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Anyone has any experience with dog teeth cleaning? One of my friends said she lost her dog from it (probably due to the cheaper Anesthesia). That scared me a little. Is it crazy to put your dog to such risk just for teeth cleaning?

 

The tartar is causing some odor and there are some minor problems that can lead to besides ruining her precious smile. I just wanted to ask others' opinions before I make an appointment with vet.

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My neighbor has two Shelties and she says she just gets dental picks and stuff to clean their teeth herself. I think she's a dental hygenist, though. Anyway, my point is that her dogs do not have to be sedated for this.

 

I imagine it is typical for the vet to sedate the dog, but as the saying goes; where there's a will, there's a way. There may be a way to clean teeth without sedating the dog. I would ask around, just to be sure it is absolutely necessary.

 

Allie & Tess

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I do my dogs teeth myself. I use a dental pick and a hemostat (scissor like surgical clamp thingy) both of which I bought at a local hardware store (interestingly enough).

 

If the tartar isn't hard it'll pop off fairly easily with just the pick. If there is harder thick stuff you can set the hemostat against it and apply just a little pressure while you squeeze it shut. This'll crack the tartar and it can easily be cleaned away. "The Complete Poodle" by Del Dahl has a section on how to clean your own dogs teeth, I'm sure most libraries would have a copy.

 

If your dogs don't eat the fibers I find that the rope bones do a tremendous amount of good toward keeping the teeth cleaner than ordinary chews and things alone. I rarely have to clean teeth when I have a lot of the rope toys around.

 

Just as a thought, when I had my poodles (who are notorious for bad teeth) I found the rawhides made things worse. Instead I gave them Nylabones.

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I took my cats in to get their teeth cleaned last fall and Punkins' lungs collapsed while under. :rolleyes: He was given "a snowball's chance in hell" of surviving once they took the breathing tube out.

 

Well, they are throwing snowballs in hell because thank God, he managed to pull through. Y'all might understand why I'm a little wary about bringing the other cat, or Boyden, in for a teeth cleaning.

 

I used a dental pick on Mickey when she was still alive. I did take her in for her first and only teeth cleaning at age 12 or so and there were no complications.

 

Oral health is important in dogs (and cats), just as it is in humans, but there is risk anytime they are put under general anesthesia. If you can keep Jazzy's teeth and mouth healthy yourself, try to do so.

 

If you do go to the vet to have her teeth cleaned, there's this stuff called Ora-Vet that you should check out. It's pasty, waxy "dental sealant" you apply once a week to the back teeth where they meet the gum instead of brushing. It "significantly" prevents plaque and tartar build up. Here's the Ora-Vet website.

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The problem with doing it yourself is scratching into the enamal, or scratching the gums to the point of abcess, or serious damage.

If your dog is sceduled for anything else, (with sedation) it is a good time to do teeth. Or, if you are having teeth, you could check into a surgical nail trim if needed. My dogs, my mom's and sister's dogs have all had regular dentals, with no problems. I'm sure your vet will advise you.

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I haven't had Molli's teeth cleaned, but several years ago, I took Beast (persian cat) in for a cleaning. They sedated him, and got his pearlly whites pearlly white again. He was a little stoned acting when I picked him up (staggering around, all but falling flat on his face, pupils dilated, groggy as could be), but that's his normal response when he's sedated for anything. (If I didn't feel so sorry for him, it would be hilarious to watch! My less sympathetic friends got quite a kick out of it.) He had to eat soft food for a few days because they said his teeth/gums would be sore, but he came through it just fine.

 

I've been fortunate with Molli thus far in that her teeth seem to be remarkably clean. People are constatnly asking me what I do to keep her teeth in such good shape. Alas, I have no secret formula! She eats Spot's Stew, she chews on rawhides and pigs ears, a rope toy and every other dog-appropriate thing in the house to chew on. (I moved recently and a friend who helped me commented that Molli (1) ate better than she did, and (2) had more stuff than the humans in the house.) I'm not banking on being this fortunate indefinitely, but I guess because of my positive exprience with Beast's dental cleaning, I'm not quite so wary about Molli having one when the time comes.

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I think most of the the trouble comes with old injection anaesthetics. My vet uses inhalant anaesthesia and does a blood test before hand each time to ensure that your pet doesn't have any foreseeable complications brewing. I am the most worried mother imaginable and I feel very safe about teeth cleaning. I just had it done and Parker did fine. It is pricey, though, but worth it in my estimation. Dental disease is in my power to prevent.

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If Jazzy need to go under for anything, have them do the teeth at that point. I don't see a need to have them done ONLY to have them done.

 

Especially if you clean her teeth yourself. I agree - rawhides are not good (in more ways than one). Nylabones help and Greenies have helped us.

 

(My vet actually complimented me on Buddy's nice teeth. He said "Oh look who gets his teeth brushed!" And I said that I never have brushed his teeth - just a Greenie a day. He said that would do it too - but the teeth brushing was cheaper! :rolleyes: )

 

I did find that powdered Supplements (Missing link) make their teeth nasty. It just sticks and builds up over time. Since I started using Missing Link, their teeth are not as white and nice.

 

Denise

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We do the cleaning for both of our dogs ourselves, and use the vet's intervention only in extreme cases. Your vet can probably supply you with a toothbrush specially made for dogs that will work best with your particular dog's mouth (we have different types of brushes for each dog); special toothpaste for dogs is available at most pet stores. (DON'T use human toothpaste for a dog.) As far as supplemental approaches: I use IVD Dental Formula kibble, which the dogs think are "treats." (Yeah, I know it's sneaky, but it's good for them, and they don't seem to mind.)

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The only thing that I use for cleaning my dogs' teeth are good old beef bones. Chynna is just about 12 years old and I have never had to clean her teeth or have them cleaned at the Vets.

 

My old guy that I adopted a couple of years ago - after gnawing on bones for three weeks, they were clean as a whistle - all the tartar and stains gone.

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