Dental Hygiene Timing vs Cost

Hi,
I wanted to get some input on my dilemma.

I have a 3 year old male cat. He has had regular exams and receives a teeth brushing on average 4 days a week.

He had a lot of gum issues when I first got him, but working with a dental specialist and being diligent brushing his teeth has gotten him to a healthy stage.

My vet recommended that I get a professional teeth cleaning done as there is a small amount of gum inflammation. The cost is just over $600 dollars. I am told that his teeth look okay, but could benefit from a cleaning.

Is there a risk if I put this off for 6 months to a year? I was greatly impacted by the economic down-turn and this is just not in my budget.

If it was critical, I would scrape the money together...but I am just wondering if 6 months to a year would make a big difference?

** I am not a vet **
But I do have experience with stomatitis and gingivitis - the answer is no, if he is going for a cleaning only and the ginngivitis is mild, it is ok to wait.
However: If there is tooth decay, periodontal disease, cavities, abscesses, bone loss, resorptive lesions, or anything more.... Then yes, it can be a problem.

Also, $600, for a simple cleaning? Sorry to say, but IMHO you are getting ripped off. "benefiting" from a cleaning? Sure.... Probably could... but here is the thing to always remember: Enough to go under anesthesia?

I have a cat with Stomatitis, he gets his dentals once a year, and he gets daily meds. His stomatitis is bad, and his gums are always on the pink side. I always, always ask the dentist what can wait and what can not wait. Of course you I always take care of his teeth, but I would not put him under anesthesia for a "small amount of inflammation", or when in doubt.

You said you worked with a dental specialist and was successful with him - is this the vet you are referring to?

If not, I would recommend you going back to him ans asking this question... Again, there might be things there you might not be able to see that he might be seeing.... I would want more specifics.

My opinion only for what is worth

Option C: Do it now, but don't pay $600!!! The only way you're going to remove calculus and provide for a less hospitable environment for bacteria is getting those teeth smooth and polished. From what I was told anesthesia is optional, and less expensive without (no need for blood tests etc). Even with, you shouldn't be paying much more than $200-$300.

Have you considered a change in diet, either to raw or to a mixed diet of wet food and a specific dental hygiene kibble? Just wet alone tends to promote dental issues, and just dry alone some say is too much abrasion.

I'm not a vet either - but both my cats have had dental cleanings within the last year just to remove small amounts of tartar, etc. Now, here's the thing - for my cats the cleanings, including blood work and anesthesia, was around $200. But, not sure this is apples to apples, so I agree it's a question to take the vet and find out what the $600 actually covers, and, if that answer makes sense, whether it's ok to wait 6 months. Heck, for my own, my vet at the time said I could wait til February (dental cleaning sale month for most vets) since things looked pretty good. Had they not, I'd have had it done right away.

FWIW, I don't believe a good, in-depth cleaning can be done on a cat without anesthesia - and once I'm going there, I'm going to pay for blood work as a safety measure.

Have a cat's teeth cared for is vital. Cats don't show pain until it's very very advanced, and bad teeth can affect their ability to eat. I learned the hard way with my RP kitty Chynna

So far as cost goes, I only know what my vet charged me for Chynna's teeth. It was $700.00. Actually, after the procedure they told me it was closer to $1,200.00 but they capped it at $700.00 due to certain circumstances at the time.

The fee included very basic pre-op blood work (other blood work had been done under a separate visit a few weeks earlier), 24 pre-op hydration, the aenesthic, blood pressure monitoring etc., xrays of each tooth (they insisted it was necessary in order to determine if the tooth was viable or needed to be pulled. Each xray was $25.00), several extractions, 24 hour post op hydration and care, pain medications while there, pain med injections and antibiotic injections to take home, and 1 month follow up visit.

My kitty was 16 years old at the time and while her kidneys were functioning ok, they were not fuctioning at optimal level. So they took extra care and told me that she received the equivalent care before, during and after surgery that a human would have gotten in a hospital and intensive care.

Earlier this year I had booked Abby for a dental but had to cancel because I had to take some unpaid sick time. When I explained why I was cancelling, I mentioned the cost of Chynna's dental and added that at this time I couldn't afford to spend that amount of money. They didn't deter me from cancelling. The girl said that dentals can be very costly. So I assume the cost would have been comparable to Chynna.

