I'm curious on whether or not you have your pet's teeth professionally cleaned. Our vet recommended it (costs approx $300), but I am a little apprehensive about having my dog put under anesthesia for the procedure. We brush our dogs' teeth when we bathe them and we get them treats that are supposed to help with their teeth. I was discussing this topic with some coworkers a few weeks ago and I'm just wondering what the majority of everyone else does.
Poll answers: 1. Yes, we always have and always will 2. Yes, but only because they have issues with their teeth 3. No, but we do brush their teeth at home and use food/treats designed to help clean their teeth 4. No, we don't
How do his/her teeth look? Is there a lot of plaque? I really think it depends on the dog whether or not they need professional cleaning. Our dog that passed a couple of years ago had great teeth. We literally did nothing to maintain them and only had them professionally cleaned once. Our other dog has terrible teeth. She hasn't lost any, so they're pretty strong, thankfully, but the plaque build up is unreal. The last time we had them cleaned, they looked like they had never been cleaned less than a month later. We've had hers cleaned 3 times in the last several years. I won't do it again because she'll be 13 this year and I don't think it would be worthwhile to put her body through that.
Also, in case you're looking for alternatives, giving beef marrow bones as a treat works wonders for taking chunks of plaque off. It's amazing how great her teeth look when she gets them regularly.
no. we do brush their teeth when we do baths, and they have dentastix for treats. plus the bones we give them are designed to clean their teeth as they chew. however, the golden's teeth probably could use a professional cleaning. (wilted) although he will be 8 this year, and the vet has never recommended it before. or mentioned it, really.
My cats have each had their teeth cleaned professionally once in their lives, when the vet recommended it. They weren't on soft food at all, so I guess it wasn't too bad that we hadn't done it until around the 10 year mark. No one ever mentioned it to us before then, so when they said it was time, we did it.
Post by underwaterrhymes on Mar 1, 2015 21:49:35 GMT -5
We have had our cat's teeth cleaned professionally, but not regularly. She needs a little extra help in that arena, so we will do it whenever our vet recommends it.
Post by polarbearfans on Mar 1, 2015 21:50:05 GMT -5
We have had the cats teeth cleaned when recommended. Mine won't allow us to brush. The one with great teeth finally needed a cleaning after 6 years. My oldest needed cleaning and teeth pulled at 2 years. Genetics :/
Yes, when recommended by the vet. I think that's about every 2-3 years. It wasn't recommended for the first time until she was about 7, I think. I brush her teeth...about twice a year. Whoops.
We have 4 dogs of the same Brachycephalic breed. 1 needs to have surgical intervention for her teeth every 18-24 months. The other 3 are fine with our interventions.
Just like humans, some dogs have genetically worse teeth. All of our dogs have teeth brushed every couple of weeks, they get teeth-friendly treats. But our Lexie just needs more care. We push the surgery as far as we can because of our anesthesia concerns. But when her teeth are bad she's more prone for tumors in the facial area, pain with eating, aggressive behavior. So we have her teeth cleaned. In our LCOL area, it's about 250, so 300 seems ok.
“With sorrow—for this Court, but more, for the many millions of American women who have today lost a fundamental constitutional protection—we dissent,”
We had Dexter's teeth cleaned twice in the 10 years we had him. We'll do it for Quincy and Sadie too if they need it. We do brush their teeth, but we can't get everywhere. We can barely get them to let us get the insides at all. And we give dental treats but I don't expect them to be effective enough to ward off cleanings altogether.
Dexter's vet recommended his first cleaning, too. Plaque can can gum disease and other problems, so it can definitely be a health issue. In our experience, the anesthesia they used for cleanings wasn't as heavy and long-lasting as they would use for surgery. He was awake and himself pretty quickly afterward.
Post by prettyinpink on Mar 1, 2015 21:59:01 GMT -5
We need to however our Vet specializes in dental care so she wants to charge $1000 to do 1 of our very small dogs. We are planning on taking them to our hometown to have it done this summer because the Vet there is way more reasonable.
How do his/her teeth look? Is there a lot of plaque? I really think it depends on the dog whether or not they need professional cleaning. Our dog that passed a couple of years ago had great teeth. We literally did nothing to maintain them and only had them professionally cleaned once. Our other dog has terrible teeth. She hasn't lost any, so they're pretty strong, thankfully, but the plaque build up is unreal. The last time we had them cleaned, they looked like they had never been cleaned less than a month later. We've had hers cleaned 3 times in the last several years. I won't do it again because she'll be 13 this year and I don't think it would be worthwhile to put her body through that.
