[Mer4ever]

Yes, I agree with everyone, please get your baby looked at. It is likely that with the current situation, she will have to be put under to have a complete dental, but once that is done, there are options for dental where the dog does not have to be put under. The availability probably varies by where one lives, but here in Southern California, there are a number of vets that bring in an outside company who do a monthly 15-20 minute dental on dogs. We also have a groomer that brings in a vet specialist once a month who does a longer, more complete dental for dogs, that is probably more like a 3-4 times a year thing.

I adopted my last Yorkie at 5 years old and it was clear that her teeth had not been cared for. Even though I did the full dental for her at least yearly (as per the vet's suggestion) by the time she was 7 she started loosing teeth. I then learned about the monthly option, without putting her under, and once we got her on that, she never lost a tooth again. We sometimes did the full dental as well, but the frequency was greatly reduced once we had her on the monthly.

The vet explained that the shape of our Yorkie's mouths makes them prone to dental disease. So many cuties that are in rescue have lost a lot of teeth already by the time they are your dog's age. They have not had the careful care you have given your baby, of course, so they are in much worse shape. But they serve as an example of what can happen without any dental care.

It's a bummer that our dogs have to go through all of this, but we all know that they are worth it and that we will make it up to them with extra love!