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Originally Posted by airplane  My vet must be giving me incorrect information then. Actually multiple vets I’ve consulted with. Their reluctance to have Bijou under anesthesia for a cleaning because his gums were so healthy even with considerable plaque buildup on the teeth, and simply said his teeth were very dirty but no concern and no need for a dental. And he was a dog who was a fine candidate for anesthesia. There was no concerns regarding that. I guess they must be missing part of the picture. But with all the conversations I’ve had with vets throughout the years regarding the health of the mouths of my dogs, it seems to me that most of the weight when making decisions about a dog going under anesthesia for a dental lies with the health of the gums. At least that’s my understanding. But like I say perhaps these vets I speak to are just out to lunch and don’t know what they’re talking about. It makes me wonder though, if the gums are great and it’s just dirty teeth and nothing more, is it worth it to put a dog under anesthesia? I guess some vets say yes and some say no. |
You had made the statement that you would not put a dog under unless they were going to be losing teeth which was what I was mostly referring to. The plaque on the teeth builds up and starts to slide up under the gums. Even when a human goes to get a dental cleaning they clean under the gum line no mater how the gums look so it’s generally necessary even with good looking gums. Dogs gums can look fine but still have a lot of bacteria under the gum line or could have big pockets of gum separation. Plaque holds a lot of nasty bacteria so if the teeth are gross that bacteria is just sitting the mouth and can grow and end up in the blood stream.