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?