Also, in case you're looking for alternatives, giving beef marrow bones as a treat works wonders for taking chunks of plaque off. It's amazing how great her teeth look when she gets them regularly.
I mentioned to our vet that I was playing tug with my dog and he lost a tooth and that he has been having a hard time chewing on harder things. The vet looked at his teeth and said that they all seem sturdy and that his teeth have some plaque but look good considering his age and that we may want to consider a professional cleaning. He is a Yorkie so they are prone to having issues with their teeth. We don't know his exact age but he is at least 7 years old and has never had anything professionally done. We brush their teeth every time we bathe them and we give them dental treats on a regular basis (unfortunately they are now too hard for him to chew).
It makes me feel better that so many of you are voting no! When we were discussing this at work, one lady acted like I the most negligent person EVER because I don't have their teeth professionally cleaned at least once a year. She said that I shouldn't have pets if I'm not going to take care of them. Funny thing is that she has never had a pet during her whole entire adult life.
We did last year when our dog was 9 years old since it was recommended by his vet. I was really apprehensive because he had never gone under before (he was neutered before we adopted him). I took him to a doggie dentist that was recommended to us versus having it done by a regular vet. Doing that did help put me at ease knowing that he was seeing someone specialized to do pet cleanings. When we went for his annual physical last week the vet was really happy with how his teeth look. I won't do it again unless it's recommended by his doctor, but he did really well, so it was nothing to worry about after all.
I will add that the doggie dentist did say that pet owners should have their dog's teeth professionally cleaned once a year, but I didn't follow that advice...
Hmmm. I would be concerned about abscesses if he's losing teeth and chews are too hard for him. We've always cleaned her teeth mostly for cosmetic reasons, but bad teeth can lead to other health issues. It sounds like he may have a couple that need to be pulled or at least keep an eye on. The anesthesia doesn't really concern me given his age. I think we had Bella's teeth cleaned when she was 10 or 11.
eta: In response to your crazy co-worker, I in no way think you're being negligent. You clearly care a lot and take great care of his teeth. I would just be concerned with this being a typical problem for the breed. He may require more than just a basic cleaning.
It makes me feel better that so many of you are voting no! When we were discussing this at work, one lady acted like I the most negligent person EVER because I don't have their teeth professionally cleaned at least once a year. She said that I shouldn't have pets if I'm not going to take care of them. Funny thing is that she has never had a pet during her whole entire adult life.
she's judgy BECAUSE she's never had a pet. she doesn't know. ignore her.
It makes me feel better that so many of you are voting no! When we were discussing this at work, one lady acted like I the most negligent person EVER because I don't have their teeth professionally cleaned at least once a year. She said that I shouldn't have pets if I'm not going to take care of them. Funny thing is that she has never had a pet during her whole entire adult life.
lol!! Seriously??? Please. I've given many animals from the animal shelter wonderful lives without ever having their teeth cleaned. Come on! She's ridiculous.
My big dog never has bad teeth. She hasn't had them cleaned. Little dogs teeth get bad. He's 9 and he's had them cleaned maybe 3 times? He's due for another one but we are dropping a lot of cash on big dog for her health issues.
I didn't, until both of my little dogs needed extractions. My min pin lost a few teeth, and didn't have any recurring problems until her death (she died a couple weeks ago). My mini schnauzer on the other hand has always had issues with his teeth, and he ended up losing about 1/2 of them a few years ago (when the min pin had her extractions), and the rest this past Thursday (it wasn't a good month for our dogs). We tried to keep up with the cleaning, but even with bones, brushing, etc., his teeth especially weren't getting any better.
And damn it if it isn't expensive. I dropped $1000 the first time we had dental work done for both of them (cleaning/extractions) and for the mini schnauzer this past week, it was also $1000. Good grief.
Yep. Usually one needs it per year. Neither has great teeth. The last time they did Stella's they pulled two of her front teeth and the improvement of her breath was unreal! Poor thing.
Hmmm. I would be concerned about abscesses if he's losing teeth and chews are too hard for him. We've always cleaned her teeth mostly for cosmetic reasons, but bad teeth can lead to other health issues. It sounds like he may have a couple that need to be pulled or at least keep an eye on. The anesthesia doesn't really concern me given his age. I think we had Bella's teeth cleaned when she was 10 or 11.
eta: In response to your crazy co-worker, I in no way think you're being negligent. You clearly care a lot and take great care of his teeth. I would just be concerned with this being a typical problem for the breed. He may require more than just a basic cleaning.
