Senior Dentals

[Ozziemydoggy]

Hello everyone!

 

I've got a question for all you guys with seniors. Icarus will be 13 in January! His teeth are starting to show it too. We brush but it's just not helping as much as it used to.

 

I'm really scared of giving him a dental at his age though. Am I worrying over nothing? What do you think?

[Tallgreydogmom]

There are alternatives you can use. Pet Gel, oxtails, marrow bones, etc. try scaling them your self.

 

There are folks on GT that have lost their greyhounds during dental's and complications after it. Not all of them were seniors either. Ask your vet for some antibiotic. They will help clear up the gum infections while you work on the teeth. Keep it as a work in progress.

Edited October 5, 2010 by Tallgreydogmom

[snowjay]

Ugh, I know exactly how you are feeling.

 

Cody will be 10 next month and I was agonizing over the same thing. He's had 3 surgeries before, but when he was 3, and never an issue. It needed to get done and it was scheduled last month, on my birthday no less. During surgery he went hyperthermic and then had to cool him back down, then after surgery (where he needed 4 extractions no less) he wasn't coming out of it as quick as he should. He was up and about when I saw him but still groggy so it was off to the e-vet we go for overnight observation and fluids. All his vitals were fine at that time but it was hard leaving my boy there. I picked him up the next day and he was much more himself and after a day he was back to normal.

 

Pinky also had her dental done the same day, she's 7, and she was fine. Poor thing was a trooper though, waiting for her big brother at the hospitals before we could go home (we didn't get home to 9:30pm) and she could eat a little.

 

 

I'm turing into a drill sergeant about brushing now. I did it before but now I'm on a mission, I hope to never have to go though that again.

 

 

Sorry, no advice, but it's certainly a risk at any age.

[Guest DoofBert]

Our Tessa had a dental a few months ago at age 10.. Our vet cautioned us that he would not offer another dental for her. He showed us how to scale her teeth and recommended we continue using the gel that we had been using (Petzlife).......

 

It's an individual decision.... but I would advise to do every bit of prelim blood work before any dental.

 

Hugs...

 

PS.. The Petzlife Gel/Spray does wonders........ I have seen results with hounds I know very similar to what is shown on the website!

 

 

[Guest Energy11]

My Staggerlee is 10. I started using peroxide on a cosmetic pad, wrung out, DAILY on his gums, and Petzlife Gel also (not at the same time), and wow ... his gums look sooooooo much better! You HAVE TO keep up with this daily though.

 

Good Luck! Hope this helps! My former vet/employer, said you can also "zap" a senior with antibiotics for seven days, once a month if you need to as well.

[Guest Bamn]

I wouldn't do it at 13. Maybe at 10 but not 13. There bodies are going through too much at that age and unless it is causing them to not eat (due to pain) I would continue doing what you are doing along with the other suggestions. Good luck.

[stlgrey]

My Ali, who passed in May had a dental done this April and she was 11. She had a difficult time with recovery. I did the dental because she had some extractions that also needed to be done. If she didn't need extractions and it wasn't necessary, I would try using PetzLife Gel or another product to control tartar and keeping the teeth clean. Sierra, my other grey is 10 and I don't do dentals on her anymore. The get works great and we brush often. It scares me after she had histoplasmosis to even have it done.

[Ozziemydoggy]

Thank you for your responses everyone! I can't tell if he needs anything extracted, but his gums do look a little red and has the the build-up of tartar or whatever it is along the gum line. I'm more concerned about his back teeth though.

 

He eats fine, just necks now and nothing larger or harder than that, so that's really why I don't want to do a dental. I didn't even think about antibiotics though, thank you for the suggestion! I'd never thought about gel or peroxide, those are great suggestions. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

[Guest mbfilby]

Ugh, I know exactly how you are feeling.

 

Cody will be 10 next month and I was agonizing over the same thing. He's had 3 surgeries before, but when he was 3, and never an issue. It needed to get done and it was scheduled last month, on my birthday no less. During surgery he went hyperthermic and then had to cool him back down, then after surgery (where he needed 4 extractions no less) he wasn't coming out of it as quick as he should. He was up and about when I saw him but still groggy so it was off to the e-vet we go for overnight observation and fluids. All his vitals were fine at that time but it was hard leaving my boy there. I picked him up the next day and he was much more himself and after a day he was back to normal.

 

Pinky also had her dental done the same day, she's 7, and she was fine. Poor thing was a trooper though, waiting for her big brother at the hospitals before we could go home (we didn't get home to 9:30pm) and she could eat a little.

 

 

I'm turing into a drill sergeant about brushing now. I did it before but now I'm on a mission, I hope to never have to go though that again.

 

 

Sorry, no advice, but it's certainly a risk at any age.

 

If your boy went MH, I would be interested to know which anesthesia was used. From what I have read, once they have an episode of MH under anesthesia, you need to be very cautious about it in the future. I did a lot of research prior to sending Mickey for her dental at 8 years. Thank goodness they were monitoring your pups temperature. Not all vets do..

