Is a dental cleaning worth the risk?

I know this is long, but please read! I really need lots of opinions. Thank you.

My chihuahua needed a teeth cleaning last year so we scheduled an appointment in November. But then 2 weeks before the cleaning appointment, she had a bad episode of neck and back pain (it never happened before and it has not happened since). We asked her vet if it was still okay for her to get a cleaning and then his face turned bright red, he seemed suspicious, and said it was fine if she got the cleaning despite her neck and back problems. We did not feel right about his reaction so we decided to wait 2 months. I felt like it was a sign that she should not get her teeth cleaned. But then a disease I have got much worse and now every second of the day is spent tending to me. My dog still has not had her teeth cleaning because we are very busy with my health. (Also hundreds of dollars are spent on my health every week.)

My dog's vet was stressing the importance of teeth cleaning, but now my dog has a new vet who didn't make is seem like an immediate danger. I feel like her old vet was a better vet and more experienced but when his face turned red I felt like he was withholding some important information from me. Also my dog threw up after taking quadriguard and the vet did not tell me it was a reaction; I had to figure that out on my own when she threw up the next month. I felt like I could not trust my dog's old vet so I switched vets but her new vet does not seem as experienced and I just don't trust those new vet technicians with putting my dog under. I can't trust the old vet either because of his face turning red and him acting suspicious.

My dog has only had her teeth cleaned once before, when she was 3. Now she is 7 and I feel like she is over due on her cleaning. Her bottom teeth look white, but her top teeth have orange-ish brown stuff on the outside by her gums. Her breath started to smell bad about a year ago. My neighbor's dachshund got her teeth cleaned for the first time when she was 9, so it didn't seem like such a big deal to me if my dog went a few years between cleanings.

After my dog got her teeth cleaned the first time, I read stories about the horrible dangers of anesthesia for small dogs (and some big dogs, but mostly small dogs). People were warning against getting teeth cleaned because it is not worth the risk of losing your dog. I have read many stories of healthy dogs who got pre-anesthesia blood work done that died while getting their teeth cleaned, died right after, or became paralyzed. But then recently I have been reading about the horrible dangers of not getting a dog's teeth cleaned. I read articles saying the dog can get heart disease, a broken jaw, and abscessed teeth.

I just don't know what to do. Is my dog in more danger getting put under to get her teeth cleaned or is she in more danger having plaque on her teeth?

If I do end up getting her teeth cleaned it probably won't be for a few months or maybe even a year because of everything that has to be done to keep me well. Can anyone give me recommendations of teeth cleaning products I can use on my little dog until she gets her teeth cleaned by the vet (if I end up getting her teeth cleaned).


Thank you for replies! If you could also share any articles or refer me to any websites, I would appreciate it!

Hello there, and first of all I really feel for you because you clearly have no confidence in either your old vet or the new one - this is a horrible place to be because we really do need to trust what our vets tells us don't we.

So, you are faced with deciding for yourself re the teeth cleaning and anaesthetic.

Seven is not a huge age for a little dog, and personally I would not be taking that into account when thinking about an anaesthetic; also, the level of anaesthesia for teeth cleaning is very low indeed.........not anything like that needed for invasive surgery for example.

Bad teeth can cause not only intense pain, but also other problems too..........strangely, dogs rarely show discomfort from toothache If they do, then you can be sure that the level of pain is very high indeed.

All in all, for what it's worth I would say that having the teeth seen to now would be the way to go, especially given the bad breath and tartar problem.

Our dog is in his teens somewhere, and had his teeth cleaned last year..........they need doing again unfortunately, but I will definitely have it done.

Good luck

I have never had a dog that needed it's teeth cleaned or had plaque. All my dogs have always gnawed bones from a very early age and well into old age. The problem with leaving them isn't the plaque but the gum disease it could be hiding, which is usually responsible for the smelly breath too. Depending on how bad they are you could try giving bones to gnaw and also brushing the teeth, if they are too far gone I would have them cleaned and them take steps to make sure they stay plaque free in the future.

