Teeth cleaning in older rescue dog- yes or no?

[2LaZ2race]

About 3 months ago I adopted a 30lb hound mix from a rescue. He’s between 10-11 years old and in good health. When I got him, his vet papers (from the vet the rescue took him to before they adopted him out) said that he really needed his teeth cleaned.

I took him to my vet for his check up and my vet really laid it on me hard about getting his teeth done. I was surprised, because my vet isn’t usually like that.

I try to be well versed in pet health issues so I asked him “Seeing as he’s 10-11, is it safe to put him under for teeth cleaning?”. My vet admitted that there was a chance he might not come through.

When I asked about price he quoted me anywhere from $400-$1000 due to how many teeth might need to be pulled.

Now, I LOVE my pets. I have horses and I have paid for colic surgery ($6k+). But this is a dog whom I adopted KNOWING I was not going to have much time with him, but to give him a good last few years (or months if that’s how it was).

Dog is having no issues eating or keeping weight, but vet said that the teeth are letting toxins out into his blood stream all the time.

Am I a bad person to not have his teeth cleaned/pulled?

[Marshfield]

As long as his pre anesthetic bloodwork doesn’t show anything alarming, I suspect your boy will feel a lot better for having his mouth cleaned up.

[suz]

I choose no. my rescue sweetie is 14 and in very good weight and she eats heartily and eagerly with no pain.
I see no reason to put her through anesthesia and recovery when she has so few years left.
my vet also really pushes hard, but I push back. I’ve had enough anesthesia to know it’s not always pleasant to recover from.

[JBD]

That seems pretty pricey for a dental even with multiple extractions. We had our dachshund done at 15 but only after doing bloodwork. I believe a lighter? sedation was used also. A dog of his size in good health could have years left so I believe I’d have it done if I could find something less cost prohibitive
BTW, dachshund is 17 and still going strong. His breath was horrible before the cleaning and extraction but was good after and still is.

[2LaZ2race]

I think the high quote included pre-blood work and any Rx needed before and after.

[CVPeg]

I adopted my Irish Wolfhound when she was 5 - which is up there for IWs. I was very lucky that our first vet had owned and showed IWs. Toula’s teeth were pretty stinky and she had some slightly red areas near her molars. However, the vet warned that she should NOT be put under for the procedure. Also because sighthounds were supposedly sensitive to anesthesia. She also was sensitive food wise, so I just bought her food she could tolerate - took some doing, but after a few months, we had that down pat. She always had some dry kibble as a base and since she could get through that well, seemed fine to me. I moved, so had to change vets. Our current one is local, single woman practice, does not get into histrionics - very low key.

About 18 months ago, Toula developed a hot spot over labor day weekend. Had to take her to an emergency vet when she really got going on the spot. That vet lit into me like nobody’s business. Also had to go back to her as my vet was gone on vacation that week. Was lit into again. I explained why, and that I wasn’t about to do anything radical to a dog whose quality of life I preferred to maintain, and the teeth were not paining her. Her eating, sleeping, and bounding about were signs to me that she was in good shape. And I believed my first vet, considering her history. This emergency vet was a bird and cat specialist?!?

Unfortunately, Toula passed away this fall. But from osteosarcoma - prevalent in many large breeds.

I would go by the quality of life the dog has now. Which is what you’re doing! If he’s otherwise healthy, I agree. And I know my regular vet would as well.

[Horsegal984]

If your vet isn’t usually the pushy type and he’s pushing there’s a reason. It’s been said before but the bacteria from the mouth can lead to more severe problems and infections. Plus if you wait and a year from now he has an abscess them you have to put him under for it and he’s even older.

I do think its kinda crappy the rescue didn’t have his teeth done before adoptin him out if they’re that bad. But with two separate vets pushing for it I’m inclined to believe its pretty far along.

[vacation1]

If your dog is in good shape and still closer to mature than senior (and at 10 in that size range, he probably is) this is a good time to get a dental. My dog had her first and only dental cleaning at 10. She was still on the mature side of the fence, and only a little slower than in her youth, and she came through fine. I very, very stupidly did not keep up with the brushing and she could use another dental, but at 15, she’s a senior and so much more fragile that I would be very worried she wouldn’t come back mentally. A 30lb dog could have quite a bit more living to do, so do anything tough now, while he’s still pretty vigorous.

