Vet removed 22 teeth without asking me

[MyJollyJadeBird]

AIBU to think this vet should be reported?
I left my dog (8yo) with my vet to have a dental clean and polish, but when I collected him, they had removed all his upper teeth and some lower. He was wailing. My regular vet had warned me there were 4 teeth that might have to be removed. But a different vet did the surgery. My regular vet apologised and said they stood over their assessment of 4 teeth that day, but couldn't explain the other vets decision. Since then they've been careful to put nothing in writing.
AIBU to think this was criminal and if so, what recourse do I have? I don't want to report the whole practice because they've been so lovely up until this, just the surgeon vet!

If they had charged me according to their stated pricing it would have been over £1k - it’s not about the money

The back arse of rural Northern Ireland , and even then 22 extractions would be the guts of a grand.

You're the locum, am I right?

@powershowerforanhour gives an accurate account of what it's like to be a responsible and decent vet in this situation. We had a dedicated drawer for Haribo in our prep room.

£200 for taking out 22 teeth. There must actually be more to this. If it was a genuine welfare concern - and there was a risk to the dog of giving further anaesthesia while a decision was awaited - then, regardless of owner's views, the vet has a duty of care to proceed, if the genuine suffering of the animal is at stake. @BiddlyBipBipBeeBop - is right. What has ACTUALLY been said by the vet involved?

I've seen some unspeakable suffering visited on pets by owners who have refused treatment against wisdom, compassion or the advice of senior vets. Things I can never unsee. I'm not saying this is what has happened here, but there are 22 parts of this story missing, and I don't think it's fair to vilify the vets or their judgements until we know more. I did ask in my earlier post for more detail but it hasn't been forthcoming. But if 22 teeth were extracted in the time when the dog "wasn’t in there more than 90 mins", they must have been very, very bad indeed.

If it's not about the money then it's the comms, and if the fault lies with the vet it is probably vet #1 who should have prepped you that dentals are notorious for needing more done than first appears , and that it isn't your decision once the alfax hits the vein.
IF the comms fault lies with the vet.

The vet has a duty of care which takes priority over the owner’s wishes. If the dog is already under anaesthetic and the teeth need to come out, it makes no sense to subject it to the risk of a second general anaesthetic when the procedure can be done there and then. It sounds like they have only charged you for four extractions as a courtesy.

If you’re not happy then you need to complain to the surgery in the first instance and give them a chance to respond.

Ex Vet Nurse here and I recognise every word of that!!

If they took 22 teeth out instead of 4 and still only charged you £200 it suggests to me that they mistook your dog for another. Complain, complain and complain until someone tells you wtf happened. Your poor dog!

@powershowerforanhour gives an accurate depiction of how this used to go when I was in practice.

If they got 22 teeth out in 90 minutes and only charged £200, they must have virtually fallen out of his gums. The first vet clearly badly underestimated how poor his teeth were.

Even £200 for a check, clean and no teeth removed under GA is an absolute bargain! I know that’s not what your op is about but I honestly can’t believe the cost. It was more than that to put my cat under to do a skin scrape that took less than 5 minutes. When she has having her teeth cleaned they said they would assess and take out what was necessary. I agreed because I knew otherwise she would be in pain and potentially get a serious infection. She was under less than your dog, had 3 teeth out and it was £950. I’d be dancing all the way home if I was you. Dog obviously needed them out and you got away with paying next to nothing.

But were your dogs teeth in a bad state? Do you brush them regularly? Is it a small dog or a big dog? I think you need to really think about the situation and try to not be emotive to the point it clouds your judgement while trying to ascertain what happened here. Most vets won't call you, mid surgery, for approval when the dog is under. That would be dangerous. If your dogs teeth were pristine, and only 4 needed "cleaned", then it would be a different story but it's hard to not take the vets side, as an experienced dog owner (with a breed known for challenging teeth) unless all of this information is presented for clarification.

That suggests you think they removed a load of teeth that didn't need removing. It would not be possible to remove 22 healthy, solidly rooted teeth in 90 minutes.

Yeah, we need a clear explanation of what happened otherwise can't comment

It seems odd that you say they can't explain the vet's decision. Does that vet normally work there?

The vet isn’t going to have extracted them for fun, and it want for money, so clearly the dog needed them out. It sounds like you may have made the wrong decision if asked, maybe the vet got that vibe from you and told the other very young just go ahead and rightly do what made the dog comfortable long term.

When mine had it done they had a total of 3 vets to decide how many needed to come out. Mine wailed, but that was due to coming around from the anaesthetic.

@powershowerforanhour Jesus! My dog had a clean and one tooth removed and it cost us £700!!!

I had my cat put under for her teeth and the anaesthetic alone cost over £300.
It really doesn’t make sense for a vet to take all those teeth if it wasn’t needed. And it wouldn’t have been done in 90 minutes if the teeth were ok so they’ve done you a huge favour op. Your dog obviously needed it done.

Yeah okay that's a very good point actually.

I'm genuinely not sure what you're upset about. He obviously needed the teeth removing, especially if it took such a short amount of time to take so many out, they must have been in horrific condition. If they had called you, you weren't going to say no to removing them so why leave him under even longer just to make a pointless call?

I'd also love to know who your vet is, his prices are a bloody bargain!

Our cat had a dental last week and they specifically asked for permission to remove any teeth they deemed necessary.

I doubt they took 22 teeth out for shits and giggles - presumably your dog had severe dental disease and it needed to be done for his own health.

I think they have already reacted to your anger. My dog had 22 teeth removed 3 years ago, they charged me £900 after a discount. £200 would not even cover the anesthesia to stop her moving for an x-ray.

I agree with everyone who says you cannot diagnose how bad the teeth are until the x rays are done and the tartar is removed.

I think that their main mistake was not calling you to ask you whether you wanted to go ahead with the procedure (and the related cost). I don’t think any vet would be taking teeth out for fun.

They were my immediate thoughts too.

So what's the problem?

They should have asked you, but assuming you'd have said yes anyway for your dogs' welfare, what difference does it make now that it's done?

Criminal negligence it’s bloody animal
abuse the poor baby😢 he should be struck off ! Get as much info as you can
and take court action

Removing teeth that clearly needed to be removed is animal abuse...