To Risk Anesthesia?

[Riven1993]

Our 15 year old dog has had poor teeth for a couple of years but we have always put dental treatment off due to his age, his breed and the fact he has a weird heart rhythm.

His heart has been investigated as the beats are irregular but the vets have always left it as ‘wait and see’ and to be monitored. He isn’t medicated.

The vets are saying he needs to get his teeth done as they are now likely to be causing him discomfort and could be causing further health issues. Aside from this, he is happy, content, eats well, goes on walks, is sociable, sleeps, plays, likes treats, chases the birds in the garden etc which makes it incredibly hard to make a decision regarding this surgery due his high risk factors for anesthesia.

We have had a blood panel done which will hopefully ensure he is a suitable for the procedure and we are also paying for X-rays. We are doing all we can to ensure his safety /mitigate concerns but it feels totally counterintuitive to send him for the procedure that he might not ever come out from, even though he is well day to day.

We don’t dispute he needs it doing but you understand our predicament. Any advice welcome? Please be sensitive to the situation.

I have taken the risk in a similar situation but only because the teeth were obviously painful. If the dog seems well and happy I would leave it.

At 15 our terrier went under GA to have a cancerous growth and one claw removed. She had dodgy kidneys, heart and liver but we decided it was worth the risk for her to live without pain and enjoy a little more time. Our thinking was that if she died while under, it would be painless and without fear. This was actually after having lost another very young dog (13 months) under GA
while being spayed some years ago, which was hugely upsetting.

The elderly terrier survived the op and it was a success. She died eleven months later and we all loved that extra time with her, including one last Christmas of her antics and everyone doting on her, which she relished very much.

My sister had a border x JRT that had a general for teeth removal at 18 , she lived to 21 . Rotten teeth can lead to other health issues so it’s probably worth the risk .