professional teeth cleaning

[grillywarren]

I have a new vet for my three year old baby (we moved)

I liked her very much. She wants to do a cleaning of his

teeth. I am so nervous. Has anyone had experience with this?

They did blood work yesterday to make sure he was healthy.

I am suppose to schedule the cleaning after the results come in.

Has anyone had experience with this? I would love any feedback

from people . Thanks !

[Scully'sMom]

I had my prior Cairn's teeth cleaned by the vet but I only did it once because it was really expensive.

[CallisMom]

It is really important to have you dog's teeth cleaned - especially the smaller breeds. It can increase the longevity of your doggie's life and keep him healthy. I am TRYING to brush Calli's teeth once a week - she will let me groom her to no end, dig in deep to try and get the embedded heads of a dog tick out, clip her toenails - but brush her teeth??!! I know I am at least getting some - so if I can perservere . . .

Getting the teeth professionally cleaned is scary because I do believe they put them down and it is expensive. But if you aren't brushing them - I do think it is something that should be done at certain intervals. As you know - even for humans - there is a link between unhealthy teeth/gums and heart disease, strokes and other problems!

[grillywarren]

Scully's Mom..

thanks for the reply.

did everything go okay? Were you nervous about

the anesthesia? Was there any negative effects on

your dog? What was the cost...our vet gave us a

$300.00 estimate, but that didn't include the $129

bloodwork.

Thanks for the help!

[grillywarren]

To Callis Mom

We actually do brush our dog's teeth. We have since he

was a puppy. The Vet said that the build up can happen

even if you brush. She said that Cairns can sometimes

have an issue with tartar. My question was strictly about the

process of the professional cleaning.

[Carolinasmom]

I have a 6 year old cairn and have had her teeth cleaned about 4 times, maybe 3. Our vet recommends annual cleaning after 3 or 4 years of age. Last year the cost was $75 for anesthesia and $35 for the cleaning. $300 seems high to me!

When Carolina was about a year old she had to have some teeth pulled that were misaligned in the back. A dental vet did this and they noted that she had an irregular heart rate while under, (they hooked her up to an EKG machine.) That scared me so now every time the vet has to put her under for any reason, I always remind them about that incident so they will monitor her closely. It scares me every time she is put under. But I think it's important to have her teeth cleaned since my goal of once a week brushing doesn't happen. When she comes home she is a bit out of it but by early evening she's back to her normal self.

[CallisMom]

grillywarren - I certainly didn't mean to offend you or imply that you didn't brush your dogs teeth at all. I am sorry if it came across that way.

[Scully'sMom]

grillywarren, this was at least 15 years ago, but I remember the price being up in the 200's. She did absolutely fine - it was mom that was a wreck.

[bradl]

I'm always a wreck when there's anesthesia. Stella was just 'out' yesterday to have two retained deciduous canines pulled and I fretted all day. (Cost: $155) But procedures and materials have changed a lot over the years and vets today have more control, safer drugs, and better monitoring than the old days. Stella was bounding around the house and shaking her toys last night like she hadn't been on any adventure at all. She was pretty put out about not being allowed to eat, though.

[Mama Kim]

My Lucy had her teeth cleaned every year from the time she was about 7 on. We never had any problems at all. We always had it done in Feb at our vet's office since it was dental health month and teeht cleaning was 20% off. It ran right around $100 plus blood work which was an additional $35.

[Guest abbycairn]

I've had many of my dogs teeth cleaned over the years and never had a problem.

You should be able to tell if they do need cleaning by the amount of tartar on the teeth. If there is a lot of it, if it is so built up it is brown, if your dog's breath smells - then it's time for a cleaning.

My tip - ask your vet to trim your dog's nails too after she does his teeth!

Stacey

[grillywarren]

To Stacy,

Thanks so much for the tip. That is a great

idea about the nails. I will definitely ask my

vet to trim those nails! Thanks again!