[pepperdog]

I realize I'm replying to a message that's over a year old but wanted to tell you of my scary and very expensive experience. I have two yorkies, never had any problem with getting their teeth cleaned. Last year we acquired an elderly Maltese who had terribly dirty teeth. We immediately had her teeth cleaned. When I picked her up she was coughing, but I was told that it was not unusual for that to happen because of the trac tube used during cleaning. The coughing continued and finally at around eleven in the evening I called the emergency vet, who also told me it would get better not to worry. The coughing continued and at around four in the morning it was apparent poor Maggie was in sad shape. I called the emergency vet back and told him she was lethargic and just coughing and staring into space. Took her in, two shots and $125.00 later took her home, she rested for about four hours and then started coughing again. By this time she is very weak and almost non-responsive. Took her to the regular vet, fortunately the emergency vet had faxed all the info to him, and she got another shot. Was told to bring her back in six hours, another shot. For the next three or four days we took her in three times a day for shots. She was really, really sick. Fortunately she survived but it scared me so bad that I don't think I'll ever have any of their teeth cleaned again. I give them treats that they can chew on and hope this keeps them healthy, but I just can't bring myself to put them through something that can have such dire consequences.