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Originally Posted by concretegurl  We don't put dogs under for dentals in CA really, its rare unleas you find an old school vet.
Most mildly sedate here.
Teeth being pulled can be done while under but not always then either.
Its strange to me everywhere else puts dogs under.
Actually I heard OR, WA &the NE don't aleays put them inder too.
In the same breath so manu vets here will sedate your dog if you want to fet them groomed, its crazy. |
Dentals are only safely done under anesthesia. It is not safe to do a dental, nor is it medically appropriate to do a dental, without your dog placed under general anesthesia. Any vet doing a dental without anesthesia is a vet that would never touch my dog. And any person doing a dental without having a license to practice veterinary medicine would never touch my dog. There is no way to properly assess or grade the mouth, or safely scale below the gum line without the dog anesthetized and there certainly is no way to remove diseased teeth while they are awake.
OP, your dentist is proposing to do what every other reputable veterinary practitioner including board certified dentists would do to ensure the safety of your pet.
CG - I'm not sure what your vet is doing, but my brief online visit to a couple board certified dentist vets in CA revealed that they in fact anesthetize animals for dentals, as they should, and is the standard of care. And given that the dentist who just did my dog hails from CA herself, I can tell you that my dog was anesthetized for the oral procedure and she is CA trained.
Here is the position statement from the American College of Veterinary Dentistry about this for anyone who wants to know more.
http://avdc.org/Dental_Scaling_Without_Anesthesia.pdf