Dental On A 12.5 Year Old?

[2hounds]

Iceman had another vet visit today (we have been going to the vet with him about every 2 weeks for acupuncture and to monitor his blood pressure, which has been high).

 

My Icybaby is 12.5 years old and he is in great spirits (roaching on the couch as I type) and I would consider him to be in "ok" health. He does have high blood pressure and he is in the early stages of kidney disease (he is on medication twice/day for these things). He has LP and a very weak back end so we have to be really careful about his activities. But overall, I would say he is in pretty decent health for a 12.5 year old.

 

He has recently stopped eating at meal times, but I wait an hour or two, put his food back down for him and he finishes it then. We had an appointment with the vet today and I asked her to draw blood, look at all of his levels, look at his teeth, etc and see if we can find a physical reason why he isn't eating. His blood levels are all ok and besides the known problems above, everything is ok.

 

My vet suggested a dental, which I was shocked to hear her suggest for a 12.5 year old. He does have a layer of tartar, but no obvious decay and his breath won't slay a dragon or anything. If we were talking about one of my (younger) hounds, I would agree that it is probably time for a dental. But because we are talking about an older hound with known health issues, I just assumed we would try to avoid anesthesia unless it was ABSOLUTELY necessary.

 

I should also add that I do LOVE my vet and know that they are not eager to suggest unnecessary procedures normally. They do a combination of traditional and alternative medicine and they offer acupuncture, chiropractic care, massage, etc.

 

I am just not sure if anesthesia is a good idea for Iceman. Has anyone had dentals on older hounds and did they recover ok afterwards?

[Charlies_Dad]

That is a tough call. At Ice's age, I agree with you that I would be very hesitant. Hopefully others with seniors will chip in because I don't believe the risk is worth it. I know it's critical to keep their teeth in good shape however.

[Guest KennelMom]

We did a dental on a 14 year old greyhound (Grandpa) and he recovered quickly despite having several extractions (including all 4 canines). Erin had all of her teeth removed at 12 (pre-adoption) and we just had a dental done on Elvis (12.5 y/o). Age is important only in regards to other health issues they may have going on. If you trust your vet, have done pre-surgery blood work and your vet feels it is safe to move forward with a dental then I wouldn't hesitate. Espeically if he has early stages of kidney disease. When Ken adopted Annie she was in kidney failure because her teeth were so bad...doesn't sound like Iceman has teeth like Annie did, but the bacteria they can ingest from their teeth can do a number on their kidneys.

[turbotaina]

We did a dental on a 14 year old greyhound (Grandpa) and he recovered quickly despite having several extractions (including all 4 canines). Erin had all of her teeth removed at 12 (pre-adoption) and we just had a dental done on Elvis (12.5 y/o). Age is important only in regards to other health issues they may have going on. If you trust your vet, have done pre-surgery blood work and your vet feels it is safe to move forward with a dental then I wouldn't hesitate. Espeically if he has early stages of kidney disease. When Ken adopted Annie she was in kidney failure because her teeth were so bad...doesn't sound like Iceman has teeth like Annie did, but the bacteria they can ingest from their teeth can do a number on their kidneys.

 

I agree with Heather.

[TheFullHouse]

Personally I think I'd try some bones first if they wouldn't have any effect on his other health issues. They do a great job cleaning my pups teeth.

[racindog]

My 12 year old recently had a front tooth broke in half that required general anesthesia to extract so they cleaned them while she was under. Had it not been for the broken tooth I don't know if I would have been brave enough to risk putting her through it for just a teeth cleaning. Amazingly though she was not at all phased by it it. She was OK when I picked her up, ate normally and really just sailed right through it without incident. Yet I still don't know if I would be brave enough to do it unless I had to because of a broken tooth or something. I am struggling right now trying to decide if I should take the risk with a 9 year old female with greyhound bleeding syndrome that really could use a teeth cleaning. They did push the fluids to the 12 year old and I think that helped a lot. Anyway I am afraid my 9 yr old might bleed out when they poke holes in her for the iv's etc. She nearly died even with a transfusion when spayed because it was undiagnosed at the time. A board certified vet told me that any little wound could cause her to bleed out and I keep military quick-clot at the house in case of emergency. I'm going to discus it with her holistic vet and get her opinion. So its a tough call.

