Dental cleaning

Hi,

Recently I decided to take a look at Kuki's teeth and realized they are in serious need of a cleaning. I have never taken any of my cats in for a dental cleaning and was kind of wondering what to expect...

I made an appointment for him this Friday. How will he feel once i pick him up? Will he be in pain etc?

His gums are a bit inflamed and red, teeth are yellowish/brownish. Not to mention some stinky breath. I've been reading articles related to cats and teeth and clearly he must have some type of gingivitis. I hope it will not be too severe. On the bright side, he is only 2 years old. So I'm hoping teeth removal will not be needed.

I feel so bad for him Now I realize why he is much skinnier than the other 3 although they all eat the same amount. I bought tooth brushes for all of them but I will not brush Kuki's teeth until his gums heal. Any suggestions on how to brush a cats teeth?

Lastly, what's the deal on dry food? Is it good for their teeth or not? I feed my cats a handful of dry food in the am, wet food when i get home from work and then again before bedtime i give them a small handful of dry food.
In the mean time, I bought wet food snacks because i dont want Kuki to hurt his gums.

Please advise.



Thanks,

Carrie

Dry food is NOT good for teeth ... of course there are a few CLINICALLY proven drys for helping clean teeth most of this handful is RX ..... Wet food also is not great for teeth but is less likely to cause teeth issues according to the more resent studies .... Raw bones and actual brushing seem to be the best ... also remember genetics play a HUGE role in teeth ...

Dry food does nothing for a cats teeth, as they swallow something like 70% of their food whole. When they do crunch kibble - they only use the tip of their teeth so it does nothing to clean them.

As for tooth brushing, I'm no help, but I was told that if you can just get them to lick kitty toothpaste, it will have the same effect as brushing them. Make sure that the gums are healed before you start brushing teeth, if you do....as you can quite readily make them bleed.

My vet sometimes puts cats on anti-biotics before a dental...my Molly has one scheduled for later this month & will be on anti-biotics I believe 5 days before, then 5 days after (they are expecting extractions - due to busted off teeth).

If they pull any teeth, his mouth will be sore. If any teeth are removed, my vet sends home pain meds.

Four of my cats over the years have had to go in for cleanings and extractions. None seemed in any pain when they came home; I do recall when Rocky came back after three extractions, I expected him to be drowsy, but he felt so much better he stayed up all night and played! I guess I would too if I had no more pain!

I use Oxyfresh Pet Gel every other day on all my cats' gums (& the water additive) & have for a several years now. It really seems to keep the inflammation down and they have fresh breath.

My boy had a cleaning last year, which went well and quickly. I had all the blood tests done prior to the cleaning. My vet's staff gave me an after care sheet. My guy had to fast another 12 hours after the cleaning. They had told me he'd be groggy - poor guy was more like a drunken sailor when we got home, and never really did sleep that much. I actually called the office because Dante kept falling over at first. They told me that if he hadn't regained his balance shortly, to call back. He did start walking around much better very quickly, but was very hissy toward me and his sister. About 3 the next morning all was well - he regained his sweet personality. And scarfed his food down!

Good luck - you'll be worried til he gets home, but his health will be so much better, it's worth our parental worrying.

Thank you!!

I attempted brushing one of their teeth tonight.....but it was not possible! lol

I will stick to the oral liquids in the water and well yearly cleanings i guess.