[ladyjane]

Originally Posted by Ellie May

When Ellie had a tartar filled mouth, I had a vet tell me that she was more likely to die from it than from anesthesia - and he was right. Dental disease is very serious. It can affect the organs drastically.

Just remember that things don't go wrong as often as the internet makes it look. I've seen quite a few dentals and never heard of CT after one. InBectubation does cause tracheal irritation. Rarely it is long term. The benefits of placing the tube far outweigh the risks.

Ellie's vet does dentals on her dog yearly. She isn't making money from that, but it's the right thing to do because he needs them. That's not to say that all dogs need them yearly, but depending on the dog and the homecare, they may. Vets get services for cheap or free, sure, but standard of care is still the same. They have their dogs on heartworm preventative and flea preventative. They spay and neuter their pets. They do dentals when needed, etc.

Because there are horror stories all over the internet, I try to go to a trusted source for this kind of thing. Veterinary textbooks would have incidents of this kind of thing happening and experienced vets would know from their own practice.

And scaling create pits, so the teeth need to be buffed after. That is why I would not do it.

Excellent post! I highlighted the one sentence because it is SO true!