Teeth cleaning
 

I am hoping to get some more closure on this subject and want opinions on whether a cleaning and/or extraction is necessary. I know the pictures may look rough (especially since I had just finished brushing them) but my yorkie has already been to 2 different vets and they have both told me that it is not an urgent matter right now to get the teeth cleaned although it is recommended. My concerns are not with the tartar, my concerns are with two specific teeth which I have uploaded the originals to show where the teeth are exactly and then enlarged the problem areas. The first tooth looks to be poking through the gum at the top, am I wrong? Is it supposed to be like that? The second tooth looks like it is cracked, is that what it looks like to you? I'm not a tooth expert and don't know if teeth have natural lines like that.

Please don't jump down my throat over this, I just want to make sure that surgery is absolutely necessary. I struggle heavily with depression and my yorkie is one of the very few things that keeps me going. I cannot imagine losing her because she was put under for teeth cleaning. :(

Hi KirbyKirby,
Your baby is adorable! My advice is, get the teeth extracted/pulled. Yorkie teeth are so sensitive, and you are doing all you can with the maintenance. Infected teeth can be bad news and lead to infection and further complications. Good luck!

From what I am looking at, I certainly recommend getting his teeth cleaned and having a possible extraction. The Vet will also do an xray of the teeth to see under the gum line and what is going on.

Your concern should be the gingivitis....if teeth are left like that it leads to heart, liver and kidney disease.

Periodontal Disease: The Perils of Gum Disease in Dogs

I don't know about the need for extractions, but it is clear to me that a dental is needed.

If you want her around for a long time, then get over your fear of anesthesia and get the dental -- she needs it! I would get it done with Xrays if you can. I can tell you that my dog winston is going for a dental next week for less than what you've showed us.

Teeth
 

As others here have said your baby does need a dental. It does look like one tooth has a tip broken off, but only the vet and X-rays will be able to assess and diagnose. I know many moms are concerned with anesthesia , but most dogs deal with it very well. Don't worry, she will be fine.
So please get your girl seen as soon as possible, she is probably hurting. Good luck. :)

Hmmm....not sure what they mean, exactly, by it's not urgent but that's it's indeed "recommended" -- why are the recommending it, specifically? I think that would direct my decision somewhat.

I'd be concerned, though, about the crack and that one tooth coming thru the top there. Also, just fyi, tooth issues are VERY tied to the heart...and if left unchecked, can really do some cardiac damage.

As long as you do the pre-surgical bloodwork and everything looks okay there - your baby will do just great under anesthesia, I'm sure of it. I TOTALLY do understand, though, your fears around anesthesia and I had to face that myself with my babies.

Teeth
 

Oh my goodness, please try and get these fixed. Can be so dangerous. Yorkies's teeth take special care. I had to take my late little boy to a doggie specialist dentist. Yep, lots of problems, surgery, going back often, etc. Also, Yep. You guessed it, lots of money. Well worth it. I learned a great deal on careing for teeth. We lost him at @ seven, not due to teeth, but his breath was still puppy sweet, just like he had just milked.

Anesthesia is very safe. I'm guessing you had her put spayed so how did she do when that was done? If you leave tarter built up like that and don't get them cleaned it will cause he to lose teeth in the end. Bad teeth can lead to many other issues like heart problems. As long as you get the blood work before hand and your vet follows a good anesthesia protocol it very safe.

I understand your fear of anesthesia, however the risk to her life due to anesthesia is much much less than consequences of dental disease. The healthy thing to do for her is to get those teeth properly cleaned, and they will do x-rays to determine what is best for the 2 teeth you are questioning. Have pre-op blood work done to make sure there are no pre-existing conditions that would make her at risk for the procedure.

We all have a bit of anxiety putting our beloved pups under for procedures, as a matter of fact 2 of mine are having dentals this coming Thursday, and the other is having hers the following Thursday. I will be nervous too, but know that it is the best thing to ensure their healthy long lives.

