Pet Lovers

[bonnielu]

I had my dogs teeth cleaned.  Buttercup is just fine.  And when she came home from an overnight stay my other pup Bailey went over and kissed and hugged her. 

[Lapdog]

@Daysdeedefinately recommend the dental. 

If your pup has infection, request they be put on antibiotics Before the procedure.  They are swallowing all that bacteria.

After the cleaning set up a schedule and brush or scrub with gauze pads and Dog toothpaste once a week.

It really does help.

[SeaMaiden]

A 10 year old dog?  I personally would not do it .  Read this article.

https://iheartdogs.com/dont-take-your-dog-to-the-vet-until-you-know-about-this/

[CrazyDaisy]

The risk of aneshesia is a conversation you should have with your vet, however should not be the only factor in your decision.  Your pets teeth need a complete examination to be sure there are no problems.  Cracked, decayed even excessive plack and tarter can cause pain and infection.  Getting ahead of these issued is important.

[chiclet]

I can tell by the breath when they need it done.  I try to brush their teeth but that is not really doing much since they won't be still.  It can be very expensive. 

[Shanus]

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@Daysdee wrote:

Vet recommends my dog's teeth be cleaned.  I worry about the anesthesia.  Dog is almost 10 years old.  Has had teeth cleaned once during my ownership.    Do you get this done for your dog or not?

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@Daysdee Yes, my 2 beagles have both had their teeth cleaned at least once a year by their vet. Although I brush them myself (as much as they let me), it does not remove all the plaque that accumulates, leads to bad breath, diseased gums and eventual tooth loss.

[tends2dogs]

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@piperbay wrote:

I had my nine year old dog's teeth cleaned when she had vaccines two weeks previously to the cleaning. It really brought down her immune system and we almost lost her and it was a long way back. I do not recomend getting the two procedures close together.

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@piperbay  Sadly, this is common practice for conventional vets - get everything done in one visit.  A holistic vet would never vaccinate a 9 year old dog without titering it first., let alone put it under anesthesia so soon after.  She most likely didn't need the shots because she was already immunized.  You were blessed that your dog made it through. 

As far as the OP's question - my vote is "no".  Had dogs for over 30 years and never did professional cleaning.  My dogs had clean teeth to the end with a little extra care from me and good food....not commercial. 

[Fressa]

I would be nervous to get this done at this age. I always have German Shepherd dogs. Some have had the tooth tarter and some have not. They all ate chow plus veggies. Each preferred different chew toys but the antlers really solve the tooth tarter problem. For my other GSD i purchased this powder that you put in the food. It worked well.

I've seen a larger variety of products for dog teeth cleaning at the pet stores. I purchased these biscuits from TopicCare that were mint flavor for one of my dogs. just one a day. It  worked well.

Hope some of these work for your dog.

[tends2dogs]

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@SeaMaiden wrote:

A 10 year old dog?  I personally would not do it .  Read this article.

https://iheartdogs.com/dont-take-your-dog-to-the-vet-until-you-know-about-this/

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@SeaMaiden  Thank you for this link - very informative.  When Willie was diagnosed with IBD this past winter, the conventional docs were like, yeh, he can be neutered and he can get his rabies.  He was put under to do an endoscopy.  That was how we got our diagnosis after many other tests. 

Because I chose not to go the conventional route for treating his IBD (autoimmune BTW), I searched out and found a holistic vet.  She said absolutely no neutering at this time, no Rabies (he was given an exemption, for now), and no steroids or immunosuppressants.  This was to be the conventional course of treatment, a lifetime of steroids and immunosuppressants.  Well, thankfully, our vet was able to get things under control with supplements.  She also put us in touch with a nutritional vet that put together a nutritionally balanced meal plan for Willie.  So far, by the grace of God, it is working.

Teeth cleaning?  I think not.

Again, thanks.  I hope people will look at your link.

[RipleyGirl]

I go to a very holistic vet. As a matter of fact, he's sometimes a little too "woo" even for me. He believes in teeth cleaning, but as someone else mentioned, he would not do it without blood tests to ensure the pet is healthy enough. And as I mentioned earlier, he also tries to do some with just sedation, which he feels is fine if there's just minor plaque. This gives him a chance to have a look around in the mouth as well and he will recommend anesthetic if he can't get everything.

One of the other, more conventional, vets at the same clinic actually recommended against cleaning the teeth of my older (19 years at the time) kitty. He felt the stress on Mozart's kidneys was not worth the risk.

They're not all out to rip people off.