He has always been weird about eating hard things. He will give it a few tries and then spit it out if it doesn't break. We have been trying to give him smaller food so that it won't be so tough, but he rather struggle to eat the bigger pieces. I don't know why he refuses to eat the dental treats that are just as hard as his big dog food. He's weird.
The vet did look and say that his gums seemed really healthy and that it didn't look like any teeth would need to be pulled. I'm not sure if they can tell if there is an abcess without xrays or poking around with dental tools? We saw a different vet at our practice last time, so I may ask our normal one when we take them in for some shots next month. The anesthesia part really worries me because they said that they would have to keep him overnight. It just seems like a big, scary process for such a simple procedure. I mean human don't even have to stay overnight after having their wisdom teeth surgically cut out.
My dog is 5 and just had her first cleaning. She is a Maltese mix and you could see her teeth definitely had some build up.
It must vary a lot though... My cat is 15 and has never had a cleaning, and the vet said he didn't need one either.
ETA, she didn't have to stay overnight at the vet for it though! We dropped her off at 8 and came back at 3 and she was 100% her normal self. No special aftercare or anything.
I didn't, until both of my little dogs needed extractions. My min pin lost a few teeth, and didn't have any recurring problems until her death (she died a couple weeks ago). My mini schnauzer on the other hand has always had issues with his teeth, and he ended up losing about 1/2 of them a few years ago (when the min pin had her extractions), and the rest this past Thursday (it wasn't a good month for our dogs). We tried to keep up with the cleaning, but even with bones, brushing, etc., his teeth especially weren't getting any better.
And damn it if it isn't expensive. I dropped $1000 the first time we had dental work done for both of them (cleaning/extractions) and for the mini schnauzer this past week, it was also $1000. Good grief.
Hmmm. I would be concerned about abscesses if he's losing teeth and chews are too hard for him. We've always cleaned her teeth mostly for cosmetic reasons, but bad teeth can lead to other health issues. It sounds like he may have a couple that need to be pulled or at least keep an eye on. The anesthesia doesn't really concern me given his age. I think we had Bella's teeth cleaned when she was 10 or 11.
eta: In response to your crazy co-worker, I in no way think you're being negligent. You clearly care a lot and take great care of his teeth. I would just be concerned with this being a typical problem for the breed. He may require more than just a basic cleaning.
He has always been weird about eating hard things. He will give it a few tries and then spit it out if it doesn't break. We have been trying to give him smaller food so that it won't be so tough, but he rather struggle to eat the bigger pieces. I don't know why he refuses to eat the dental treats that are just as hard as his big dog food. He's weird.
The vet did look and say that his gums seemed really healthy and that it didn't look like any teeth would need to be pulled. I'm not sure if they can tell if there is an abcess without xrays or poking around with dental tools? We saw a different vet at our practice last time, so I may ask our normal one when we take them in for some shots next month. The anesthesia part really worries me because they said that they would have to keep him overnight. It just seems like a big, scary process for such a simple procedure. I mean human don't even have to stay overnight after having their wisdom teeth surgically cut out.
Huh. Overnight seems way excessive. We've always dropped off in the morning and been able to pick up by the afternoon. They're sometimes a little out of it, but generally just fine by evening.
If his gums seems healthy, he's probably fine. It's true that the plaque covers stuff up and you can't always tell until you get in there. That's why they'll give you a range for the cost because it can vary widely based on what happens when they get in there.
Sounds like he's just a picky guy when it comes to food and treats. Our girl is a bit of a brat about stuff like that, so I get it. If his mouth doesn't seem to be bothering him and what the vet is seeing looks healthy, I wouldn't stress about it. I would definitely consider a second opinion if you're interested in pursuing it though. Like I said, the overnight thing seems pretty excessive and makes me wonder if this might not be super routine for them.
Post by FrozenSunshine on Mar 1, 2015 23:17:55 GMT -5
Our cat will be 8 in May and we've never had her teeth cleaned. At our last appointment they asked if we realized she'd chipped a tooth way in the back, UMM...no. All hands that try to pry a mouth open are bitten. He said to keep an eye on it and that was all.
This cat is still the biggest kitten around and gets into everything! I won't lose sleep over one tooth!