This link is very informative about doggie dental care, and the portion about deep cleaning makes it clear how extensive it is, and also why it is rather expensive.
A Complete Dental Care Program for Your Dog

Hey everyone,

Thanks for all the kind responses. I have decided to go ahead and get her in for the cleaning/extraction. I'm just going to have to put my stress aside because this is obviously a very important thing to be done and I didn't realize that before.

The only thing I'm worried about is the tube being jammed down her throat. She is 4lbs and I worry so much about a collapsing trachea as she already has a "back sneeze".

Also, does anyone know what exact blood work should be done?

Kirbybirby,


My vet does a general wellness panel to check organ (liver, kidneys etc) function just prior to any surgical procedure or anesthesia. For my older pets, I bring them in a few days prior to the procedure to get full panels done and sent out to a lab. On my younger dogs, the vet will sometimes just do a mini panel (in-office) the morning of the procedure to check for basic organ function. Based on your pet's age and general health, your vet will help you decide which is best for your pet.


For what it's worth, you have made a good choice to get those teeth taken care of. The risk of anesthesia is - in most cases - much less than the risks that come with dental disease.


Diana

Good for you. Tell them to do a complete blood work up (CBC), since she is so small and if she hasn't had one before. Ask for the tiniest tube they have. & smile.

Well they don't jam it down there they are very gentel and they have different sizes for different sized dogs. Both mine and my moms dog who both recently had dentals done both have CT and did fine. Sammy's was slightly irritated but he was fine after a few days. I do not believe having the tube down there throat causes ct. Reverse sneezing and ct are not related. I'm not sure what blood work to a ask for because it's my vets policy to do blood work for anything they have to be anesticised for. It will be cheaper to do the blood work before the dental and not the same day.

Yes, it does look necessary.

As Taylor said, CT and reverse sneezing are not related. Intubation can increase reverse sneezing immeduately following extubation. They don't jam it down. :) It is actually a great safety measure to intubate (besides being necessary for a proper dental).

Make sure IV fluids are ran during the procedure.

Pre-op labs include a CBC and chemistry at a minimum. While almost always considered unnecessary for healthy dogs, if you want to be extremely cautious (and spend a ton of money) you can get a urinalysis, bile acid test, chest xray, and EKG.

smart move

Thanks again for the responses... I am glad to hear that CT and reverse sneezing aren't related and there isn't much I should be worried about with the tube. I am still very stressed over it but I am still obviously going through with it. I care far too much about my little girl and will put any personal issues aside for her health or well being.

I will try to update this with the end results and hopefully there are no teeth, or very minimal, that need to be extracted. :animal-pa

most vets now use isoflureen (spelling?) on small dogs, for 99% of the dogs it is safe and they wake up fairly quickly. I have had dentals done yearly on 4 different yorkies and never had a problem, the odds are very good that your pup will do fine and come out with white teeth, most likely missing a few and good breath. If teeth are pulled you will probably be given some antibiotics and pain meds. whenever possible I try to make sure that my pup is done early in the day, they usually come home the same day so to me the earlier they are done the more time they have to fully wake up and so forth before I pick them up. Also you want to have a conversation about drop off time vs surgery time. When I was new to yorkie parenthood I dropped my pup off at about 7:30 am only to find that they still had not gotten to him at 2 PM so make sure you find out about that in advance, I hated the thought that my dog was left in a cage with no food and water all the hours.

Thanks I will ask about drop off time vs surgery time. I'm guessing they would let me drop her off at surgery time then?

Also, just got off the phone with the vet and asked all the needed questions and everything sounds great and within the "standards". But she did say that there is a dental specialist that costs 800-1000 versus the vets cost of around 500. Is there that much of a difference with the specialist that I would need to spend the extra $?

