Non-anesthetic Teeth Cleaning!

[Guest Houndstooth]

Thorough dentals include cleaning below the gum line, not just what you can see.

 

Exactly. Is she getting below the gumline? I don't know how she could on an awake dog. Does anyone know?

You were wanting to know if I clean below the gumline when not using an anesthetic ? Answer:Yes......(please visit our website HoundsToothDental.com and go to stages of dental disease- tour).

Periodontal disease is a progressive disease. Each stage has its consideration. Each one of our pets also has to be considered. What is the best care for this particular situation. Is this pet's dental condition right for non anesthetic, should this pet be cared for by a vet

or should this be sent to a Board Certified Veterinary Dentist?

There is a time for preventive care, for reparative dental surgery, supportive therapy and a quality of life care.

 

I had a little King Charles here today> sent to me by her vet.......After checking each and everyone of her 42 teeth I sent her back to the vet.

she was not a candidate at this time for a non anesthetic cleaning- she had 8 teeth that needed to be extracted and full mouth X-Rays to discover any unseen problems.(and the vet tech will do the cleaning while under anesthesia)

This is a very good vet that did the pre examine on this dog.

You are asking then how could he miss 8 teeth!( 2B a topic 4 another discussion)

 

I will see the dog in 3 months for a follow up cleaning.

 

I may have provided you with way more info than you wanted. To much caffeine

Kiss the puppies on the nose

[Guest Houndstooth]

Hi everyone several people that haven't seen this done are wondering .....do I clean below the gumline ? Answer:Yes......(please visit our website HoundsToothDental.com and go to stages of dental disease- tour).

Do I recommend dogs to the vet..yes..often times B4 a vet does.

Periodontal disease is a progressive disease. Each stage has its consideration. Each one of our pets also has to be considered. What is the best care for this particular situation. Is this pet's dental condition right for non anesthetic, should this pet be cared for by a vet

or should this be sent to a Board Certified Veterinary Dentist?

There is a time for preventive care, for reparative dental surgery, supportive therapy and a quality of life care.

 

I had a little King Charles here today> sent to me by her vet.......After checking each and everyone of her 42 teeth I sent her back to the vet.

she was not a candidate at this time for a non anesthetic cleaning- she had 8 teeth that needed to be extracted and full mouth X-Rays to discover any unseen problems.(and the vet tech will do the cleaning while under anesthesia)

This is a very good vet that did the pre examine on this dog.

You are asking then how could he miss 8 teeth!( 2B a topic 4 another discussion)

 

I will see the dog in 3 months for a follow up cleaning.

 

I may have provided you with way more info than you wanted. To much caffeine brushteeth.gif

Kiss the puppies on the nose kiss1.gif

[PatricksMom]

My question (Dr. Bill, are you reading?) is would this sort of cleaning be useful for a dog who can't go under anesthia for some medical reason?

 

As for me, I'll keep doing the full dental--so far Patrick has all his teeth and I'd like to keep it that way!

[4greyhounds]

If there is a problem she will have you see your vet for a dental.

 

But how would an untrained lay person even 'know' that there was a problem? Not all dental problems can be overtly seen. There is a good reason why DVM's go to school for all those years!!

 

I agree, I am an accountant but if I did not go to school for 5 1/2 year do you think corporate companies would allow me to do their taxes? If they would wow, I wasted a lot of time and money. I guess this is ok for the ones that can't be put to sleep but I think we will also keep with doing ours the regular way. I did show the web site to out vet and he said their is no possible way this can get under their gum line real well.I wish much success to her for the ones that want to experience having this done. Thanks!

 

[Guest TBSFlame]

My vet charges $350 - $400 for a dental and with 5 hounds I could not afford $2000 a year just for dentals. I also hate to put my guys under every year. If I practice good dental care I can hopefully avoid yearly dentals at the vet. My dentist doesn't put me to sleep to clean my teeth so if I brush their teeth everyday maybe I can avoid it. Tessie has bad teeth and has had more dentals than the others. She now has LP and almost died the last time I took her to the vet. You can bet she will not go to the vet for a dental.

