Dental cleaning/exam

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maximoo
Posts: 1111
Joined: Tue Mar 31, 2009 8:07 am
Location: South Florida

Dental cleaning/exam

Post by maximoo »

Hi All: I’m an old timer of this forum who hasn’t been here in about 5 yrs. My Max is now 10 yo. Unbelievable! Anyway, Max does have tarter build up But up to about age 8 vets said it isn’t bad. Let it be..last month went to a new vet & she did recommend a cleaning and extraction of front incisor due to cavity. She sort of looked at his teeth n made a visual determination. I was skeptical so I took him to Banfield for a 2nd opinion (it was free) Banfield vet agreed he needs a cleaning but could not determine if he has any cavities. She said he has to be put under in order to examine n probe his teeth for soft spots. Well I’m totally confused! Can a vet visually tell there is a cavity? Or is this a ploy to stuff vet1’s pockets? Or does Banfield vet want to get him under then claim he has multiple cavities thus padding their pockets too? Btw I did not tell vet2 what vet1 said.
All his blood tests, heartworm, fecal are normal. He’s never had a cleaning before.. In vet1s treatment plan it included laser, which is supposedly used after the cleaning to reduce swelling /irritation. Is this a real benefit of laser or just a gimmick?

Anybody here have any experience with doggie dental cleanings/ exams/ cavities & laser? I’m all ears!👂🏻👂🏻
Shalista
Posts: 1363
Joined: Tue Feb 17, 2015 10:04 pm

Re: Dental cleaning/exam

Post by Shalista »

I would argue that if you're going straight to extraction why not just wait until its causing him discomfort? I mean with cavities in humans we try to jump right on them and fill them to save the tooth but if your extracting and he's eating fine why not just wait? the tooth is a gonner anyway.

Id wait until its giving him problems (decreased appetite, dislike of his mouth getting touched) and THEN pull, especially since there's some doubt as to whether the cavity is real anyway.
Baxter (AKA Bax, Chuckles, Chuckster) Rat Terrier, born 01/16/13
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Nettle
Posts: 10753
Joined: Sun Apr 13, 2008 1:40 pm

Re: Dental cleaning/exam

Post by Nettle »

How about you commit to getting his teeth as clean as you can at home? Cavities are common in human teeth, much less so in dogs' teeth unless they eat a load of sweet stuff.

Once his teeth are clean, you can keep a watching brief to see if he is troubled by them at all. Make sure you know which teeth allegedly have cavities. It might just be that your vets are over-enthusiastic.
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maximoo
Posts: 1111
Joined: Tue Mar 31, 2009 8:07 am
Location: South Florida

Re: Dental cleaning/exam

Post by maximoo »

Hey Nettle: glad to see you are still on this forum. It’s been a while since I’ve been here.

Yeah I think vet1 is over zealous n wants to make payments on her vacation home in Maui😖
Vet2 sounded more logical however I’m still wondering about the laser. Vet2 doesn’t use laser, but it did sound good in that it reduces swelling/irritation. But again, I’m very skeptical.

Well he does need a cleaning to get the tarter off. He doesn’t allow us to brush his teeth. He is 10 now & he isn’t gonna start letting us now.

And of course I’m concerned about him being under.
Colt_An2
Posts: 11
Joined: Sat Sep 29, 2018 7:06 am

Re: Dental cleaning/exam

Post by Colt_An2 »

Yeah, I'm suspicious about the enthusiasm of the first vet; he sounds way too eager to bring out the heavy artillery in my eyes :mrgreen: maybe you could try again brushing your dog's teeth, just to see first? Otherwise, if he doesn't let anyone touch his teeth, it would definitely be better to wait and check. If you have a doubt about the cavity being an issue, your dog doesn't: either it IS an issue, or it isn't. If it isn't, don't pull the tooth straight away, as other members have already said!
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