Extractions are expensive, so the high end of the scale takes multiples into account. But it’s not cheap unless you skip some things I personally wouldn’t skip, particularly in an older dog - pre-op bloodwork, for example.

[threedogpack]

I acquired a rescue at 8.

You could smell his mouth from across the room.

So one of the first things I did was make an appt to have his teeth cleaned. My vet didn’t just clean them, he extracted 12. The dog felt so much better after that first dental, it was like he dropped 3 years. He played, he ate better and he perked up. It was another 2.5 years before he needed another one, and once again, it was due to the odor. That time he lost another 8 teeth. And once again, he was a different dog.

I just had a dental done on my ACD who is…stops to look for her papers 11. Her teeth are worn from chewing hard on bones and antlers, but there wasn’t a whole lot of plaque. The point being that she is 11, and did fine. She also has horrible breath so I was fully expecting a slab fracture or something. Guess not.

If you do pre-surg bloodwork and it comes back within normal ranges, do the dental. If paying is a concern, decide your top limit and tell them up front you have $XX dollars and make their choices accordingly.

[Coyoteco]

I had the same question. I adopted a few dogs fairly recently. The pound required one of them to have dental work and said she had an abscessed tooth and a broken tooth. Went to the vet. She agreed there was a broken tooth and that it was almost an emergency as it could rupture or something and release toxins or something and kill her. We worried and fed her only soft food and had her teeth done asap. There was no broken tooth, no abscess…the tooth wasn’t even damaged in any way - just the tartar made it look broken?
I’m not convinced that all of the dental work recommended is necessary at this point especially when the dog is older and put at risk.

[S1969]

10-11 is not very old for most breeds…it’s not young but there is a big difference between 10 and 14/15. I’d say it will be worth doing this for his long-term health.

My farrier had an old Frenchie with really bad teeth, and his vet didn’t want to manage the teeth issues because of the fear of anesthesia. When he moved and saw a new vet, they suggested extraction right away, and he went ahead figuring he had nothing to lose. He was amazed and disappointed that he didn’t do it sooner - the dog became much more healthy as a result of having the rotting/broken teeth removed.

If you trust your vet, I’d go ahead and schedule it…

[LauraKY]

We do a thorough cleaning with all the rescues, especially with seniors who may need to have teeth pulled. As long as your vet does pretty thorough bloodwork before and has an IV going during just in case…I would definitely go for it.

[chestnutmarebeware]

A number of years ago I adopted a very large (100+ pounds) senior black lab mix who had been in the shelter for 6 months and was finally scheduled to be euthanized. My vet estimated her age to be 10-11 at that time. Quite honestly, I figured that a dog her size, with bad hip dysplasia, wasn’t going to last much longer, and I just wanted her to have a nice home for whatever time she had left.

Well, that giant dog ended up living 4 more years, and she would have gone longer but she was losing the ability to support her weight on her hips (even with a lift sling) and her quality of life was decreasing rapidly. Right after I adopted her, she was put under to have her very long nails dealt with (after bloodwork), and to have her severely infected ears worked on, with no adverse reactions.

It’s always a risk, but if your vet carefully monitors the pets while they’re under anesthesia (some don’t have the necessary equipment), and are knowledgeable about resucitation in case of emergency, I would have the procedure done.

[Belmont]

Does your vet offer a surgical monitoring? At my clinic we always highly suggest the pre-op blood work and surgical monitoring on older dogs. Our dogs are put under anasthesia, and pulling a lot of teeth can take a while. That price really is a normal range for the extras, the pulling, polish, cleaning, and x-rays. There may be a added anasthesia cost if they procedure goes too long. We always suggest a dental just for the reasons your vet explained. It will make you and your dog happier. If you aren’t comfortable with the price, maybe talk to your vet about a payment plan or apply for care credit. Even some insurances cover the grade ll and grade lll dentals.

I suggest it and I see it done everyday on dogs that old or older who come out just fine.

