Dental Issues

[SKNerissa]

So a couple months ago I took Riley for some hand scaling to be done by the vet under local anesthetic. However the vet accidentally nicked him with the needle and then Riley decided he wanted no part of it. Our vet wanted to do the scaling under general but to be honest I chickened out as the vet mentioned he wouldn't be intubating for the quick procedure. It was quoted as being around $125. Later on I was cleaning Riley's teeth at home and noticed what looked like a tiny hair on his tooth at the gumline but when I teased it with a dental scaler a chip came out! No idea how this happened. So I took Riley for a second opinion. That vet said he has never seen anything like it and needed to show pictures to a dental specialist. Quote came back at nearly $500 for a clean and x-rays to diagnose the problem. I have been told it could easily go over $1000 to have this fixed. I don't know what to do! Riley doesn't seem to be in any discomfort as he is using the tooth to chew his dental chews. Do I see a specialist? I can't really afford this but obviously will do whatever is in Riley's best interest.

 

[ghggp]

I feel for you and Riley!

Maybe get a second opinion?

It is so disheartening when you feel taken advantage of when you only want the best for them! The money that is charged these days for dentals is outrageous! My vet charges $350 for teeth cleaning without extractions.

I would think that as long as he is not in pain maybe wait and see how he responds. I am no vet or dentist...

Please let us know how it goes...

 

[Ann]

Our Barkley has two chipped teeth. Admittedly, they are chipped on the bottom and not at the gum line, but he's had them for years and they don't seem to bother him. He still eats well and chews aggressively. My vet looks at them every year and can't see a reason to do anything about them.

A few years ago I was brushing Checkers' teeth and a huge chip came out on a back molar. We opted to have my vet extract it. She chews like a fiend and never met a meal she wouldn't eat even without the tooth, so perhaps just removing it would be an option for you although I doubt that's inexpensive either. Our vet is also expensive for dental stuff.

So I think that unless you're seeing evidence that Riley is in pain, not eating in that area or any other sign of a problem I'd wait and see.

 

[Caro]

Honestly I think dentals are always expensive - the cat dentals are the worst.

Both Deska's back molars are chipped, but they are sideways chips and he's had them for many years. He never seems to have issues with chewing on them. I had my dogs teeth cleaned for the first time this year (grade 1 dentals) so had Deska's chipped teeth x-rayed. Neither chip reached the pulp so they didn't need extracting. The vet said it may mean extraction in the future because the tooth is now weakened in those spots, but given his age I'm hoping to avoid this.

According to my vet the side chips/cracks usually occur from chewing hard things, like bones or hard treats or toys. Deska can't have bones any more, unless I want to risk the crack moving into the pulp.

I agree with Ann - unless you are seeing signs of pain then you may as well wait. And avoid giving hard bones and chews so it doesn't worsen.

 

[RikyR]

Scheduled a dental for Zulu next week. I never really looked at his very back teeth, but our vet noticed them during his annual. Pretty grungy, and I had noticed is breath was different. Quoted $190.00 for the cleaning, bring him in early, pick him up end of day. For the last several days, I have been rubbing his teeth with my finger, and it does not seem to bother him. So I plan to start brushing. Went to Chewy, and there must 50 different brushes/tooth paste available. For those who brush, any recommendations?

 

[Caro]

On the vet recommendation I use a piece of gauze as a toothbrush rather than an actual toothbrush, just wrap it around my index finger (of course only works if your dog won't bite your finger). It's so much easier and I can get to the teeth better and the rough texture of gauze is just as good as a toothbrush. Any piece of rough-ish cotton would work, so I have used a thin face washer as well.