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If you're worried about your pet's health, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.

Vet removed 22 teeth without asking me

204 replies

MyJollyJadeBird · 05/06/2026 16:19

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!

OP posts:
powershowerforanhour · 08/06/2026 15:53

suzyq54 · 08/06/2026 11:27

of course I’d have been ‘in shock’ if they’d taken out 22 teeth instead of 2 without telling me which was the point of the post I was replying to.

On pickup, or even on the phone to arrange pickup, once they know the dog is OK, owners really really want to know the number and latch onto the answer. How many????

I tell them because they want to know, but often I have to look at the chart before I call them because I have forgotten the actual number, if even I have only just written up the procedure...because it doesn't actually matter. We don't really care about wee shitey single rooted first premolars for example - I do take care to note what was missing, what was extracted and what was still there but TBH the owner will never notice or care if all 4 first premolars are gone, or if everything caudal to 108, 208, 309 and 409 is gone. I bet most don't know how many incisor teeth a dog is supposed to have (12) or which of those incisors have an awkward , triangular shaped root (the upper corner incisors 103 and 203).

We're more interested in whether the roots were completely intact or not, what our gum flaps were like, whether the upper canines had oronasal fistulas or not, whether the bit of root exposure on that big lower molar 309 is going to be significant now that we've extracted the offending 308 that was crowding it and gathering tartar, and mentally awarding ourselves a prize if we managed to do a beautiful gentle extraction on a difficult tooth with minimal trauma (bonus points if it's a mandibular canine, double bonus points if it's a mandibular canine in a cat, triple points if the cat has resorptive lesions).
If I get 4 retained deciduous canines out of a dog with roots all intact, I expect a round of applause from all present .

No points for finger loose teeth, those are the ones you do for an easy win while you're waiting for the local block to work and contemplating doing battle with a big lower molar that has one sound root and one root where the probe disappeared up to the hilt.

SquirrelGG · 08/06/2026 21:11

suzyq54 · 08/06/2026 11:27

of course I’d have been ‘in shock’ if they’d taken out 22 teeth instead of 2 without telling me which was the point of the post I was replying to.

I'm still waiting to hear why you would be "in shock". It's not unknown for animals to have large amounts of teeth needing to be removed. If you are so easily "shocked" I suggest you work on your resilience.

Hildegard25 · 09/06/2026 11:11

MyJollyJadeBird · 05/06/2026 17:01

They charged £200 and he wasn’t in there more than 90 mins

£200 for 22 teeth being extracted.
This Surgery certainly is more then fair to it's customers.
My dog originally went in for 4 teeth to be removed and ended up having 12 taken out. This cost just short of £500.

Why would a Vet remove 22 teeth unless it was absolutely necessary?
Well obviously they would not.
It is patently obvious that on investigation the dog's teeth were in a much worse condition then first noticed.

Now, the problem for the poor Vet is: "what to do?"
The dog is under anaesthetic. And contacting the owner is not always easy to do under these circumstances.
He could remove the four, and inform you of the other 18, thus putting your dog through another trauma and incurring you more costs.
OR
He could remove the offending teeth, leaving you with a dog that does not go through further operations, traumas, and healing.

I certainly was grateful as to how my Vets handled a decision that was suddenly thrust upon them.

My seemingly controversial opinion is that you should also be thankful.
Wow! And only getting a bill for £200. Amazing!

dailyconniptions · 09/06/2026 18:06

So, OP, have the excellent explanatory posts from vets on here cleared this up for you? They are the professionals. It was completely necessary to do what they did. That is crystal clear. I do hope you're reassured now?

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