Dental Stories...

[Hollis]

Brought the girls for their annual exams. Maci-Grey has a dental scheduled in two weeks. I'm slightly terrified. I know experiences can be good and bad, but honestly, all we ever talk about, that we remember is the bad. And I need a little reassurance. So, hopefully this post is a poll. Question should be, how was your dental experience. Only two answers. Good or bad.

 

For this purpose good would be, anything normal for greyhounds. Bad would be, difficultly with anesthesia, bleeding, death.

 

If you could please help rest my mind at ease, I'd sure appreciate it. I'm sure the goods will way out weigh the bads.

 

[RedHead]

I voted "good" because mine did just fine. I, on the other hand was not so good and was on pins and needles all day long. Not to mention I ended up paying $2000 to extract 3 teeth. Healthwise though....it all went well.

Edited March 16, 2015 by RedHead

[spottydog]

Went very smoothly. We went to a specialist as she had worked on our sick and old cats and they sailed through their extractions.

[MaryJane]

If your vet did not already mention - stop any supplements like fish oil as it has aspirin like tendencies in that bleeding times increase. You may also want to check the availability of Amicar in your area. This is increasingly being used in greyhound surgeries that might have "bleeding" and this drug helps in the clotting. It can be expensive so if it is available, then you have the choice to not get it until you know whether there are extractions or any reason to think that there may be more bleeding.

[Hollis]

If your vet did not already mention - stop any supplements like fish oil as it has aspirin like tendencies in that bleeding times increase. You may also want to check the availability of Amicar in your area. This is increasingly being used in greyhound surgeries that might have "bleeding" and this drug helps in the clotting. It can be expensive so if it is available, then you have the choice to not get it until you know whether there are extractions or any reason to think that there may be more bleeding.

Thanks. I'll ask about the Amicar tomorrow.

 

I know I'm being silly. I really appreciate this.

[MaryJane]

Also, you didn't mention how old she is. Depending on age, you might want to get blood work and a urinalysis to rule out any kidney or liver problems if she hasn't had recent tests already done.

[Hollis]

Also, you didn't mention how old she is. Depending on age, you might want to get blood work and a urinalysis to rule out any kidney or liver problems if she hasn't had recent tests already done.

 

10, 11 in October. They will do blood work morning of and send her home if needed.

 

We didn't take enough on Saturday and because Maci had already snapped at doc a couple of times, we decided to do it this way.

[Guest MnMDogs]

13 years and 5 greyhounds ... Mork, Matty, and Macy were the only ones to ever have dentals (Macy because she broke a tooth), and we've never had a problem. Only Mork ever needed unexpected extractions at 7 years old...no issue. But he continued to need dentals despite teeth brushing his entire life. I think his last was when he was 12 (he died at 14.5), and aside from waking up rather dramatically... Howling... Everything was always fine.

[Guest Johberry]

Our hound had a dental a few weeks or so after we adopted him and while he took a bit longer than most in recovering from the anesthesia, everything else went fine. He didn't even need any extractions and was just woozy for a few days.

[riverbosun]

You are not being silly. I lost Coyote during a dental two years ago. Fine one minute and then he was gone 25 minutes later. No real explanation but I suspect he was under too long and maybe the additional dose of anesthesia was too much. No one to fault except myself for letting his teeth get to the point that he had to have the dental in the first place. I have since had Akons' teeth done but felt like I needed a Valium to tolerate my anxiety.

[dante2zoe]

Another one who thinks you are not being silly. I lost Zoe right after her dental 2 years ago. Still haunts me. However, I got dentals done on the cats this year and that saved Jet's life - she found a tumor on his tongue that she was able to completely remove that we probably would not have found in time otherwise.

 

Maverick is staring at a dental and I am very anxious about it.

 

Good luck!

[Hollis]

Thank you friends. It's going to be a long two weeks!!!!

[PatricksMom]

On the whole, good. Patrick had anesthesia issues, but our vet worked really hard on figuring out a protocal that worked for him, and even with his issues, nothing seriously bad ever happened (just complete freakouts after we brought him home). None of my others have had any problems at all.

 

I, on the other hand, do not do so well. Even when we know everything should be fine, it's nerve wracking waiting, isn't it. My boys are having their teeth done tomorrow, so good wishes all around.

[greysmom]

I've had 9 greyhounds total and only one has had a problem with sedation.

 

Though I have to say, I've been incredibly lucky in that I've only had one dog with the dreaded "bad greyhound mouth." He could have had a full dental every 6 months! We ended up doing one about every 18 months and he did well under anesthesia and always recovered quickly and easily. Of the four current dogs, none of them have needed a dental since they came home to live with us, though we have had to do surgery with them.