[Marshfield]

I have cleaned up a lot of painful, infected mouths, often with teeth loose enough to move with just fingertip pressure. Out of all of these, I have only encountered one who was painful enough to stop eating. Rescue group had told the adopters the Schnauzer was 2, we said at least 8, more likely 10 when we checked him over in quarantine. The caretaker had alerted me that we had one who wasn’t eating, there was literally pus pouring from his gums. Rescue picked up the tab for dental care and we removed 24 teeth from the old man. So, I really wouldn’t use the fact that a pet is still eating as a guideline as to pain level.

[threedogpack]

[QUOTE=Marshfield;7530639]
I have cleaned up a lot of painful, infected mouths, often with teeth loose enough to move with just fingertip pressure. Out of all of these, I have only encountered one who was painful enough to stop eating. Rescue group had told the adopters the Schnauzer was 2, we said at least 8, more likely 10 when we checked him over in quarantine. The caretaker had alerted me that we had one who wasn’t eating, there was literally pus pouring from his gums. Rescue picked up the tab for dental care and we removed 24 teeth from the old man. So, I really wouldn’t use the fact that a pet is still eating as a guideline as to pain level.[/QUOTE]

Oh that poor dog! Can you imagine how painful that was???

And Dash would still eat, but he found it difficult before that first extraction, so I agree with Marshfield, eating isn’t a good guideline.

[Foxtrot_s]

JBD wrote my post. We had an older daschund who had a bad mouth and had had a number of extractions through the years. I had the same worries about putting him under and him not making it as he was very special to us.

Vet - who we have used for over 20 years - said the numbers were very good so we went for it. BEST thing we ever did for him. He lost all his teeth but it did not stop him gumming and swallowing his pellets. He was a new dog, lived for many more years and it was a relief not to have his smelly face around and to know he was not swallowing all that bacteria.

Bad teeth can be very painful - and after that we had no more dental bills!

[NCRider]

Flame suit on. I’ll be the slight voice of dissent. Two years ago, my dog’s long time vet (large practice with multiple vets) suggested for the first time that it may be time for a dental because of build up on the teeth. Not pushing though and the dog’s breath, etc. was fine, no sharp edges or broken teeth. Dog was in good health otherwise. This year, same vet pushed extremely hard, essentially making me feel like I was abusing the dog by not having the dental done. It was one of the more uncomfortable conversations I’ve ever had with a vet.

Again, no bad breath, dog otherwise healthy. Bloodwork good. I caved. $500 later but no extractions, dog had a bad reaction to the anesthesia and they requested that I pick him up early because he was freaking out in recovery. He was not in good shape. Breath has been noticebly bad since the dental was done. I’ve looked around in the dog’s mouth when brushing his teeth and personally I think the teeth look worse since the dental. I suppose its time for another dental. I’m really not sure I want to put my 10 year old dog through it again. I kind of regret doing it the first time.

The suspicious part of me suspects that my vet has been pressured by her partners to up revenue by pushing dentals.

I would get a second opinion as to whether it is necessary.

[Cashela]

My 12 year old rescue Dachshund had a dental at the beginning of the year. He has a heart murmur. He needed to have a tooth pulled and that is why we had the dental to begin with because I was scared to have one. He came through fine. I told them to only pull any teeth that positively had to come out, that I didn’t want him leaving there with nothing left. He is losing some front teeth on his own, which the vet said they would just come out.

It cost me $700 for the dental and I think it was around $100 for the blood work. They wanted him to have an echocardiogram before hand and I opted not to have one done, it would be another $500. They wanted to do it because they wanted to know what meds to use in case he was in heart failure. My gut told me that this little dog that runs around playing is not in heart failure yet.

I have to admit his teeth looked ok when they were done but they are having tartar build up again. I brush his teeth and he eats dry food. I’m a little frustrated that we are having build up so soon after the dental.

[Horsegal984]

[QUOTE=NCRider;7530850]
I would get a second opinion as to whether it is necessary.[/QUOTE]

I am a big supporter of second opinions when something doesn’t feel right. However the OP noted that the rescue’s vet (whom I would assume is not the same as her own) also highly recommended a dental. So in a way her vet’s recommendation actually is a second opinion.