BooBoo's 6 Month Blood Work and X-rays

BooBoo is 12 years old and I have blood work and chest x-rays done for her every six months.  The chest x-rays are done because it is suspected that she has asthma.  The x-rays from the other day show that her lungs actually look better than they did in October.  The vet said her blood work looks really good.  I really think the positive changes are due to her new raw diet and raw goats milk. Her vet is holistic and gave me something that she mixes for her allergies so I am hoping that will help with her scratching.

My question is my local holistic vet recommends she have a dental where she would go under and have a full mouth x-ray of her teeth.  She has few teeth left because she has resorptive disease.  My other vet is very very holistic, use a sedative to put them out for the dental and doesn't even have an x-ray machine.  He doesn't like putting them under and said his dental is just as complete.  What do you guys think.  I hate the idea of putting under but I really feel that is the most complete dental especially with her resorptive disease.  There is no way of knowing what is going on under the gum without x-rays.

WOW!  2 holistic vets with a different approach.  YIKES!!!  I'd be asking for help too.  I can't offer an opinion on which vet for you to use.  None of my cats have ever needed dentals... yet.  Like you, I am anxious to see what others with experience might have to say on this topic.  It might just boil down to which one you feel most comfortable with...  I dunno. 

Glad your kitty is getting better and keep us posted on the dental decision if you can.

Thanks!  She actually has had a dental almost every year since she was 3 years old.  When she was 9 days old a little boy threw her against the wall and it caused a lot of damage to her face.  She is actually as cute as a bug but looks kinda different.  Well because of that it caused the roof of her mouth to swirl and none of her teeth ever lined up.

My worry is that has they get older it is hard to metabolize the drug and longer for them to wake up.  I worry about every little thing and I am afraid to make the wrong the decision.  She is my world and I have had her since she was 9 days old.

So, which Vet does she go to every year for her dental...the 2nd one (the very, VERY holistic one)?  I'm wondering why the first Vet thinks she needs x-rays this year, unless he/she saw something different?  Have you actually taken BooBoo (love that name, BTW!) to see both since the first one said she needed dental X-rays?  Sorry...hope this is making sense.  I'm kind of groggy today with a migraine and know what I want to say...just not sure it's coming across correctly

We have moved around a bit so she has had a few different vets.  The one thing I know for sure is that she usually averages a dental every year.  She does have teeth issues.  The last dental she had was at a 24 hour Animal ER that I worked at and I will never go back there.  Lots of bad feelings.  They went on a wild goose chase trying to find cancer that BooBoo never had because of this faulty glucometer that read her glucose was low, never out of the normal range but low end of normal.  They convinced me she had insulinoma which is so very rare that CSU was surprised because they have seen only a handful of cases in animals besides ferrets.  They did ultra sounds, did fine needle aspirates of her spleen and liver. Hospitalized her and did a glucose drip.  Pinned her down with 3 techs and gave her a drug that was suppose to relax her and it had an opposite effect on her and I could hear her screaming through the entire hospital.  Sorry to go on and on it was an absolute nightmare.  They told me she had lung cancer which was probably coming from the tumor in her spleen which was never there.  I swear I almost had a heart attack just thinking about it my heart is pounding.  Because I worked there I got 50% off on vet expenses and it still cost well over 2k.  They did an additional estimate where they would go in and explore her pancreas that would have cost me 4k.  Then towards the end they suggested if it was too much money I might consider putting her down!  Needless to say I left there shortly after.

I called Dr. Jean Dodd in CA and asked her to refer me to a holistic vet here in CO and she suggested Chapparrel Animal Hospital which is were I started taking BooBoo after that disaster.  From October til just last month I took her there every month just to do wellness stuff like laser treatments for her arthritis, supplements to help support and detox her from that awful experience.  We talked about her dental and he said he doesn't put them under he uses a sedative.  I really like him but the problem is he is a bit far it is about a 5 hour round trip when I take her.  Luckily she likes car rides

The other holistic vet is Dr. Judy Jasek, she is fairly well-known around here and she even owns her own raw dog food company.  I took her to get a chest x-ray because Chapparrel doesn't even have an x-ray machine.  I decided to go ahead and do her senior blood work at the same time as the x-ray and this vet is the one who mentioned BooBoo needed a dental.  I want her to have dental x-rays because that is the only way to know what is going on under the gum.  Considering she has teeth issues.  She doesn't seem to be in any pain but I don't wait til there is a problem.  I want her to feel good and to be healthy.

