Dental cleanings
[QUOTE=wendy;7905877]
There are dental cleaning services available that don’t use anesthesia. I’ve owned dogs forever and will never do a tooth cleaning under anesthetic. Never had a single tooth-related problem, either. Do they knock out people for tooth cleanings? Of course not.[/QUOTE]
The other major difference here is that people generally brush their teeth every day and go to the dentist for cleanings every 6 months. Most pets I see have NEVER had their teeth brushed or a dental cleaning/assessment under anesthesia. They often have tooth roots that are literally rotting away below the gumline.
Just because you’ve owned dogs “forever” and never had a “problem” doesn’t mean that no dog ever requires anesthesia for a dental. I eat terribly and have normal cholesterol levels - what does that mean? Just that I’m lucky, not that I would recommend anyone else follow my lead.
While I fully believe that non-anesthetic cleaning helps protect oral health when used appropriately (daily brushing being one of these methods), it is NOT the end-all be-all of dental care. Some dogs’ and cats’ teeth are so painful that they still show signs of pain UNDER ANESTHESIA - imagine trying to humanely correct those problems while the pet is awake?!!
Sorry - this is a very sensitive subject for me. I would take (and have taken) the risks of carefully-monitored anesthesia for my old dog over daily suffering with oral/dental pain any day. There are lots of things that can be done to make anesthesia as safe as possible for these oldsters - careful pre-anesthetic exam and testing, prevention of hypothermia, careful drug choice, using dental nerve blocks to reduce systemic anesthetic dose needed, judicious IV fluid use, etc.
You just need to have a discussion with your vet about these concerns and listen carefully to her recommendations. If still nervous and depending on what needs to be done, you can also ask for a referral to a veterinary dental specialist - it will be more expensive, but they are generally quicker and more experienced when it comes to things like multiple extractions.