When I was booking Chynna for her dental due to a badly infected tooth, they told me that it would involve xraying each tooth. I told them I only wanted the infected tooth pulled, and the rest of the teeth cleaned. They insisted that if one tooth was infected, that others were likely infected below the gumline too and that an xray is cruicial to determine. And they wouldn't do the dental without my agreeing that they could do the procedure properly, not helter skelter. My girl was in so much pain and wasn't eating and losing weight that I felt I had no other choice but to agree.

Originally Posted by darlili

FWIW, I don't believe a good, in-depth cleaning can be done on a cat without anesthesia - and once I'm going there, I'm going to pay for blood work as a safety measure.

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not only that, but an IV too, in case of emergency....

This last time my vets used an IV, as my cats are getting a bit older. I really don't think you can figure out a 'one price covers all' for the procedure, since so much can vary per the individual cat, but $600 sounds high for just a plain old cleaning. Then again, knock wood, mine have never needed x-rays yet, so that's not part of the fee yet.

Originally Posted by darlili

This last time my vets used an IV, as my cats are getting a bit older. I really don't think you can figure out a 'one price covers all' for the procedure, since so much can vary per the individual cat, but $600 sounds high for just a plain old cleaning. Then again, knock wood, mine have never needed x-rays yet, so that's not part of the fee yet.

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Very high... unless there are extractions involved... That price is high....

I know some areas are much higher than others but $600.00 sounds high to me too. One of mine had a dental with 5 extractions and it was $700.00. I did get some discounts because it was done in February and it was pet dental health month. Without the discounts it would've been about $900.00.This was at a feline specialist clinic in a wealthy part of town so their fees are a little higher than average for this area.

Wow...i just logged back on and what a cool surprise - tons of replies!
Thanks everyone for their input.

So, my little guy had really bad gum problems and about two years ago now, he saw a dental specialist who extracted two teeth. Ever since then he gets a regular brushing from me.

The most recent check up (different vet) maintains that there does not seem to be any dental issues, but would like to do the cleaning to prevent them.

Diet change for teeth is not an option as my little buddy has bad PH levels and I am working with my vet to sort that out through changes in food.

I have decided that I am going to get a second quote for the dental work and take it from there.

His required monthly urine tests set me back 100 bucks each and special food comes in at $85 a month...his teeth are going to have to wait until I get his PH level sorted and save a bit.

Thanks again for your replies.
Cheers

Diet change may still be possible, and in fact may resolve both issues, ask your vet.

You can make most of the diet a prescription wet food with an acidifier, and just have one of the meals be a dental one. Most food manufacturers are adjusting their quality recipes for proper target urine PH's now, so perhaps someone on the forum knows a dental one that already aims for a low urine PH (I assume its too high rather than too low right?). Wellness and Blue both aim for a healthy 6-6.5 for example.

I would also ask if the dental and urinary issues are related. Its not intuitive, but a lot of people don't realize that one unhealthy part of their body can actually be related to issues with other organs. People with mouth infections for example can suffer heart and heart valve damage from endocarditis, irritable bowel syndrome, and kidney disease.... doesn't make sense at first glance, but there are a big list of so-called systemic diseases where one kink in the chain affects seemingly unrelated organs. Most vets don't have the level of training of even human general practitioners, and most know that their human physician generally has little formal education on nutrition, but they can research for you and get back to you when asked specific.

Originally Posted by Ducman69

Diet change may still be possible, and in fact may resolve both issues, ask your vet.

You can make most of the diet a prescription wet food with an acidifier, and just have one of the meals be a dental one. Most food manufacturers are adjusting their quality recipes for proper target urine PH's now, so perhaps someone on the forum knows a dental one that already aims for a low urine PH (I assume its too high rather than too low right?). Wellness and Blue both aim for a healthy 6-6.5 for example.

I would also ask if the dental and urinary issues are related. Its not intuitive, but a lot of people don't realize that one unhealthy part of their body can actually be related to issues with other organs. People with mouth infections for example can suffer heart and heart valve damage from endocarditis, irritable bowel syndrome, and kidney disease.... doesn't make sense at first glance, but there are a big list of so-called systemic diseases where one kink in the chain affects seemingly unrelated organs. Most vets don't have the level of training of even human general practitioners, and most know that their human physician generally has little formal education on nutrition, but they can research for you and get back to you when asked specific.

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very well put ...