Dental Costs

[Guest Attitude]

I am so glad I found this site. I've already seen some very informative posts.

 

I have a 13 year old greyhound who is more than ready for a dental cleaning.

 

I recently moved to Arizona (south of Tucson) from Florida. I have contacted a couple of vets in my area to get a cost estimate for a basic cleaning. Neither would give me an estimate unless I brought Attitude in for an office visit. I did decide on one vet, took him in for a visit and got an estimate that, quite frankly, knocked my socks off. Without going into too much detail, let me say that it would be cheaper for me to drive Attitude to Florida (and back) to have the procedure done. That includes gas of $4.00 per gallon!

 

Naturally, I am interested in finding a closer vet with more reasonable rates.

 

I would certainly appreciate any suggestions. I really do not want to have to drive to Florida.

 

Thank you.

[Guest Scouts_mom]

One thing I have learned from this site is that dental costs vary widely based on geography for some reason. You can do a search on this site and see some discussions of this.

 

That said, I do understand why the vets want to see your 13 yr old dog first. At that age, they would want to be very careful about the anesthesia used and consider your dog's general health, probably run tests to make sure she is healthy before they schedule the procedure.

 

Just to let you know, my 12 year old cat is going in for a dental this Friday. It will cost me between $500 and $900 depending on how long it takes and how many teeth may need pulling. This is where my IRS rebate check is going.

[Guest bonnebike]

I know what you mean regarding socks knocking. Delgado goes in Friday to get his other canine extracted. The estimate was between $500 - $1000 depending on how long it takes them.

[Guest Jennifer4719]

Xena needs a dental and I am afraid of what it is going to cost. Unfortunately, I don't get a tax refund or the stimulus check, so I need to cough up the cash myself.

[Guest boni923]

Ouch! The vet bills do go quite high don't they? I guess it might be the costs are sky high to operate a clinic, because the vets say they get in the field because they want to help animals. It's obnoxious what they charge and unfortunately we have to pay the fees because we have to take care of our family members.

I wish you luck finding a vet that is reasonable and competent at the same time! The teeth are important!

[macoduck]

Perhaps there's a greyhound adoption group near your new home that can suggest a vet with a better price.

[Guest luckydog]

Isn't Dr. Stack over in Yuma? She'd be a good resource on vets in your area (Bisbee? Nogales? Green Valley?)

[PatricksMom]

I pay about $500 (includes pre-dental checkup and bloodwork), no extractions.

[Guest Ola]

I second the idea of contacting a greyhound adoption group to get recommendations. Don't just shop based on price though, putting them under anesthesia is something not to take lightly and you want to make sure you have someone good on the job.

[Guest MZH]

Our Rita had a well-done dental, using the pricier sevo and propofol, among other things, and came around very well. She didn't have any extractions but did have an application of Doxyrobe to a gum pocket. The whole thing was $200. No blood work was done as she had a SuperChem and CBC done a couple of months earlier. Counting that it might be another hundred but it would be far less with just the pre-screen blood work.

 

They do a lot of Greyhounds for adoption groups, so I was very comfortable having them work on her. They are very into pain control so a couple of drugs not normally used were added. I didn't even have to ask what anesthetics they used; they offered the info! (It *is* different for Greyhounds than "regular" breeds.)

 

I "third" asking an adoption group who vets their dogs.

 

Marcia in SC

 

 

[Guest bonnebike]

Just a followup on this thread...

 

Last Friday Del and Mary both went in for a cleaning and Del to have his other canine extracted. Del had a second tooth pulled (broken incisor). The total for the works was just shy of $900.

 

Both are doing fine. Del is off his pain meds now (they were upsetting his tummy) and is pretty much his old self. Hopefully this one heals up better than the last canine extraction. We ended up going to a specialist to get that taken care of (ouch!).

[RobinM]

My Polli and her son Beau will be having their dentals on Thursday and I expect it to be about $450.00 each and that includes all pre surgical testing.

 

It is what it is.

 

I trust my vets explicitly.

[MerlinsMum]

I recently paid $272 for Merlin's dental (including antibiotics for five days afterwords) - he had no extractions. I had bloodwork done a few days before and some other tests so I reckon it was probably closer to $350. I was expecting it to be more expensive, so I was pretty relieved! Either way, I knew he really needed a dental, so I wasn't going to argue with the price... and boy was it worth it! His teeth look amazing now! I am so pleased that I am doubling my efforts to brush his teeth daily.

