Indi needs her teeth cleaning....worried

Indi has always had bad breath but it has been getting worse, the vet says she needs to have her teeth cleaned as she has gingivitis (spelling?) and it will only get worse and may develop eating problems and lose teeth.

She had her teeth cleaned soon after we got her and i try and brush her teeth although she is not too keen on it. Also we give her teeth chews and breath freshner biscuits but these don't really work although she enjoys them.

Anyway she is 7 now and i'm really worried about her being knocked out to have her teeth cleaned.

I guess i'm just after some reassurance and to find out if any of you have had your dogs teeth cleaned at a maturer age. I'm worried about putting her through this process.

Hiya. I can understand you're worried, but I don't think the vet would be recommending it if he thought there was a high risk of something happening.

Whilst I haven't had an older dog having teeth done, my old cat did and he was fine.

What type of food do you feed her on..must admit this is one of the few reasons why I use kibble - it definitely makes a difference to their teeth.

Fortunately I have not had a dog with a dental problem. But I did have my old cat of 18, who was put under had 4 teeth removed and the others cleaned....came back home and was as right as rain.

Think it will be fine Hun xxxx

I'm sure she'll be fine.
I woudn't bother with ordinary chews as they don't really help. You want to have something that she'll chew on for a while. My dogs can't have bones, so I get either Pigs ears or pigs trotters. They really do help keep the teeth clean and the tartar down especially the awkward teeth at the back. I ran out one time for three weeks and the dogs teeth really went downhill tartar wise.
Also if you are feeding your dogs dry, see if there is a large dog size. I feed mine for example Royal Canin. I buy a small bag of the large breed size and the pieces are the size of a golf ball. This way they use their teeth more to break it up rather than it going down hole.

I am happy to try to put your mind at rest.

Both of my min schnauzers have had their teeth cleaned. Jodie was about 7 I think - she had some extractions too and seemed a far happier girl after it was done.

Mandy had hers done last year - she was also 7. She had previously had a problem with anesthetic and the vet had to be particularly careful.

In both cases they were absolutely fine. They were not given a deep anesthetic and recovery time was minimal.

Please don't worry too much - everything should go smoothly.

My late Vizsla, Nova, had a dental under full GA at the age of 13 and suffered no ill effects from it. Anaesthetics are much better than they were years ago although every GA carries some risk. I would be inclined to take my vets advice and get her dental done now, 7 is not particularly old. If my 7 year olds were having a GA I wouldn't be overly worried. Your dog will feel much better once it's teeth have been cleaned/removed and her gingivitis treated.

Jobie had 11 teeth out and a full descale a few weeks ago, aged 8.She'll be fine just make sure that your vet uses a non-barbituate anaesthetic, they will most likely know this already but greys and barbituates don't tend to mix very well!

It may be a good idea to ask for a pre-anaesthetic blood test to make sure Indis' kidneys and liver are functioning normally. Also i/v fluids during the dental may be helpful to keep her hydrated and aid her anaesthetic recovery.
I'm sure she'll be fine though- nearly always the best option is to have those bad teeth out and the rest cleaned!
Let us know how she gets on.

My Roxy was also almost 7 years old when she had to have her teeth cleaned at the vets, none had to be removed. She's a rescue and her teeth were really bad when she came to us. Her teeth are now great and the vet did a lovely job of cleaning them up. Hope this also helps put your mind at ease a bit.

My first dog, Spotty, had her one and only teeth clean at the age of 14. She sailed through it.
Missy just had hers done earlier this year at the age of 10. She is sitting by me right now, happy as can be.

We were told any GA carries a risk, but thankfully not in either case with mine.

I'm sure Indi will be fine and will be all the better for having her teeth done.