I am now remembering why I am so nervous to get my chihuahua's teeth cleaned and why I began researching the dangers four years ago. Something negative or bad did happen when she got her teeth cleaned when she was three. I can't remember exactly what happened, but there was a concern.

Does she have bones, raw chicken wings or legs, or even raw carrots to chew as that will help with the plaque.
One of my girls had her last litter at 7 and then was spayed and sailed through it, she was wanting to go out for a walk within a few hours of getting her home. 7 is not old for a dog these days, in fact its never been old for a dog thats been properly cared for and exercised and fed correctly

Hi and I'm sorry that you are suffering from bad health.

Have a good look at your dogs teeth and if they are really bad have them done. However if they don't look too bad go with what your new vet says. My last dog lived to 15 years and although she had some tartar on her teeth the vet said it was nothing like bad enough to have them cleaned. My dog was not fed bones in fact she never chewed anything - she had kibble but just inhaled it

My 'new' dogs aged 2 have both been fed exactly the same diet etc etc. One has no plaque at all and the other has some Unless your little dog is showing signs of discomfort with eating etc or her gums look red, I would go with what your new vet says and leave them for the time being. Unfortunately we all live in a society now where some people (vets in this instance) are out to make money and teeth cleaning is one way to do this when its not always necessary. I plan to have my dogs teeth cleaned when he is castrated .... work both ends poor lad

I often give my current dogs carrots to chew on and they do have some hard plastic bones (with nobbles on) which are designed to clean their teeth.
Go with what your new vet thinks now that you've made the switch.

I do not understand your comment "I just don't trust those new vet technicians with putting my dog under." I know that you are int he US but surely it would be a qualified veterinarian and not just a vet technician who gives a general anathaetic?

I have sat through both dental treatments my Little One had to have, the second one involving quite major surgery to remove a number of teeth [nothing to do with bad feeding on my part but due to having born with a predisposition to having bad teeth] and which had to be done when she was quite elderly.

Each time it was my Vet who put her under - and each time I saw how quickly she came out of the GA once he had finished.

And how much better she was after having had the dental treatment.

I can empathise about losing faith in your vet as we changed vet when our old vet refused to come out to one of our old cats who collapsed because it was snowing and told us to bring him in when I couldn't. We live in a rural area and I would expect my vet to have a 4x4 vehicle and am just relieved I did not have a horse down. We lost Bandit cat that day and he dies in my arms and I felt wretched. Our new vet is fantastic.

Duke (our GSD) always had a kibble diet from young with occasional bones. I cleaned Duke's teeth almost daily [IMG][/IMG] with an electric toothbrush and Petdent. I descaled his teeth every few months myself. At the age of 13 I knew one particular molar was troubling him and it was becoming harder to keep his teeth clean. In discussion with our new vet we decided on a full health check including blood and urine tests first. These were fine we went for getting his teeth done. I was assured modern anaesthetics are far safer than they were.

I have never seen Duke so poorly afterwards but he ended up needing 8 teeth removing plus a growth and some bone. Duke also bled a lot during his op. I felt as though I had let him down as I should have done something sooner yet his teeth did not look that bad. The photo was taken just over 2 years before he had his teeth done. I was told to let Duke eat soft food as soon as he felt like it. With pain relief as soon as Duke ate he made a remarkable recovery and I would not hesitate again to make the same decision. We had another 9 months before we lost Duke which was nowt to do with his teeth.

Our old cat is showing changed behaviour in extra wee and drinking so we have just had blood and urine tests done as it is good to check underlying health before making any decisions.

Can you not speak to your old vet and say that you had concerns because of the way they acted and maybe they can explain about that? If not try and find a vet you can trust, get other health checks done and if these show your dog is otherwise fine this will help you to decide whether to have her teeth done.