My girls had their teeth cleaned once a year. When Ashley was ten, when she had preop testing, we discovered that she had an enlarged heart. As a result, we only put her under anesthesia when it was absolutely necessary. She lived almost seven years after that, so we did have to have her teeth cleaned after that a couple of times due to infections. Ashley's last dental was when she was 16.5 years, and even with needing an extraction, she really acted fine that night. My vet used isofluorine, which once the anesthesia was withdrawn, they woke up very quickly. My vet recommended antibiotics after a cleaning. Just in case they were nauseous, he told me to withhold food or water until around 8p.m.. They were usually a little more tired than usual, but I think that was more because they weren't used to being left there for a few hours, and it was stressful for them. My vet allowed me to bring them in a little before he was going to do the dentals (which started around noon). The hardest part was coping with no food or water prior to going because they knew something was up. I never got used to them having the dentals done because of leaving them and the anesthesia, but they always did fine and never got sick afterwards. I honestly believe keeping her teeth healthy helped Ashley to live such a long and mostly healthy life. Good luck with your little one; she will do just fine. |