Well, Barney who is recovering from a torn ligament had a loose lower tooth. I did not want to wait to have it taken out despite this being the third procedure my 12 year old had to undergo where he was under general anesthesia. I scheduled him for a dental and also scheduled Teddy for a cleaning.
I was not totally surprised that Barney lost some teeth - he's 12 and although I am good with home care and he has beautiful teeth, I never did dentals on him because my vets always said he did not need them.
Teddy is another story. Teddy is 3.5 years old and I noticed his gums were very red over a year ago. I talked to my vet about it who said he had no plaque at the gum line so she did not see a problem. We thought maybe his epilepsy meds caused them to be red since it didn't seem to be perio disease. We talked to his neurologist who said nope, not the drug, and said it was likely his teeth. Since I was still concerned, I took him to a BC dentist who also said things looked ok but we should keep an eye on him, continue and improve upon home care, and when needed do a dental. He said to f/u with my vet as a guide.... 6 months after that my vet did his annual exam and said no his teeth still looked good with no plaque at the gum line...didn't see any problem with his gums either. I did not feel right about it but continued the home regimen of brushing.
A few weeks ago, Teddy started to run away from the toothbrush and I noticed plaque on two of his back teeth and I still did not like his gums. He also had breath that could make you throw up. I figured something was brewing so I talked to my vet and we planned for a dental but when Barney's tooth was loose I just took both boys to the BC dentist for a dental so they could get xrays (my vet doesn't have dental xray capability). I really wanted the xrays for Barney since he's older but figured well maybe Teddy should have them too.
I was blindsided when I got the call that they lost teeth. Needless to say, my wallet is emptier (but I gained some frequent flier miles) and my dogs have lost a lot of teeth. I'm so upset about Teddy losing teeth - he lost 7 teeth and two of them are his front incisors!!! He is no longer Teddy Bumpkin --- he's Teddy Pumpkin.
I guess my vet isn't good with teeth. I am kicking myself for not pushing harder or going back to the BC dentist sooner. I never expected him to lose this many teeth so young when his teeth looked good.
The take home lesson for me is that I am taking them to the BC dentist every year for an exam. I will let them guide me. I don't think I should have to pay this amount of money for routine oral care but apparently none of the 5 general vets I've seen in 12 years place a high value on medical treatment of the mouth. My Teddy suffered because of it and I really don't feel I should blame myself here because I did all I could do short of knocking the dog out myself and playing with dental tools.
I'm getting their records - I am hoping that some of this was discovered on xray only which would make me feel a lot better about the oral exams they have had.
Just sad for my Babies, who are smelly, drugged, and uncomfy from their procedures.