[patricia]

Flashy had his dental today. He had 3 extractions. Including his pain meds and antibiotics for 10 days: $686.67 (after our discount) He also had nerve blocks.

[Guest FullMetalFrank]

My vet has quoted me $200 for Frank's dental cleaning (it doesn't appear he needs any extractions) I think pricing varies greatly by region.

[Guest bonnebike]

My vet has quoted me $200 for Frank's dental cleaning (it doesn't appear he needs any extractions) I think pricing varies greatly by region.

 

You guys are in Albany, right? The specialist we took Del to last year was Dr. "Van" (Andrea van de Wetering) at Reid Veterinary Hospital. Is that where you guys go?

[Guest Cris_M]

Duncan had an injury that required anesthesia to repair. We added a dental to that for $25! All this is to say that most of your money is going toward anesthesia and bloodwork if the dental is routine. Perhaps you could find out what the costs for anesthesia and bloodwork are and then guestimate how much the dental will cost.

 

Although, I do think the idea about calling the adoption agency is an excellent one.

[Guest greytloves]

Wow. I just had my girls done about 2 weeks ago. $88.00. No extractions, no antibotics.

[Guest ejw]

I pay about $500 (includes pre-dental checkup and bloodwork), no extractions.

That`s the estimate for Jamaica`s dental: somewhere between $500 and $600, if no extractions. And I thought the previous estimate in Alberta a year ago for $350 was too high!

[Guest LazyBones]

i definately consider myself lucky. i pay just under $100 for a dental, and that includes the cost of pre-surgical bloodwork. for extractions, and gumby hasn't had any, my vet charges $3 per tooth.

[rascalsmom]

Dental yesterday was $120. Pre-op bloodwork was $72. She had one extraction which I was not charged for. Tramadol for pain, five day's worth $11. So basically $203 for that. However, the bloodwork showed some funky numbers on kidney functions, so it was $24.50 for urinalysis, and they did a BP for $13.

 

My vet's prices are quite reasonable, I think.

[Guest greytpets]

We charged about $300-600 depending on how bad it is and whether theres extractions needed etc

 

Jester has a hyper-senstivity to plaque so even with teeth brushing everyday he needs a dental every 3 months but thankfully hes really good and weve been doing it with just a sedation instead of an anaesthetic which only costs me about $45

[Guest Tigonie]

Emma had hers done in March. It was almost $400 ($392.32) as the grant total. Only $160 of that was the actual dental. Here were the expenses:

 

Dentals over 50 lbs. $160

Bloodwork $98

IV catheterization $28.50

Administration set $6

NACL IV $15

Morphene $20

Clavamox (antibiotic) $53.35

Nail trim $9

Bio hazard waste disposal $2.47

 

So really, if we had refused the bloodwork (bad idea for a 9 year old with kidney issues) and opted against the IV (again not a great idea), refused pain meds and skipped the antibiotic (poor pupper), it would have been pretty cheap.

 

If you're getting a quote you think is high, ask what's included and which things are the most necessary/why. I have no shame about asking what the costs are and why, what they are testing for with the bloodwork, why they are doing an IV, etc., etc. I also ask for a copy of all lab results. We're military and move a lot, so I've had to change vets. If a vet doesn't have the time for or doesn't seem to want to answer all of my questions--or worse, if they don't seem to have a good answer about why they are doing something--I'm not interested in going to that vet. I always ask a million questions, and I usually come to an appointment with a list. If they just want clients who say, "Do whatever you need to do," I'm not one of those.

[SAVED2]

Wow. I just had my girls done about 2 weeks ago. $88.00. No extractions, no antibotics.

 

With blood work 135.00 here-----cats 50.00

 

[RobinM]

Just had 2 dentals today. Here is the breakdown:

 

Pre Surgical Blood Screen $ 90.00

IV Fluid Therapy-IV catheter $125.00

Dental Cleaning $250.00

Medical Waste $ 3.00

_________

$468.00 we get 20% off

 

We happened to have had x-rays done today and here is that breakdown:

 

Radiology $195.00

each additional $ 75.00

 

We are in Long Island, NY and the vet we use are extremely GH savvy. They do the adoption groups hounds off the track and many people all over LI use them.