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07-01-2013, 09:53 PM | #1 |
YT Addict Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Tennessee
Posts: 283
| Anyone have experience with a board-certified dental specialist? So, we were able to have a free consultation with a board-certified veterinary dental specialist last week. The AVDC offers a program for service and therapy dogs to get this exam. So, this was the reason we saw the him....not because there was anything bad going on that we needed a referral for to a specialist for. Snickers teeth are not terrible. He's about 4 years old and never had a dental. He brushes daily. The specialist said his teeth look "moderate" for his breed. Just typical small dog teeth. He does have a retained baby tooth that needs to be pulled. The specialist said a lot of times he can't tell if there is other things going on until he gets x-rays and they are put under, especially with small dogs. He said it would cost about $800 minimum for him to do a dental. Possibly up to $1300, if he found other problems when Snickers is out. The $800 includes x-ray, blood work, and sending them home with Oravet and antibiotics. He said he does free check-ups thereafter, pretty much as often as you want.....Ok, it's still quite a lot of money for a dog that doesn't have any serious dental problems. Comparatively speaking, my regular vet charges $90 for a cleaning. Blood work and x-rays are an additional amount, but still, it will be less than $250 in the end. Big price difference. My husband is pretty set on having the specialist do it. He thinks it's safer and will be done better. Will it be done $550+ better? I don't know. Maybe, since that is what this guy does all day, every day. My husband said, "if anything bad happens, of course it will be worth the extra money!" Obviously.... but I'm kind of thinking if the dog's teeth are not that bad, is that wasting money that could be saved for a real emergency? Then again, as cheap as I am, admittedly, there is no amount of money that is too much for my little buddy. Any opinions? Is that too much for having a board-certified specialist do all the work? Anyone ever used a dental specialist for routine procedures and did you feel it was worth it?
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07-02-2013, 03:59 AM | #2 |
♥ Maximo and Teddy Donating Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Northern Virginia
Posts: 25,041
| Great question. I am interested in hearing what others think. A few YT people have spoken highly of Oravet, something that I don't think my regular vet offers.
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07-02-2013, 04:44 AM | #3 |
T. Bumpkins & Co. Donating YT Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: New England
Posts: 9,816
| We use a bc dentist here. It's been worth every penny. Pricing by you is customary compared to our prices. They didn't do oravet.
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07-02-2013, 10:59 AM | #4 |
YT Addict Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Tennessee
Posts: 283
| That's good to know you have been happy with it. Do you think $800 sounds reasonable then?
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07-02-2013, 12:51 PM | #5 |
Action Jackson ♥ Donating Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Maryland
Posts: 17,814
| I took Jackson to the Animal Dental Center in Annapolis in 2011. He had an issue with a bottom canine tooth poking into his upper palate causing discomfort and a slight indent (he has a slight overbite). My regular vet referred us to the dental specialist, as she said the only thing she could do would be pull it, but she didn't recommend (nor did I want) pull such an important tooth as a canine. So while he was there, they cleaned his teeth as well. It was almost $1300 for the procedure (he had a 'vital pulpotomy' and cleaning) and that did not include his bloodwork which was done at regular vet. It was pricey but in Jackson's case, had to be done, as he was in pain and discomfort. I have to say I was beyond thrilled with our experience there. When I first went for the consultation, I was greeted by FOUR doctors/techs.. the anesthesiologist, the 2 vets, and the vet tech. They explained my options, gave me 3 options, told me exactly how they would do it, what would be done, etc... so professional and I felt beyond confident leaving my dog in their hands. When I came to pick him up (and they did not even make me wait long! haha- he was ready for pickup earlier than I thought, which I was very happy about) she showed me x-rays, talked to me in human terms so I could understand everything, and taught me more about canine teeth in 5 mins than I would've ever learned otherwise. Best of all, Jackson was great and recovered super nicely! With that said, when it came time for just another dental cleaning- I opted to use our regular vet. The dental center was going to be around $800 for just a cleaning, with my vet being closer to $400 (for bloodwork, OraVet, etc). To me, as much as I loved them, it wasn't worth paying double for something I know my vets office is very capable of, they have the newest technologies and I trust them thoroughly as well. We had a great experience at our vet, and they did a great job, and other than Jax being very mad at me for the rest of the day, he did fantastic there!
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