[racindog]

Have to say that Petz-Life stuff is just amazing. I use the spray and it also works awesome.

[3DogNite]

i've done senior pet dentals up to 13 yrs old. they went thru all the blood work, and had IV thru the dental and were given a clean bill of health (except for the teeth) before they went thru the procedure. I LOVE my vet, and they all did really well. My old ones lived to 15yrs and had all of their teeth when they went to the bridge!

 

I am now on my 2nd batch of dogs,, Power turns 10 this month,, he had a dental 2 months ago,, and Spirit turns 8 this month,, she will get her dental this month.

 

I feel if they are healthy, and the vet is wonderful.. they should do greyt!

 

I know things can go wrong,, and they obviously do.. but it all happens for some reason, and I leave that decision up to a higher entity.

 

it is a hard decision! good luck ~

[snowjay]

If your boy went MH, I would be interested to know which anesthesia was used. From what I have read, once they have an episode of MH under anesthesia, you need to be very cautious about it in the future. I did a lot of research prior to sending Mickey for her dental at 8 years. Thank goodness they were monitoring your pups temperature. Not all vets do..

 

I'll let you know when I get back home from Dewey. My vet did Cody's original dental and has used the same thing for years. I'm not sure what the surgeon used when he had his leg surgeries. It was Cody's lucky day as they had a board certified anesthesiologist working with the doctor that day. He only spiked to 104 (103.7 IIRC) and had him back below 102 within 10 minutes. I think his pre surgery temp was 101.8.

[snowjay]

If your boy went MH, I would be interested to know which anesthesia was used. From what I have read, once they have an episode of MH under anesthesia, you need to be very cautious about it in the future. I did a lot of research prior to sending Mickey for her dental at 8 years. Thank goodness they were monitoring your pups temperature. Not all vets do..

 

Thread bump since Cody may have to go under again (and because I never answered your question)...

 

Looking at the work order 3ml of Diazepam and 13.2ml of Propofol was used.

 

In talking with my new vet, she said a true case of MH would be fatal unless Dantrolene was administered, which it was not for Cody. And also that a hound that had a true MH incident would do it every time, if they had uneventful surgeries in the past then it's not MH. She said his 104 temp was high, but not unmanageable (and she monitors temp). I gave her all the paper work I had for last years surgery so she can do what is best for Cody if he needs to go back for surgery.

[MarcR]

Nadia and Honey had dentals earlier this year at 12. Cleo had one just last week at 11. Kara had hers a few weeks ago, also at 12, but it was done while she was under for wound repair (She only has seven teeth left, so I'm not sure that really constitutes a dental). All my girls have recovered and were just about back to normal the same evening.

 

Despite the positive outcomes, I seriously doubt I will subject them to a dental next year - although I will be very happy to have to face that choice.

[Guest june]

One of my dogs has really greyt teeth. It had been 5 years between dentals. This year she turned 9 and again my vet felt her teeth and gums weren't too bad, but agreed to do one because she agreed with me it is better to do it at 9 than at 10 or older. She came through fine. My hope is that she won't need to be put under again. It is scarey to me when they get older.

[Guest Swifthounds]

It may be scarier and nerve wracking for us to use anesthesia when they're older because of our perception of a variety of things, but statistically a healthy older dog is no more likely to die under anesthesia than a healthy young dog. The key with any dog is to do pre surgical diagnostics and only use the better anesthesia protocols (which most do, although some just use injectables and skip the inhalants for things like dentals - that's usually the culprit when the dog has a difficult recovery).

[racindog]

I wouldn't do it at 13. Maybe at 10 but not 13. There bodies are going through too much at that age and unless it is causing them to not eat (due to pain) I would continue doing what you are doing along with the other suggestions. Good luck.

Ditto. And remember the vet may not even be arouind since techs do everything now so that if an emergency age related issue showed up it would probably just be too bad-would be too much risk for me personally. (Of course you would never be told what actually happenned, you would be told it was an unfortunate rxn to anesthesia). Like the other poster said quite a few young healthy dogs have succumb to it the way it is done now.

[Guest Swifthounds]

Ditto. And remember the vet may not even be arouind since techs do everything now so that if an emergency age related issue showed up it would probably just be too bad-would be too much risk for me personally. (Of course you would never be told what actually happenned, you would be told it was an unfortunate rxn to anesthesia). Like the other poster said quite a few young healthy dogs have succumb to it the way it is done now.

 

It's never done that way at my vet, but then I ask questions, set limitations, and insist on proper vet care - and put it all in writing on the authorization form I sign. They know they deviate from my terms at the risk of seeing what happens when I'm angry - and they don't want to see that.

[GeorgeofNE]

I wouldn't even consider doing a dental on a 13 year old myself.

 

George had a bad reaction when he had his dental when I got him, and unless he has a critical need for one, will not be getting another. Fortunately, his teeth are spotless. And I do not brush them.