Am I making a pest of myself (at the vet)? {long post}

misskalamata · Sep 30, 2010

I keep delaying my cat's dental because I'm terrified. I'm scared about the anesthesia and antibiotics and the potential for things to go wrong.

And for the longest time, I didn't have a trusted vet who could do the teeth cleaning. I've finally found one who seems good, but I have only been there once, so of course I haven't had the time to develop much trust in her. At that visit, the vet had a good deal of time before her next appointment, so we talked for probably ten minutes or so about getting my kitty a dental.

About a month or two later, I decided I needed to know more about the dental cleaning itself. I had the vet call me after her workday was over, and we talked for about 20 min about anesthesia, safety procedures, etc. Now that is a very nice vet who will call you after hours just to talk! I felt like I was being a bit of a pain, but I was also concerned about some of her answers (such as the use of ketamine, about which I started a topic here).

So I delayed another month. Now, I finally decided to go ahead and schedule the dental, but when I went to their website to get the phone no., the biographies of the different vets at the clinic caught my eye. One of the other vets has a "special interest in pet dentistry"! That sounds great, but I've never met her, and I'd rather not have the dental done by a vet I don't know.

I'm thinking I should set up a time to talk with this other vet on the phone (I lack transportation to actually go there), ask some of the same questions I asked the first vet, and get a feel for how experienced and trustworthy she is. At the same time, I feel like I should stop pestering this clinic with questions and schedule the dental already!

So, am I making a pest of myself at this clinic? Should I stop worrying and get the darn teeth cleaning done already? Go with the vet I know, or try the one I don't know? What would you do?

Thank you, and sorry if I'm being a pest on the forum, too.

clpeters23 · Sep 30, 2010

I would schedule the dental, but, have always held the opinion that professionals (doctors, vets, et al) work for me. The more educated I become the better decisions I can make.

-_aj_- · Sep 30, 2010

i would make the appointment to have the dental work done, chances are that vet will be on hand for the other vet to speak to if there are any concerns, or possibly it could be that vet that carries the work out

ldg · Sep 30, 2010

I'd call the vet that saw your kitty and that you've talked to and just ask! Would she be performing the procedure? Would the other vet? I'd just say straight out - sorry, I feel like a PIA, but this is my baby, and .... the vet that already spent the time with you will certainly understand.

We always apologize for being PIA, but we call to discuss everything. They put up with us (and don't act like it's "putting up with" us LOL) and treat our cats really well and know what they're doing, that's why we use the vet we do.

lyrajean · Sep 30, 2010

When I worked for a Vet's office, the dentals were always done by the techs under the supervision of the Vet who was assigned to surgery that day. If a Vet recommended a dental they would try and make sure the client got their pet scheduled on their day. That said there were rarely any problems with dentals except for cats leaving with fewer teeth left than expected or antibiotics to combat a serious gum infection etc... It's hard to get a real good look in a squirming cat's mouth until you knock 'em out.

If it concerns you, I would politely call up and ask just who does the dentals.

Honestly though, don't schedule without the full intent of following through on the appointment.

lauren_miller · Sep 30, 2010

Keep asking questions and keep researching, talk to the vets as much as you want and be as big of a pain as you want. This is your baby and you have every right to question the vets and if they can't handle it then you move on to another practice who can.

I had a very traumatic thing happen to me with another species of animal at a vet and after explaining that to my new vet they were very understanding and very helpful. They called me with updates throughout the day when Pandora had her surgery. I requested they call me as soon as Pandora was awake and fine and the vet called me personally to tell me everything was okay.

catsallaround · Sep 30, 2010

I have had a few dentals done ranging from 2-8 years. I think you may want to look at the reviews for your vet-or even post a feneral location and see if anyone here is nearby-may make you feel better to know you did all you could to ensure the best care/vet
I have not had any issues yet with dentals and have used 3 vets-one I hated but I had to get his tooth pulled ASAP cause it was causing SERIOUS issues-she personally did the dental-the other clinic has a trained lady who doe it-she goes to a few vets and does dentals for them.
If the bloodwork looks good chances are you are much better doing it now then waiting for it to get worse(mor time under,pulling a tooth that may be saveable now)

natalie_ca · Oct 1, 2010

Never apologize for trying to stay informed.