Dental
 

I'm so glad you have plucked up enough courage to get your girl's dentals taken care of. All of us worry when they have to go under, but it is really ok.
My dog was home in late afternoon and begging for food a couple of hours later like nothing happened, but of course I had to limit his food that night.
I would doubt if you will be allowed to just bring her in near to surgery time. They usually have them in early to prep them and get ready for surgery. I had a big worry with my dog as he has an acidy stomach and can't go for too long without food. So my vet gave him IV Pepcid antacid beforehand and he was fine. Also he was IV hydrated , so ok for liquids. But your vet will allay your concerns I am sure.
Sounds like your baby is in good shape for the dental and all should go well. Others might not agree, but if all the correct precautions and procedures are taken and you trust your vet, I would not go for the extra cost of a specialist. This is a routine thing vets do all the time I believe. But just my opinion!! But if you think this is going to be abnormal and need a specialist, obviously that is the way to go. Hopefully the vet will give you the right advice.
Thinking of you and praying she comes out with shining white teeth and hopefully few or no extractions.
PS. If she should have extractions it might be a good idea to have some soft food for her post op for a few days?

Just about every place who does surgerys or anything where they use anesthesia they want the dog in the morning it's just protocol. Unless there is a problem or a special issues there shouldn't be a need for the specialist.

thanks again for the responses.. I hope she isn't left in a cage too long as she does have anxiety pretty bad (shakes all the time).

I go in tomorrow to get the blood work done and whatever else needs to be done and then I will set the date for the cleaning while I'm there. Hopefully I can hold myself together at the vets.

It's good that you are getting this done. I understand your nervousness, all 3 of my doggies are having their dentals done tomorrow (Thurs) and I have the jitters too, even though I know it will be fine.

Teeth
 

So happy you are going forward.
My little guy had to have a dental specialist. His teeth were so crowed and his bottom canine was not coming in this was at 18 months. So lots of teeth pulling stitches the whole nine yards. The specialist put a bone building substance in his bottom gums where all his bottom teeth were pulled. This would protect against bacteria and give his mouth structure. I learned so much from this specialist to keep a Yorkies mouth healthy. Well, we lost him at 7 yrs., not relaying to teeth.
He had the sweetest puppy breath the day he died.
So no worries for your baby. Just smile. 😃

Took her to the vet today and they did blood work, poor girl they had to put a bandage on her because her blood pressure was so high she wouldn't stop bleeding. I don't know the results of the blood work yet but I scheduled the dental for next Thursday so this will be a fun week of waiting.

The vet really put the scare into me saying when they go in to clean the teeth they may crumble which means they'd have to be taken out. I forget the technical term but I hope that isn't the case. I will just be glad when it's all over.

I also want to point out that they apparently don't have the equipment to do x-rays. It would be the $1000 price if I went with the x-rays. Is it worth the extra $500?

Teeth ćleaning
 

You know, I may be off, but I wonder about this vet? Having the bleeding from the blood draw I have never seen for my dog. If she has high blood pressure, would that be a concern for anesthesia?
To say the teeth might crumble in cleaning with no X-ray evidence?? And no means of x raying?
If you had X-rays would that mean going to another specialist vet, as this vet cannot do them?
Sorry to be so negative, but all this makes me nervous. I hope others with more dental knowledge will comment and hopefully prove my fears wrong.

I didn't see any blood when I took the little bandage off so I don't think she was really bleeding that bad. She is a very nervous dog and to me the high blood pressure would make sense as she gets very worked up going to the vet. And to be honest, I think it is just something they have to legally say as a "just in case it happens". I'm not sure an x-ray would tell them anything regarding that though because it has to do with the tartar. I'm not really sure what to think at this point but if other people say I should go elsewhere then I will cancel the appointment.

I am sorry for the negativity but I just took what you said at face value. I know you are already very nervous about your baby and I certainly did not want you to be more so. But I know that you need only the best outcome from the dental, and the points I made were made with that in mind.
I think tartar removal does not normally lead to teeth crumbling, but hopefully x rays would see any cracks etc in the teeth.
Anyway I truly hope that others will comment and with more positive comments.
Good luck, and if you have any doubts I would go to the specialist and pay the extra. This is not what I originally thought, but it have more info now.

Sorry didn't mean to sound harsh if that's what it came across as. I will wait for the blood work results to come back and go from there. And yes I hope others can give me some more insight on this.

Please, I am the one who should apologize not you!! You were not harsh at all:)
Perhaps when you get the blood results and discuss it all with the vet again, all will be well.
I know well how scary any procedure that needs anesthesia is, and I suppose it is hard when the vet says things like crumbly teeth:-( I would not like that either!