Money Matters
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MM and dogs

DH has a lot more experience as a dog owner than I do.  Previous to the dog that he brought into our relationship I had only owned cats.  He says the dog is due for teeth cleaning.  Is it worth the money to do teeth cleaning (and the risk that comes with putting her under)?  My cat lived to be 19 without any teeth issues and that was after deciding not to do the cleaning that the vet suggested.

Our dog eats crunchy food and goes to the groomer every 6 weeks where she gets her teeth brushed as part of the grooming routine.

Re: MM and dogs

  • IDK - I haven't ever had my dog's teeth cleaned and she is 7 years old.  I also give my dog crunchy foods and rawhides to chew on for treats.  I really need to start brushing her teeth , it's been on my list forever.
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  • We have always just brushed their teeth ourselves, petsmart has the paste and the finger brush. We haven't had any problems with it and have had several dogs.
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  • I sort of thought that veterinary teeth cleaning was only needed if there was a problem (in which case it would be worth it). Otherwise I do like PPs, finger brush and crunchy treats.
  • Our dog is 8 yrs old and we have had his teeth done by the vet 2-3 times now. We've never had any problems but of course it's expensive. Our dog has always had stomach issues so we used to have him on a chicken and rice diet for the longest time with some hard treats for chewing so that alone doesn't keep his teeth clean. I also have the stuff to clean his teeth ourselves but it's always a fight so I don't do it often enough. Now that he's back to a crunchy food we'll have to see if we would put him under again...but he's getting older so I get a little nervous.

  • edited May 2015
    We've always had our dogs' and cats teeth cleaned once a year at the vet, but it was always included in the cost (up until last month they were all on Banfield's preventative care plan that covered it). To be honest, none of them had any issues with being put under, but I'm not entirely sure it was worth it. Our chocolate lab did start developing some teeth/gum issues as she got older but I'm fairly certain that would have happened regardless of if she had regular cleanings or not.

    I would say you can probably just brush your dog's teeth every once in awhile, and then every so often if you see any plaque or something starting to develop you can take her in for a teeth cleaning. That's just my two cents though!
  • We have only ever had it done when it was vet recommended, which has bee maybe once or twice per dog, throughout their lifetime.  We are not good with brushing their teeth ourselves so I think that is probably why the vet recommends it occasionally.  We trust our vet completely, so when he says he thinks it needs to be done, we do it.  I guess it depends on if you have the same type of relationship with your vet.

  • I've had my dog for about 4 years now and I've never done it. I would agree with the PPs that maybe you should if your dog has dental issues or the breed is prone to them. One of my friends took her dog in for teeth cleaning and the dog didn't survive (blood clot issue with anesthesia) so I just personally will never do it. I feel like it's too risky for an elective procedure, but that's just because of watching what my friend went through.

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  • Our pup isn't even 2 yet, so we've never had it done. As PPs have said, we do have the supplies but don't do it as often as we ideally should. She does get hers brushed once a month when we bring her in for a bath/nail trim. The person at our Petco who usually does her bath is also the trainer who ran the two sessions of classes we took her to, and he said one of his biggest regrets with the dogs he had before the ones he has now is that he didn't take better care of their teeth - he feels strongly that they would have lived longer if he had. We buy this to put in our girl's water every day to help keep her teeth clean http://www.petco.com/product/118167/Nylabone-Advanced-Oral-Care-Liquid-Tartar-Remover-for-Dogs.aspx - it's fairly inexpensive and we only need to use about half a capful per day. Petco sells it, but I just bought a large bottle on Amazon for about $7 and it'll come today - gotta love Amazon Prime!
  • WE've had both our cat's teeth cleaned, but that was because of abcessed teeth. Crunchy food being good for tarter and plaque is a myth, it doesn't help clean your dog's teeth.  to be truely effective you need to be brushing your dog's teeth every other day or so, our vet says 3x a week (we don't do this) things like apples and cheese can help with bad breath, and maybe a litte tarter. 

    They also make treats (not greenies, those things are junk-food and terrible) I believe the company that makes them is called virbac, the treats contain enzymes that help dissolve remaining food particles, won't help with plaque and tarter build-up, but will help a clean mouth stay clean longer. 

    All that said, if your dog really has a build up (you could probably see it on their teeth or their gums may look irritated) it may not hurt to have the vet do a cleaning and then work on maintaining that clean yourself with an enzymatic toothpaste and/or the enzymatic treats. after the ansethesia (which helps your vet really get in your dog's mouth and do a thorough job, toothe extraction is the expensive part of pet dental work, so preventing needing extractions will go a long way towards saving your wallet and preventing your dog from future discomfort. 
    Me: 28 H: 30
    Married 07/14/2012
    TTC #1 January 2015
    BFP! 3/27/15 Baby Girl!! EDD:12/7/2015
  • Also, as far as the safety of anesthesia, We always choose to pay for the pre-anesthesia blood work so we feel more confident that our animals are safe being put under. 
    Me: 28 H: 30
    Married 07/14/2012
    TTC #1 January 2015
    BFP! 3/27/15 Baby Girl!! EDD:12/7/2015
  • Veterinarian here...like the above poster mentioned, pre-anesthetic blood work is strongly recommended. Animals can (and unfortunately do) die under anesthesia even when healthy, but it is extremely rare. Even animals that may have pre-existing health problems can be managed during anesthesia to optimize the outcome and their safety. But we need to know what those problems may be, which is where the bloodwork comes in.

