Teeth cleaning at the vets

[namethisbird]

Hello

I am looking for any advice or opinions please.

I have a 5 year old male Pomeranian (2kg) who the vet has recommended needs his teeth cleaned.

my mum and dad have said I shouldn’t get it done due to the risks involved.
when looking online it seems relatively safe although higher than human death rate when the dog is under anaesthetic.

It’s often necessary and while anaesthetics aren’t risk free they’re pretty safe. It’s pricey and not often covered by insurance but ours have had theirs done along with necessary extractions.

And to add, it’s better to get it done when needed aged 5 instead of when it’s essential at age 10…

At 9 our ddog had to have 10 teeth out. Would have cost a lot less than the £800 if they had been cleaned before then!

Google natural teeth cleaning. I think fish skin is meant to be good.

The risk of anaesthetic complication in dogs and cats in non- emergency cases is 1 in 14,000. The risk of not addressing dental disease are pain, infection and further down the line risk of jaw fracture.

My dog spa does it, it's £30 a time and does need six treatments before the full results, but it's good, they don't need to be knocked out and a lot cheaper than the vets. X

The groomer does not deal with subginigval tartar and does not fully assess the teeth. It is absolutely not the same as what vets do.

@Lonecatwithkitten yours might not but mine does they have purchased special machinery.
You know all people do make me laugh, you've not been to my spa so you don't know
It absolutely does clean it the same over the treatments, they have special equipment like the vets

If you leave your dog with tartar build-up you're storing up other problems in the future.

The treatments available at groomers are great for prevention and surface cleaning, but they won't solve proper gum disease or gingivitis and aren't a replacement for a proper cleaning under anaesthetic.

The risk of anything happening under anaesthetic to a healthy 5yo dog is absolutely tiny - please don't worry!

Just get it done. My dog was five years old when he had his done and they have never got grotty since. If he is insured and you don't get it done if the vet had recommended it, you may find insurers don't pay up when you need to claim for a non-dental issue.

My small 12 year old dog recently had her teeth cleaned by the vet and needed 2 premolars extracted. Absolutely no problems with the anaesthetic.

Anaesthetic for a healthy 5 year old dog should carry a very low risk.

As a vet I can tell you can not remove subgingival tartar in an awake dog as it is painful and you will get bitten. I clean all five surfaces of every tooth and the subginigival area, chart every tooth measure pockets and furcations a groomer definitely dose not do the same thing as I do.
The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons has released this statement on dentals without anaesthesia.

@Lonecatwithkitten and you also charge unreasonable prices, if you clean your dog's teeth properly and have them done at the spa every six weeks sub gingival tartar shouldn't build up.

How rude! @Copperoliverbear you have no idea what is being charged or how vets come to those prices.
In my experience vets don’t recommend putting a dog under for teeth cleaning unless the state of their teeth warrants this level of intervention. Better to get it done rather than let a dog suffer.

Well an average dental takes me around 2 hours to do a proper job and extensive one with multiple extractions up to four hours. I use £14k worth of equipment and have a qualified veterinary nurse monitoring the animal at all times.
A good thorough dental treatment is not a two minute job. It is an act veterinary surgery identifying and correctly treatment painful dental disease correctly.

Manky teeth can be really bad for dogs and infections can even go to the heart so get it done and then keep up with regular tooth brushing :-)

Sometimes, @Lonecatwithkitten I think you have the patience of a saint. 5+ years training to be told the 'spa' does it better 😂

Not least because, £30 every 6 weeks for the life of this aged dog = £1300 total so far. (And counting).

I'm gonna bet a once every 5 years dental at the vet is far cheaper than that!

@SirSniffsAlot I did not say it does it better at all, I said it's only £30 a time however frequently you take your dog to the spa, minimum of six weeks at a time and it cleans their teeth to a good quality, without having to put them out, some people don't have their dogs teeth cleaned every six weeks, this is why they end up with big problems

@Wolfiefan I do know how much it cost actually as I enquired but would rather keep problems at bay and not have to have my dog put under.

But the Op isn’t in that position. Their dog already has dental problems. A trip to the “spa” won’t fix it.

I have never heard of a groomer going near a dogs teeth before and tbh needing 6 treatments at then ongoing sounds very much like a marketing up sell.

Have you asked your qualified vet if what the groomer is doing is ok, necessary or beneficial? I would be worried if they are attempting any type of scaling of a dog that is awake, moving and resisting they are not doing it properly and could be stressing the dog, damaging the enamel or introducing bacteria into the blood stream.

Brushing your own dogs teeth, a good diet and/or giving teeth cleaning chews should be sufficient for day to day teeth care without potentially damaging "spa" treatments.

OP speak to your vet for advice on the risk vs the risks of not getting it done. Ours has had his teeth examined and cleaned once, but only because we took the opportunity to get it done when he was knocked out for something else.

Thanks everyone. I had the procedure done and luckily I did as 10 teeth were removed.

This is really bad advice. When I spoke to my vet and sought out a groomer who offers mobile teeth cleaning they refused to do it due to the discomfort and risk to the dog when they are awake.

I keep seeing posts for Pet Lab Co dental formula. I wonder if this is any good?

Having seen the mess of the majority of dog teeth in ‘after’ photos of dogs that have visited the dog spa I can say most of those dogs needed to see a vet for a proper dental. So many problems missed and now will stay missed as the dog hasn’t seen the correct person.

Yes I am qualified to say that. So many dogs left in pain but the teeth look clean to uneducated people so they must be…