Britster, Maximo, isn't it crappy we cannot rely on a vet to do a good job?
pstinard, Scottie is now 3 years old. All his adult teeth have come in, the ones that had space to anyway. Right now, we're speculating that the two retained baby teeth are blocking the adult teeth that should have come up. I think we need x-rays to determine what's going on below the gum line.
Thanks everyone for your input. I guess I'm leaning towards getting the vet dentist's opinion too, understanding that the surgeries they do require anesthesia. I was informed by my pet hygienist that she highly recommends the specialist route as, despite having to go under, they are so highly trained that it's just a small fraction of time that the dog needs to be under.
I have also read the warnings about anesthesia-free dentals. My take on it is that my pet hygienist is good at what she does, as there are ones out there who aren't - just like how there are good vets and bad vets.
From what I've seen and understand, she does go under the gums, along in inner and outer mouth, she uses clean sanitized tools, and polishes each tooth - basically the same as any human hygienist would do. It's quite amazing seeing her handle my dogs. It's definitely not for everyone. I can imagine that if it was an unskilled technician doing it, the job would not be well done. It's not a very big industry and she's aware of some new pet dental clinics popping up and has mentioned that she questions their lack of professional training (some clinics say their technicians are certified after a 5-day training workshop
).
It's a long story, but basically our current vet is my previous dog's vet (Vet-A). After my horrible experience with Scottie's first vet (Vet-B), we went back to Vet-A. The only reason I switched to Vet-B was because I moved away and Vet-A is now over an hour drive away. Vet-A was the one who originally recommended this pet hygienist, for my previous dog that had a heart problem and would likely not wake up from anesthesia. My pet hygienist is known to local vets and is trained to recognize in dental problems, recommending people to see pet dentist specialists (and not general vets) if she sees anything concerning.
Anyway, the point of my long-winded explanation is, I don't suggest randomly going to any pet hygienist or groomer that claims to be a hygienist without a vet's referral.