Dental cleaning - how often? Today I found one of Chewie's teeth on the carpet. No blood, just a white/yellow teeth. He had his dental cleaning a year ago, his first one, and he is 5 next month. It seems he needs another one, but to me it seems kind of often to go under anesthesia every year. Is that normal? |
Depends on the dog. Some Yorkies do need one every year. Do you do maintenance in between? Brushing teeth daily etc? It does make a huge difference. I got lazy with Jackson and stopped brushing for a few months and now he needs a dental again. He had one around.... 2 years old, 3 maybe? And that was for a different surgery (dental related) so they cleaned them while under. Second dental was at 5 years old. Now he's 8 and going to need one this year. I swear every time I'm going to keep up with them after the cleaning but this time I really mean it because as he gets older I'd prefer not to put him under anesthesia unless absolutely necessary. Other products I like are HealthyMouth (VOHC approved -- they have a mouth rinse you add to water, a gel, and a spray). I use CET vanilla mint toothpaste. And some dental chews that probably don't do much (Dentastix every once in a while, etc). |
Yeah, I got lazy with brushing too. He stopped chewing his bully sticks and then he needed the cleaning last year. After that we found the earth animal chewing sticks which he liked for a while. But he doesn't chew them anymore and now this happened. I need to start brushing again, although he hates it. The tooth fell from the front, he has 2 teeth that are kind of crowded and one of them fell. |
It's as often as needed. Some dogs need them yearly some every other year or whatever. I have heard of some needing them twice a year. Anesthesia is very safe even if they went under multiple times in a few weeks. |
I know is generally safe...But last year he was super groggy, and confused, he was afraid of us until he was fully aware. |
I've heard of someone who brushes her Yorkie's teeth twice a day, and gets dentals twice a year. Her reasoning was that her baby gets the same teeth treatment she gives herself. :D I was like wow. :eek: I can only at most brush them once a day. And then dental cleaning every year, if it looks like they need it. |
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Try to train him to tolerate brushing more. It is trainable -- make it a positive thing. I use treats to introduce the brush... set the brush down, let him smell it, etc. Give him a treat every time he gets near it voluntarily. Gradually begin to touch near his face and give him a treat every time he allows this. Then lift up his lip, treat, repeat. Eventually you can get to full on brushing and he may never 100% like it but at least he will be somewhat conditioned to it. |
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Cali has a tiny little mouth and has to have a dental avoutnevery 6 months. Doesn't take them very long and she is chipper and ready to go home with no problems. I agree it is hard to keep those tiny mouths clean but I also think a lot of it is Yorkie genetics. |
I just had Bella's done but the vet thought it was mild and not needed. The insurance wanted it done because of previous medical records. Long story. So now she has pearly white teeth. Thumper has never had a dental cleaning and the vet said its not urgent but it he ever needs surgery just to get it done at the same time. |
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Dentals are different for every dog, I swear. Our Wylie, who is 12, has actually never had one! The vet looks at his teeth and says "nope, really doens't need one"...so on we go. My other dogs have had them once. |
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