[Fastgals]

Girlie had a dental well into her 12th year and this was followed several months later by a tie-back operation for LP in her 13th year. I would have preferred her not to have undergone either operation, but the dental was considered critical for her future kidney and heart health. The tieback was literally a matter of life or death. This made the decision on the tieback surgery much "easier" for me! That said, Girlie was in good health internally - kidney, liver, heart function all good and strong for a grey of her age. In my extremely humble opinion, considering Iceman's other health issues, I would think that the dental would need to be essential to his wellbeing. Hugs to you. I feel for you, having to consider this for Iceman at such a fine, old age.

[grey14me]

I'm not necessarily against doing a dental at that age, what bothers me is, there doesn't seem to be any 'proof' that his teeth are his problem...unless I missed something.

 

I know someone who just got a dental for her hound who is 13 1/2 and she really didn't want to do it, but the poor girl's gums were bleeding, even after two rounds of antibiotics. she made it through fine, although it took her a while to recover.

 

I also wanted to add that as Bailey got older, she just didn't want to eat in the morning any more. if he's still eating, just a bit later, I don't know if I would even be worried...

[2hounds]

Thank you for the feedback, I feel a little better knowing that it isn't as unusual as I thought to do a dental on a 12+ year old hound. I will see my vet again on Wednesday and I will talk more about my hesitations, but knowing that his dental health could affect already known kidney problems, I am leaning towards having his teeth cleaned now.

 

Judy, he usually licks bones, but doesn't really chew on them. If they are too small he will try to swallow them whole, if they are too large he will lick them to death and might crunch a few times.

 

Michelle, I am not 100% sure that his teeth aren't the problem. I should have added above that we do wet his food so when he eats it later it has had time to soak in more of the water and is softer. I don't know if the softer food is why he eats it later or if he is just finally hungry enough to eat it.

[Guest skinnydog]

Smitty passed away after his dental Sept. 18, while still in recovery from anesthetic. There are always risks. But, swallowing the toxins in his mouth was killing him, so IMO, not doing the dental wasn't an option.

[CaliforniaGreys]

Sounds like his teeth bother him, but you won't know until he's under and they xray. I had it done on my 12 yr old boy, thought his teeth just needed a good cleaning and it turned out he had to lose several teeth. He came through it fine. His blood work was good, but he did have bone spurs and he too was having acupuncture done. Whatever you decide to do, you will have his best interest at heart, no doubt about that! Please give that handsome boy a hug from us

[silverfish]

We did a dental on a 14 year old greyhound (Grandpa) and he recovered quickly despite having several extractions (including all 4 canines). Erin had all of her teeth removed at 12 (pre-adoption) and we just had a dental done on Elvis (12.5 y/o). Age is important only in regards to other health issues they may have going on. If you trust your vet, have done pre-surgery blood work and your vet feels it is safe to move forward with a dental then I wouldn't hesitate. Espeically if he has early stages of kidney disease. When Ken adopted Annie she was in kidney failure because her teeth were so bad...doesn't sound like Iceman has teeth like Annie did, but the bacteria they can ingest from their teeth can do a number on their kidneys.

 

I agree with Heather.

 

I agree with Heather too.

 

My Jack is over thirteen. His teeth aren't too bad at the moment (not that he has many left!), but if the vet suggested that he really needed a dental, I'd do it. He has one or two minor things that could be done while he's under too - when they're that age, you kind of save them up.

[Guest caiteag]

We did a dental on Quinn at age 12 and honestly, he started to go downhill right after that... in hindsight.. I probably wouldn't have done it. However, every dog is different and you need to trust your own knowledge and instincts about Iceman.. as well as trusting your vet.

[Guest 4greytful]

We just had a dental on my 12.5 year old boy, same issues as you indicated. Wasn't really interested in eating like before, early stages of kidney failure as well. They did push the fluids for a few hours beforehand so as not to stress his kidneys and he recovered nicely. He is back to eating normally again. It was stressful on me.

[Guest Carla]

My Krier was scheduled to have a dental when he was 12.5 years old. I was very hesitant to do it because of his age. He started having bloody noses on January 27, 2008. I never ended up doing the dental because of the bloody nose issues and he passed away on May 16, 2008 4 days before his 13th birthday.

 

I am scared to death of anesthesia at that age. I have heard too many horror stories of greyhound owners telling stories of their elderly greyhounds having a dental, rapidly failing and dying within weeks afterwards. In hindsight they blamed themselves for doing the dental.

 

Unless his teeth are rotting out of his head, personally, I would pass on the dental. Is there any way you could give pig ears and start brushing his teeth?