Our pets are part of our family, and to some of us they are even like our children. So of course we worry about their safety and well-being. Animals lovers, such as Vets understand that.

That being said, please make the appointment to get your kitty's teeth cleaned. The longer you put it off, the more paranoid you will become and soon you will find that months and/or years have gone by and nothing was done.

By the time I got around to taking me senior kitty, Chynna

to the vet to have her teeth cleaned, she was 16 years old and had an infected tooth that caused her to not be able to eat and a good deal of pain. The procedure cost several hundreds of dollars and the outcome was that she ended up having to have most of her teeth pulled.

You've met the vet, you've talked to her a few times. When it comes to our kitties, we will never feel 100% ok about putting them through a high risk (anesthetic) procedure, even though we know it's the best thing for them in the long run.

misskalamata · Oct 2, 2010

So, does everyone think I should forget trying to get to know the vet with the special interest in dentistry and just have dental done by the vet I know? I assume I get to choose which veterinarian cleans his teeth.

I should also mention that the other vet has been practicing for 11 more years than the vet I met. The vet I met speaks highly of her colleagues. I want the dental done by the best person for the job. But I also want it done by a vet I have interacted with and have some trust in. Maybe I should just call the clinic and ask which vet is most experienced with dentals.

I do have some stipulations regarding the dental....you can tell me if you think these are reasonable:
1) I want my cat on IV support whether or not the vet thinks it's necessary.
2) I want reassurance that the vet was aware of the ketamine recall at the beginning of the year, and is not using tainted ketamine. I know that happened quite a while ago, but I am very wary of recalls.
3) If at all possible, I want his mouth looked at while he is awake, and if it's blatantly obvious that he needs teeth pulled, I want him sent home with a few days of antibiotics and the dental rescheduled. If they don't notice the bad teeth until the middle of the dental- fine, they can pull them. But I am skeptical of the idea that a single antibiotic shot before the procedure is really effective in keeping bacteria out of his bloodstream. And what if he reacts badly to the antibiotic?

Thank you again!

carolina · Oct 2, 2010

Originally Posted by MissKalamata

So, does everyone think I should forget trying to get to know the vet with the special interest in dentistry and just have dental done by the vet I know? I assume I get to choose which veterinarian cleans his teeth. Go with your gut feeling and the one you trust the most...

I should also mention that the other vet has been practicing for 11 more years than the vet I met. The vet I met speaks highly of her colleagues. I want the dental done by the best person for the job. But I also want it done by a vet I have interacted with and have some trust in. Maybe I should just call the clinic and ask which vet is most experienced with dentals.

I do have some stipulations regarding the dental....you can tell me if you think these are reasonable:
1) I want my cat on IV support whether or not the vet thinks it's necessary. I agree this is very important - so is the blood work before the procedure.
2) I want reassurance that the vet was aware of the ketamine recall at the beginning of the year, and is not using tainted ketamine. I know that happened quite a while ago, but I am very wary of recalls. I would not use Ketamine AT ALL - it is just not the safest choice for cats regardless of the recall/. None of my vets use Ketamine on cats.
3) If at all possible, I want his mouth looked at while he is awake, and if it's blatantly obvious that he needs teeth pulled, I want him sent home with a few days of antibiotics and the dental rescheduled. If they don't notice the bad teeth until the middle of the dental- fine, they can pull them. But I am skeptical of the idea that a single antibiotic shot before the procedure is really effective in keeping bacteria out of his bloodstream. And what if he reacts badly to the antibiotic? This might not be possible - they can really take a good look when the cat is under... You can have anidea with the cat awake, but not to the full extent. Regardless, he should get an injection and/or medicine when he goes home.

Thank you again!

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Am I making a pest of myself (at the vet)? {long post}

misskalamata

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clpeters23

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-_aj_-

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ldg

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lyrajean

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lauren_miller

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catsallaround

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natalie_ca

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misskalamata

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carolina

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