[Guest MomofSweetPotatoes]

My dentist doesn't put me to sleep to clean my teeth so if I brush their teeth everyday maybe I can avoid it.

 

I've had a root planing done, which is the human version of a doggie dental (for the most part) They numbed me to the gills and doped me up, because it is painful. That's why they anesthetize dogs.

 

 

We're considering the same with Battle, now that he has a tie back. His teeth are terrible, because they are "soft" (there's a medical term, but I've lost it). So, I can totally sympathize about putting them under. I do home dental care very religiously in hopes to avoid a dental with him.

However, a trained dental specialist vet may have alternatives to just scaling the teeth and leaving the scrapes in the enamel for bacteria and tartar to fester in. I've got to confer with our local dental vet to see if she has ideas.

[PatricksMom]

My vet charges $350 - $400 for a dental and with 5 hounds I could not afford $2000 a year just for dentals. I also hate to put my guys under every year. If I practice good dental care I can hopefully avoid yearly dentals at the vet. My dentist doesn't put me to sleep to clean my teeth so if I brush their teeth everyday maybe I can avoid it. Tessie has bad teeth and has had more dentals than the others. She now has LP and almost died the last time I took her to the vet. You can bet she will not go to the vet for a dental.

 

Last time this came up I asked about that (why we stay awake and they don't) and Dr. Feeman posted a through and helpful explanation.

[feemandvm]

I've posted my $0.02 on this procedure in multiple other threads. DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY. If you want your dog to have a cosmetic procedure... by all means go for it. If you want your dog to get the medical benefits of a true dental cleaning... go to your vet or to a veterinary dentist.

 

Veterinary dentists believed in this strongly enough to even publish a position statement on anesthetic free cleanings on their website!

 

So... when you decide to trust your dog's dental health... who are you going to listen to:

 

1. A person recommending anesthetic free teeth cleanings with no veterinary training

 

or

 

2. A board certified veterinary dental specialist.

 

 

[Guest MomofSweetPotatoes]

I'll choose option 2 thanks!

[Guest mzmazzei]

We had John Morris do interim anesthesia free dentals at the 6 mo interval previously. He took the time needed to do a good job and, if I remember correctly, he charged about $80 per dog. We were very happy with the level of service for the price and added it as an interim to annual dentals at the vet.

 

John's trainers are coming to Fresno, CA for a two day event and I've elected not to have my dogs teeth cleaned this time for the following reasons:

 

$130 per dog is too high for a 20 minute dental. Dogs have the same amount of dentition as people. An adult prophy in our area is about $90, taking 30-60 minutes, depending on the patient. There is no way this service can be performed thoroughly in 20 minutes for all dogs and for the premium price, I want a thorough job.

 

Most of the scaling is done with an ultrasonic machine, with some minor hand scaling. A number of people cannot tolerate the ultrasonic without anesthesia during a simple prophy. With dogs being more stoic than the average human, how do I really know my dog will be comfortable?

 

If your dog's gums bleed at all, they are equivalent to a person with periodontal disease. Bleeding gums are not healthy. With a perio involved patient, the appropriate treatment is scaling and root planing under anesthesia. Root planing is the part of the treatment that smooths the root surfaces below the gumline of the tooth so that the bacteria don't just glom back on and hide in the nook and crannies. This cannot be performed without anesthesia.

 

I concur with prior assessments that this has become a more "cosmetic" service. I'd rather take that $130 per dog and make sure my dogs teeth are brushed daily and they see the vet for dentals. With the advances in anesthesia for all dogs, not just greyhounds, I do not think that dentals should be allocated to an annual visit to the vet only. A dental can be added on to any other services - like lump removals or skin tear suturing, what have you.

 

In addition, we will not have our dogs receive the perio-vaccine. The research is incomplete about how frequently this vaccine needs to be administered. Without further evidence of its merits, we will elect not to further chemical load our dogs with a questionable vaccine.

 

This is my professional opinion as a dental office manager and dentist's wife. Buyer beware.