 

 

 

 

[Guest Hokiebuck]

I am not sure when she might be back in Charlotte, but Kathy with Houndstooth might be a good option. I know she tries to get down there every once in a while. If she see's that Iceman's teeth are beyond what she can do, she'll definitely refer you to a dentist. I have watched her work several times, and had my GH's teeth done by her. I think its a great first step especially for a Sr. Hound.

 

Here is her website:

http://houndstoothdental.com/

 

 

Oh, and I saw someone's comment about "just a teeth cleaning" People don't really understand the impact on overall health from unhealthy teeth and gum disease. The bacteria that starts there and travels through the body can cause a lot of problems, not the least of which is heart complications.

[Guest 4gryhnds]

Rocky will be 12 in Nov. His teeth are awful, but I can't bring myself to have them cleaned. He also has high blood pressure. He also has a very weak back end because of spinal deterioration. I fear that if I had him put under for the cleaning, he would deteriorate faster. I hate to say it, but I also have to consider the $500-700 vet bill. His quality of life is shaky at times, would this really buy him enough quality time? The vet tells me that they do cleanings on older dogs all the time, but it is always riskier. I guess you have to weigh it out in your mind.

Good luck with whatever you decide,

 

Sue and the crew

[Guest TxCatWoman]

Beatrice had a dental last week just two weeks shy of her 13th birthday. We put her on Antirobe a week before the surgery and continued it until she'd been on it for 10 days. We will have her on it monthly for a course for the next three months and quarterly after that just for good measure. She did have five extractions and I have no doubt her not chewing on bones was because her teeth hurt her. We will see what she does with a turkey neck next week - lately she's just nibbled at the meat and stopped when she got to the bones.

[Guest greytkidsmom]

Kebo isn't 12 but we had trouble getting him to eat for a long time. After he had all of his front teeth pulled due to pretty significant periodontal disease, he looks like a hoover vacuum at mealtime! The teeth looked normal to us but they were completely detached from the bone below the gumline! (This was even with daily brushing.)

Edited September 30, 2008 by greytkidsmom

[Guest 4baddogs]

I am so glad I read this!

 

Zoe's orthopedist suggested considering a dentalfor her, but said "it's up to you because of the risk with her age" - she was 14 in August. Her blood tests are PERFECT, even though her teeth are crappy. Her gums are great, though. I'm not going to put her under for a dental, just for the heck of it. He put her on antibiotics for 30-days to clear up any oral bacteria and I can 'smell' a difference. LOL

 

If I could find turkey necks, I'd feed them to my two. However, Zoe's the pickiest eater on the planet and she'd never touch them. Kirby, on the other hand......

[JenniferS]

My foster is 12 1/2 and just had a successful dental (in July). His teeth look fantastic. I don't know what they looked like before, but couldn't have been all that bad and I wondered why the former owner did it?

[tbhounds]

Age is NOT a disease! You could find a dog 1/2 the age with way more health risks than a healthy 12 year old. So long as the blood work comes back without abnormalites and the heart sounds okay then I, personally would go ahead with the dental prophy. I would, however, expect my dog to receive lots of IV fluids and have the patient monitored very closely during the dental (blood pressures, co2 etc). The longer you wait the worse the teeth will become--the prophy will be a lot quicker when the teeth aren't as bad

[Xan]

:bighug

 

I'm reading this avidly, anticipating having to make these decisions myself, soon. Happy has bad teeth (what's left of 'em!), and I worry about her even though she's only 9!

 

[RobinM]

Unless he is in pain, has an issue which will cause things in his mouth to go downhill fast, I'd hold off. Tater is not a big deal. If he can chew bones, that would help and the CET rawhide has special "Chemicals" to help fight tater. I am not a fan of rawhide, but this was recommened to me by Dr. Bill of OSU.

 

IF you do decide to do it, ask them to go lite on the gas. That's what makes them so messed up after. The first time my poor Polli had her dental and lost 17 teeth, she was a mess for a day after anethesia & after x-rays, she was a mess. The last time around, I told them how bad it was for her and they said they would go lighter, and they did. The difference was amazing.

[Guest greybookends]

Alisha, if you think he can wait why don't you see where Kathy Shafer of Houndstooth will be in the near future. She was at MH, and I was having Bill's teeth cleaned at BBH when one of the organizers of Sandy Paws came over to book her for Sandy Paws. Maybe she will be at Dewey. Here is her website Houndstooth. I know I would be hesitant in an older hound with health issues. If you opt to see her and she thinks he should go to a vet she will tell you so.

Edited October 1, 2008 by greybookends