Greyhound Dental Problems - any experience?

[toothypegtrauma]

We have a lovely 5 year old ex racer who needs some dental work.

I had noticed some gum recession at her top front tooth, and on closer inspection she has an awful lot of plaque and possibly some infection.

I took her to the vets and have been quoted somewhere between £220 and £380 depending on radiographs, extractions etc. She is booked into hospital next week

Does this sound about right? I contacted another vet and asked what their pricing structure was for dental work and they said about the same. Obviously none of this is covered on our pet insurance.

Has anyone experienced this? What kind of aftercare will I need to put in place to prevent any further damage?

TIA

[Lonecatwithkitten]

Ex-racing greyhounds unfortunately often have terrible teeth due to the type of food they are feed during training.
She is likely to loose a lot of teeth I am afraid and the quote you have been given looks pretty reasonable.
Going forward tooth brushing and using mouth rinse can really help these dogs, but they are likely to need on going treatment.

[toothypegtrauma]

Thanks, kitten.

She is fed a mostly dry greyhound complete food at the moment.

She isn't really a chewer so I don't think the spiky plastic bones will appeal. She does however like the odd rawhide chew, and I have bought some dentasticks. Do you know if they actually work?

How does mouth rinse work on a dog?!

[Lonecatwithkitten]

Dentastixs will only help once the teeth are clean. You use th mouth wash on a swab.
First you need the dental o get clean teeth.

[Owllady]

It sounds reasonable for dental work Tbh
They have to put them under and its best to have it done otherwise it causes them pain and other problems

[Scuttlebutter]

We have four greyhounds - as a breed, they are very prone to dental problems. Our ten year old grey has just come back from a dental - GA, full clean and seven teeth out - nearly £400. That also includes post op ABs too, so what you've been quoted is quite normal and reasonable.

Because hounds are so prone to dental problems, you just need to keep a very close eye on them, and as you've done, be prepared for regular dental work by the vet.

My understanding is that it's becoming apparent that there is very much a genetic component to some greys' susceptibility to dental problems - would love to see any links to papers on this if anyone has them. Of our current four, though all have the same diet there is considerable variation in dental status, but it's something I keep a very close eye on, and I discuss regularly with our vets whenever they are in for check-ups etc.

[MuttonCadet]

We brush our grey teeth every day, and they're still awful
But the quote you've been given sounds about right.

[toothypegtrauma]

Thanks everyone. Getting a bit nervous now about her going for her op

I'm hoping she doesn't have many removals but I suspect she will have several taken out. How does lack of teeth affect their eating?

[Scuttlebutter]

It doesn't.

You should meet our darling Callie. She came to us as a long term foster, and needed emergency dental treatment, which resulted in all but 4 of her teeth being removed. We immediately placed her on a very soft diet, and then one day I went out the kitchen to find her hoovering up some kibble with great enjoyment.

Since then, she has the same basic diet as the others, a combo of Harrington's kibble (small size pieces are easy for her to handle) and raw. Obviously she can't eat bones, or Bonio but she likes sucking pigs ears adn will have a go at most things. Subsequently, she had the remaining four teeth out, so is now entirely toothless but is flourishing, a beautiful, healthy girl who eats a surprising variety of things.

Obviously, you will need a soft diet for the immediate post-op period (poached chicken and rice always a good one) but you'll be surprised how quickly they get back to harder stuff.

[Owllady]

Mine had loads out, was whimpering in pain :( on the day she came home and she ate
As normal!
It didn't make any difference at all. My vet suggested giving her a hard biscuit once a week, if she could manage it. Of course she could :o

[toothypegtrauma]

Thanks scuttle. Callie sounds lovely

Our hound gets a

[toothypegtrauma]

oops!

What I was saying was...

She gets a greyhound complete food with bit of Naturediet meaty stuff with added hot water to make a bit of a gravy. She can be fussy...but eats the majority of it straight away (while the biscuits are still dry).

After her op, I'll just try her with a bit of the Naturediet alone, or perhaps some scrambled egg. She is partial to a bit of scrambled egg (although the atmosphere suffers!!).