    As for the necessity of teeth cleaning, if your vet recommends it, it's a good idea to get it done. It's easy to assume that everything in their mouth is fine because we as pet owners can't get a good thorough look in an animal's mouth unless they're sedated or anesthetized. Plaque build up on teeth may seem like just an aesthetic problem, but it can cover many other problems (tooth fractures, severe gingivitis, rotted teeth, tumors, etc) that we wouldn't otherwise be able to see. These problems can be extremely painful for an animal and it always breaks my heart to clean the teeth of a cute little dog and find that the teeth are just rotting out of their mouth - and the owners hadn't even noticed. I can't imagine living like that - let alone trying to eat!

    I would recommend following your vet's suggestions :)
  • csuavecsuave member
    Seventh Anniversary 500 Comments 250 Love Its Name Dropper

    Thanks for the comments everyone.  Does anyone want to share what you paid/what is a reasonable price?  We are thinking our vet is a little expensive so maybe the MM compromise here is to shop this procedure around while looking into other vet possibilities.

  • csuave said:

    Thanks for the comments everyone.  Does anyone want to share what you paid/what is a reasonable price?  We are thinking our vet is a little expensive so maybe the MM compromise here is to shop this procedure around while looking into other vet possibilities.

    I think we paid somewhere in the $400 range for each of the cats. each had pre-anesthetic blood work and each had two teeth extracted. our vet charges $50 per-tooth extraction, my mom's vet recently quoted her $100/tooth for her 19year-old cat. the majority of the charge is for anesthesia. 

    side-note, my mom is choosing not to have the dental work done on her 19-year old cat, the vet told her she would "probably do OK" under anesthesia, and that the proceedure "might" allow the cat to eat real cat food again (she's currently eating meat/broth only baby food). And the vet said she'd definately have 3-4 teeth that needed to come out, maybe more, so the estimate on the proceedure was in the $800-900 range. My mom decided it wasn't worth the risk for a 19 year-old kitty, the whole thing would be traumatic for her, and my mom lost her last elderly cat after the vet accidentally broke his fragile little jaw extracting some teeth, he suffered for about 10 days after the proceedure before my mom took him to be put down. 

    all that said, it sounds like you have a young healthy dog, and if the vet is recommending a dental cleaning, it's probably a good idea. Think about it, we see the dentist twice a year and do a much more thorough job cleaning our teeth on a daily baisis, probably not a terrible thing to clean our pet's mouths professionally every now and then. 
    Me: 28 H: 30
    Married 07/14/2012
    TTC #1 January 2015
    BFP! 3/27/15 Baby Girl!! EDD:12/7/2015
  • It depends on your area (more rural versus big city), the size of your pet (many veterinarians choose to prescribe pre-dental antibiotics as well as any necessary post-procedural meds like pain meds) and how the cleaning goes. Everyone prices dentals differently because you just never know what you're going to find in there! If everything goes well, pre-anesthetic blood work, antibiotics, procedural fees (IV supplies, anesthetic supplies, monitors for heart rate, blood pressure, etc, the technician and/or vet's time) etc usually adds up to about $400 where I am, in a relatively affluent suburban area. However, some vet's use dental xrays, or may have to perform extractions, which will all absolutely add to the cost.
  • Swiftlet said:
    It depends on your area (more rural versus big city), the size of your pet (many veterinarians choose to prescribe pre-dental antibiotics as well as any necessary post-procedural meds like pain meds) and how the cleaning goes. Everyone prices dentals differently because you just never know what you're going to find in there! If everything goes well, pre-anesthetic blood work, antibiotics, procedural fees (IV supplies, anesthetic supplies, monitors for heart rate, blood pressure, etc, the technician and/or vet's time) etc usually adds up to about $400 where I am, in a relatively affluent suburban area. However, some vet's use dental xrays, or may have to perform extractions, which will all absolutely add to the cost.
    yes! our cats both had antibiotics, good thing since they had infected teeth! we live in a modestly affluent (for New England) rural area. while vet charges always surprise me, I think we're less than many places. 
    Me: 28 H: 30
    Married 07/14/2012
    TTC #1 January 2015
    BFP! 3/27/15 Baby Girl!! EDD:12/7/2015
  • jessica490jessica490 member
    1000 Comments 250 Love Its Third Anniversary Name Dropper
    edited May 2015
    We have an 9lb dog which costs us in the $400 range. We also get all the pre-blood work done which is included in the price.
  • Phew!  My vet has never mentioned teeth cleaning for either our cat or dog.  I didn't realize it was so pricy!  He does examine their teeth for their routine visits so, I'm assuming if they needed it, he would have mentioned it.  But I guess I should bring it up at their next visit, just to make sure.   
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