Parker is 3 1/2 years of age and his teeth are a mess. The vet will be cleaning his teeth under anisthia (sp) in March. We will undergoing a few changes in February (holidays, renovations etc.) and don't want to cause him too much stress. He also doesn't have any infection, just really grubby teeth and bad breath.
The cost is $500.00 so I don't want to be incurring this expense on a regular basis. Any suggestions other then regular brushing to keep his teeth in good shape?
Also, this is the first time that I am aware of that he will be put "under". Any suggestions with respect to his recovery?
Thanks.......Kelly
dis is Parker: dere is nofin wong wif my teef. Dey are jus fin!!!!!!!!!!!! :dontknow:
Unfortunately Dachshunds, mostly the minis, have really bad teeth (I found out the hard way). There's no way to clean dogs' teeth without placing them under anesthesia, that's a given, but nowadays there are ways to do it without harming the dog. I rescued a Whippet that was placed under anesthesia with a grade 4 heart murmur to take care of his teeth that were in the most horrible shape I've ever seen, and survived. A week after the teeth cleaning (and after loosing about 25 teeth) his heart murmur was grade 1. This is how important it is to take care of your pets' teeth.
There are some products on the market (ask your vet about VetzLife) that can help keep their teeth clean, but brushing is a must.
In my experience, this is one of those "individual units will vary." He may or may not need regular dentals, you have to keep an eye on it.
There should be no need for any particular follow up unless they decide to pull a tooth or two, and then it's just pain meds. No matter how hard ya try, you cannot teach a dog to rinse with warm salt water. :grin: I am sure he would appreciate a few days of kibble soaked in water--or better yet, CAT FUD!!! (Zuzu told me to add that.)
That said, it's a good idea to not allow ANY jumping or rowdy play until you are sure the effects of the anesthesia have completely worn off. Like humans, they may be a bit wobbly for awhile.
AND when the vet says to WITHOLD water for (how many hours) follow those instructions and WITHOLD water. Just do it. Don't cave. (and that's a whole 'nuther story.)
Big Hugandkiss to Peter Parker.
We tried cleaning and our pair don't come near us if it looks as if that is going to happen. Vet told us to stop all bones after the last dental, they suggested hide chewies to keep their teeth clean, that seems to work ans if I can get in with a piece of gauze with passte on it I do try.
We never had this with our first pair, I wonder if its the "we've put everything they need in the puppy food" while earlier we used to give them pentavite and calcium suppliments in their food.
We have their vet info with large print so it prints out dachies be gentle with neck and shoulders and Amy gets morphine as she comes out of the anesthetic as she has had back surgery and they say they don't tend to struggle as much if they have a sedative . I also if they are giving them a pre anesthetic I ask to hold them so they go sleepy in my arms and don't panic and try to be allowed when they wake up, and I get them home as fast as possible.
Peter "be a good boy"
Roberta
I have gone through this numerous times with my Doxies. They just don't have the best teeth, these little critters. My 15 year old has no teeth whatsoever anymore and does just fine "gumming" it. We brush the others' teeth twice a week and it does help, although not totally. You have to get them used to it and they seem to love the chicken-flavored toothpaste. I understand there is an additive you can put in their water that helps dispose of tarter, but I haven't used it. Good luck! :thumb:
Had Patches teeth cleaned was brushing everyday with pet tooth paste and three times a week using PetsLife the got tired of the dents in my fingers so have been using Leba lll spray once or twice a day. Then also use the dental rinse you add to their water. Use Greenies when I can afford them Patches teeth looked better when I was brushing them.I used a Brum battery tooth brush worked pretty good.Papbouv
I brush, floss and scrap Hallie's teeth (and my previous dogs) I've never had to do a dental at the vets with a dog yet, the trick is to keep up with it though which reminds me Hallie is due for scraping (she's getting her allergy shot this afternoon though so I think we'll wait til tomorrow :thumb: )
Let us know how Parker does.
$500 dollars? Good Lord!
a normal cleaning runs about $200 at my vet and that includes basic blood work before putting them under.
Some lines are known for bad teeth, and some seem to have no problems at all. My vet said something about the pH of their saliva being either friendly to bacteria or not, so some dogs need regular cleanings and some don't. I've noticed that Reilly and Murphy both get nasty teeth sometimes. A raw chunk of beef bone usually cleans them up fairly well (those smoked knuckles do a good job too), but I'm sure they'll need a cleaning at some point. Winston's teeth have always been pretty nice and white and he's 4 1/2 now. Millie's teeth were horrid when she was nursing the babies and cleaning up after them :eeew: but are also normally pretty white. The puppies daddy gets tarter really easily, so it'll be interesting to see how they do.
I give mine treats which are supposed to help clean tartar and plaque - at least a little bit. Last summer, all four of mine had their teeth cleaned and bloodwork, anesthesia, and antibiotics after were a bit over $1200 for the pack. I brush when I can grab one, but it doesn't happen often - mine are very psychic when I even consider cleaning teeth or clipping toenails! Brekke does like being brushed - which is good, since she's the longhair in this family.
There's a product called Oravet that I've had good luck with. It's a clear gel that you apply once/week. It has to be applied initially at the cleaning. The theory is that the tartar sticks to the gel so it sloughs off as the gel does. Each week, a new application gives the tartar new gel to stick to. It is hard to remember to do it each week.