I am searching for a Dallas Vet that offers anesthesia free teeth cleaning for my golden doodle.
Any Suggestions?
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I am searching for a Dallas Vet that offers anesthesia free teeth cleaning for my golden doodle.
Any Suggestions?
Anesthesia free dentistry is not a good idea on many levels
Read below:
http://avdc.org/position-statements.html#cadswa
“Companion Animal Dental Scaling Without Anesthesia
In the United States and Canada, only licensed veterinarians can practice veterinary medicine. Veterinary medicine includes veterinary surgery, medicine and dentistry. Anyone providing dental services other than a licensed veterinarian, or a supervised and trained veterinary technician, is practicing veterinary medicine without a license and shall be subject to criminal charges.
This position statement addresses dental scaling procedures performed on pets without anesthesia, often by individuals untrained in veterinary dental techniques. Although the term “Anesthesia-Free Dentistry” has been used in this context, AVDC prefers to use the more accurate term Non-Professional Dental Scaling (NPDS) to describe this combination.
Owners of pets naturally are concerned when anesthesia is required for their pet. However, performing NPDS on an unanesthetized pet is inappropriate for the following reasons:
1. Dental tartar is firmly adhered to the surface of the teeth. Scaling to remove tartar is accomplished using ultrasonic and sonic power scalers, plus hand instruments that must have a sharp working edge to be used effectively. Even slight head movement by the patient could result in injury to the oral tissues of the patient, and the operator may be bitten when the patient reacts.
2. Professional dental scaling includes scaling the surfaces of the teeth both above and below the gingival margin (gum line), followed by dental polishing. The most critical part of a dental scaling procedure is scaling the tooth surfaces that are within the gingival pocket (the subgingival space between the gum and the root), where periodontal disease is active. Because the patient cooperates, dental scaling of human teeth performed by a professional trained in the procedures can be completed successfully without anesthesia. However, access to the subgingival area of every tooth is impossible in an unanesthetized canine or feline patient. Removal of dental tartar on the visible surfaces of the teeth has little effect on a pet’s health, and provides a false sense of accomplishment. The effect is purely cosmetic.
3. Inhalation anesthesia using a cuffed endotracheal tube provides three important advantages – the cooperation of the patient with a procedure it does not understand, elimination of pain resulting from examination and treatment of affected dental tissues during the procedure, and protection of the airway and lungs from accidental aspiration.
4. A complete oral examination, which is an important part of a professional dental scaling procedure, is not possible in an unanesthetized patient. The surfaces of the teeth facing the tongue cannot be examined, and areas of disease and discomfort are likely to be missed.
Safe use of an anesthetic or sedative in a dog or cat requires evaluation of the general health and size of the patient to determine the appropriate drug and dose, and continual monitoring of the patient. Veterinarians are trained in all of these procedures. Prescribing or administering anesthetic or sedative drugs by a non-veterinarian can be very dangerous, and is illegal.
Although anesthesia will never be 100% risk-free, modern anesthetic and patient evaluation techniques used in veterinary hospitals minimize the risks, and millions of dental scaling procedures are safely performed each year in veterinary hospitals.
To minimize the need for professional dental scaling procedures and to maintain optimal oral health, the AVDC recommends daily dental home care from an early age. This should include brushing or use of other effective techniques to retard accumulation of dental plaque, such as dental diets and chew materials. This, combined with periodic examination of the patient by a veterinarian and with dental scaling under anesthesia when indicated, will optimize life-long oral health for dogs and cats.”
it’s called holding your cat down with 4 people. It’s a LOT SAFER using drugs. Cats can die from restraint.
This procedure cannot be done effectively without anesthesia. Dogs will not allow a thorough cleaning of all surfaces and under-the-gum curratage without anesthesia. Done carefully with monitoring, anesthesia is safe and less risky than the risk of advancing dental disease. Aggressive daily home care will decrease the frequency for the need for professional prophys.
Dr. Robert Esplin, DVM
Sylvania Veterinary Hospital
Sylvania, OH
Hardly anyone can afford it! People have problems affording their own dental care without having to spend five times as much as a human cleaning to do their dog. I would settle for someone local who just brushed their teeth, as I cannot do it by myself, but for some reason, no one offers that service that I have found.
Veterinary medicine has gotten ridiculously price-inflated over the past 3 years. I recently treated otitis for both me and my dog. Mine cost $80. My dog’s cost $167 and I blew off the “follow-up,” because there was no way I was spending another penny. It wasn’t long ago that otitis was a $40-$60 deal for a dog, not long at all. I don’t know what’s going on, but I can tell you it won’t bode well for dog adoption in the future.
Pet insurance is nearly useless, with their high deductibles not just for the year but for each event. I hope the economy forces a correction in this area.
I cannot agree more strongly with the last comment about the price of vet care. I just spent $2900 for my dog’s gastro intestinal upset. I’m glad he’s OK, but who can afford this? Teeth cleaning is completely out of the question—like Anonymous, I cannot even afford it for myself.
More and more dogs are goin unadopted because of the fear of vet costs. Is that what we really want?
Zachary’s mom