 

Lilly had her spay, a hoohoo surgery, and a lump removed over her eye. She does have issues with opioid pain relievers and sedation, so she has a big note right at the top of her chart to avoid those. She also had a bad allergic reaction to a normal shot of pennecillin after the lump removal.

 

Cash has had to visit the evet (courtesy of Toni) it seems like once a year. She's the oldest at 10 years old and she also does just fine under anesthesia, as do Toni and Whiskey.

 

Talk with your vet about how long she will be under, if she'll need extractions, and if there's anything else that needs doing while she's under (lump removal, corn hulling, etc). If she's not having extractions there shouldn't be a need for Amicar. It does keep for about a year, so you can get some to have on hand. You should also know what your vet's sedation protocol and after care is like.

 

Good luck.

[Guest FordRacingRon]

My girl is 12 this May. Never had a dental. Bulk of her life we brushed her teeth 5-7 days a week and she ate a bully stick almost every night of her life. Still has all her teeth. Now we are getting to a decision point though she is getting a touch of gingivitis in one little part of her mouth but do you give an almost 12 year old a dentla,,when that 12 year old has a slim chance of bieng a 13 year old.

 

Now if you want horror dental stories let's talk about the garbage going on in my mouth. KIds,,,when you get drinking age do not open bottled beers with your teeth,,that is all I have to say.

[Feisty49]

Annie had a dental about 14 months ago. No problems at all. I think she might need another one within a few months, and I assume she'll do just fine.

[Remolacha]

I've had dentals done that ranged from routine cleaning to 22 teeth extracted , the dogs never had a problem. Me, on the other hand, I am always a nervous wreck

[Guest jetska]

Barbie goes loopy on Opoids but apart from that she has been fine, she has had 2 x 7 extractions and a couple of cleanings without extractions in 5 years.

 

Mouse is 4 (I've known her for 2 years of those 4) and she hasn't had a dental yet.

[PatricksMom]

Good thoughts today please, I just dropped Henry & Leo off for their dentals. No real reason to worry--their test results are fine, its the same vet and vet tech as last year, same anesthesia as before, but still....

[XTRAWLD]

I've gone through 3 all together (they've gone through 5 - each got them done upon adoption so I don't know how well they went). I voted good, because for the most part, the dentals have been perfectly fine, but two had moderate complications.

 

I try not to put them through it if I can avoid it. I think I'm done with all the dentals though for both boys. Absolutely friggin' nerve wracking.

[PatricksMom]

Reporting in with 2 very sucessful dentals--no problems with anesthesia, other than needing to be cleaned, no issues with the teeth. Leo does have a double extra incisor, but there's no crowding so no problem, just something else to make him unique.

[Hollis]

You guys really don't know how much you are helping me! Thank you!

I just changed her appt to a Friday. I will take the day off and be able to be home all weekend.

[Jiffer]

We've had 5 dentals done, and only one was bad.
It wasn't a bad experience because of anything to do with the work either. My poor boy, Orion, lost 16 + teeth (they stopped counting because his teeth were coming out in chunks they were that far gone), however, we discovered during his dental that he has a condition called malignant hyperthermia. They nearly lost him on the table and it took him hours to rouse from the anaesthetic. When I took him home, he was still trying to come around but the clinic was closing and they didn't want to keep him there unattended. It took a couple of days for him to recoup and he was on order to not be put under anaesthetic again. I was lucky that there were two vets working on him that day. One was doing the dental work while the other (our regular vet) monitored his vitals. They acted immediately when they noticed trouble starting and that saved his life. This was despite pre-anaesthetic bloodwork and a full physical before hand.

 

The other four dentals were done on mostly senior dogs and we had no issues whatsoever. Recovery was quick and short.

 

Just be sure that pre-anaesthetic bloodwork is done for sure. I do this regardless of the dogs age just to make sure nothing is missed.

 

It's stressful, but all the better for them in the long run! Good Luck!!!

[turbotaina]

Turbo had, I think, 3 dentals during the 8 years I had him, no problems at all. Heyokha has the dreaded greyhound mouth and he's had 3 dentals now. He doesn't do well with certain induction agents/anesthesia, but it's nothing life-threatening - he just gets very dysphoric with dexdormitor, so we don't use it. He has otherwise done great. Had 6 teeth out the last dental.

 

I think Crow had a dental before we adopted him. We've only had him a few months, so no need for one yet. I'm hoping he has good genetics

[Hollis]

Want to hear today's horror story?

 

Just got the estimate.

 

Anywhere from $458.....

 

To $979

 

 

I'm gonna throw up.