Well now I'm not sure what your question is.  You say you want to get the xrays for your own peace of mind, but the 2nd Vet doesn't have an xray machine.  So...what is your question?  Sorry, again...drugged due to migraine

No its the first vet that doesn't have an x-ray machine and he is the one that doesn't put them out for the dental. I started taking BooBoo to him in October and I really like him but I am not sure how complete the dental will be without the x-rays.

I guess my question is how comfortable are most putting their cats under for a dental procedure.  BooBoo is 12 years old.  The reason I started going to the second holistic vet is because the first one is just too far away.  I have heard very good things about her but I have only been to her once just recently.  I suppose I am very nervous after what happened at the hospital where I worked and I what has happened to me is fairly common, I have seen it over and over again and with different clinics.  There are many vets out there that really have no clue what they are doing.

Obviously, this is a tough decision that only you can make.  I, for one, am always nervous thinking about having to put my cat "under" for any kind of procedure, but sometimes it's necessary for that particular procedure.  There is always a risk, as there is in pretty much anything that we do in life.  But these are our babies we are talking about !  In the past, when she has had dental work done by whomever, did they knock her completely out, or simply sedate her?  I just don't know how one can do scaling (or whatever it's called) when a cat is merely sedated, but then I don't know that much about it, or how severe her plaque build up is, etc.  But I do know that with tooth resorption dentals are very important.  Has the Vet who only sedates explained how he feels he can accomplish what needs to be done, to your satisfaction?   Have you listed all the pros and cons for each doctor?  Maybe that will help you with your decision making. 

12 years old is definitely not to old to have a dental done, especially if her blood work is good. Not sure how the other holistic vet plans to sedate your girl, but that in itself could be more of an issue than a properly monitored (blood pressure, ekg, body temp, etc) general anesthesia using gas ( isoflurane or sevoflurane). And absolutely, x-rays are an essential part of the procedure. 

My cat has had a dental (under full anesthesia) at 13 yrs, 16 yrs, and he's about to have another one this Friday at the age of 19. He also has diabetes, a heart condition, and renal insufficiency. But he's in excellent hands and will be monitored up the wazoo, so I'm really not that worried. Better than leaving him to suffer with painful teeth. 

Here is a link talking in detail about dental procedures: http://petdiabetes.wikia.com/wiki/Dental_procedure  

The focus is on diabetic cats, but the info is valid for any cat.

Sugarcatmom said:

12 years old is definitely not to old to have a dental done, especially if her blood work is good. Not sure how the other holistic vet plans to sedate your girl, but that in itself could be more of an issue than a properly monitored (blood pressure, ekg, body temp, etc) general anesthesia using gas ( isoflurane or sevoflurane). And absolutely, x-rays are an essential part of the procedure. 

My cat has had a dental (under full anesthesia) at 13 yrs, 16 yrs, and he's about to have another one this Friday at the age of 19. He also has diabetes, a heart condition, and renal insufficiency. But he's in excellent hands and will be monitored up the wazoo, so I'm really not that worried. Better than leaving him to suffer with painful teeth. 

Here is a link talking in detail about dental procedures: http://petdiabetes.wikia.com/wiki/Dental_procedure  
The focus is on diabetic cats, but the info is valid for any cat.

Click to expand...

IMHO Get the blood test before the procedure, get an IV, and get a proper dental.... That's what I would do....

My mother's cat had a full dental and 5 teeth out at the age of 10 and had no ill effects. From your posts I get the feeling you are leaning towards the full procedure and I think I agree with you. You already know that she has had no issues in the past with being put unde, so I would say the risks are small.

She has ha[font=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]d Isoflorine in the past for all her dentals so she was completely out.  I need to get more info from the other doc to ask what he uses but I think it is a conscious sedation similar to ketamine but vets no longer use ketamine because of the dangerous side effects.[/font]

[font=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]I am leaning towards the other towards putting her under because I think that is the vet best way for her to have a complete dental.  This vet also does the digital x-rays and because of BooBoo's resportive disease it is the best way to make sure there isn't something going on that we can't see.[/font]

[font=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]Her blood work came back good and her chest x-ray looks fine.  I worry about her so much I've been told my attachment to her isn't normal, which I know but I love her so much I can't help it.[/font]