3380563/sugar-tooth-decay/
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Permalink Reply by Vicky Hay on
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Here's something interesting, from Veterinary Economics: http://veterinarybusiness.dvm360.com/pearly-white-profits?id=&p...
There are some who read this article skeptically:
http://abcnews.go.com/US/veterinarians-sell-unnecessary-shots-tests...
http://terriermandotcom.blogspot.com/2009/07/pearly-white-profits.html
http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/banfield-pet-hospital-pla... (kind of a long whinge that one might take with a grain of salt...but still...)
And in the other camp, here's an articulate and sincere-sounding veterinarian's cri de coeur:
http://www.vetstreet.com/our-pet-experts/dental-extractions-a-veter...
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Thank you Vicky. The point remains that up until fairly recent years most dogs seemed to do fine into old age without either brushing or dentals, I guess that dates me.....
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Permalink Reply by Linda on
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Anna....it dates me too. Never in my life would my mother have ever spent money on having our dogs' teeth cleaned when I was a kid. I never had it done until we had Max and that was after he had broken a molar.
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