Canine tartar scraper

Shoshannah

thistledome wrote: »

I've been dithering about getting this done for ages. I want my dog's teeth cleaned (and I also would like the vet to check for disease/infections/abcesses etc) but I fear the GA

His mouth really stinks too. I've tried brushing his teeth and washing his mouth and face but it still reeks. He is very uncooperative and hates anyone looking in his mouth so the tooth brushing is pretty ineffectual at best.

He's 8 in August.

Just how dangerous is the risk of a GA, as in % of deaths approx.? As far as I know he's in otherwise good health and not fat.

I can't give you an exact percentage because I'm not sure what it would be, but rest assured that anaesthetics are very safe nowadays compared to how things used to be.

Over the last year, I have personally seen only 2 deaths under anaesthetic, and we perform up to 5 or 6 anaesthetics a day. We use human anaesthetic agents and our nurses are excellent. We always use intravenous catheters to give drugs and maintain access to a vein should we need it, as many pets as possible go onto fluids throughout the GA and we use pulse oximeters and capnography (clever monitoring gizmos) to make the GA safer. Today I performed surgery on a dog with a heart murmur - he came through fine from the GA.

What breed is your dog? Unless he is a giant breed, at 8 years of age he is not very old. Age itself is not a barrier to GA (we have anaesthetised 20 year old cats before now), rather the disease and conditions that go along with it. If you are concerned, ask for a pre-GA blood screen to check your dog's liver and kidney function before the GA is started. We always offer this to every patient and pretty much insist upon it for older or infirm patients.

I suggest you phone your vet or drop in for a chat to talk through your concerns. They should be able to put your mind at rest. If you are still worried you can consider a minor scale under sedation, but bear in mind this cannot really come close to 'proper' dental work under full GA.

Dental disease is far more than a question of cosmetics or smelly breath. Mouth infections have been linked to heart and kidney disease, as every time the animal bites down on something they absorb bacteria into the system. Sometimes, we have to seriously weigh up the risks of the anaesthetic against the risks of the diseased mouth.

I hope this helps. As I said, I would encourage you to speak to your vet about it and see what they think the next stepp should be.

skypie123_2

Would one of those clay modelling tools not be a cheap useful thing for scraping tartar?

Frugalista

skypie123 wrote: »

Would one of those clay modelling tools not be a cheap useful thing for scraping tartar?

Why would you not just use the correct tool for the job?? Our descalers/scrapers only cost a couple of pounds each. How cheap do you want to go?

thistledome

Shoshannah wrote: »

I hope this helps. As I said, I would encourage you to speak to your vet about it and see what they think the next stepp should be.

Yes it did help, thank you.:) I'll take your advice.

Only just saw your post today. This site is so big I lose track of where I've posted sometimes.

He's a springer, btw.