Dental work without general anesthesia?

Long story short: We brought my 14 year old to a veterinary teaching hospital for a dental/some diagnostics. On Wednesday, he was brought out of anesthesia after developing a 3rd degree AV block. From my understanding, he will not be able to go under anesthesia again. They were able to do xrays but he was not under long enough for any extractions or cleaning. I have had to take in a great deal of information and I don't have his records/doctor's notes/etc with me(they're being mailed) but I do know he had a loose tooth, for example. I am disappointed beyond words that he was unable to have his needed dental work as I know how periodontal disease can affect other organs and it's possible it contributes to his respiratory issues. I also believe it's likely he's experiencing some pain and it kills me that I can't do anything about it.

We got back home late last night and he's doing well. As for the heart concerns, he will be monitored closely and it's possible he will never have a cardiac event. If anything does happen we should be able to have him stabilized locally, then brought to the university for a pacemaker/whatever is needed. The cardiologist has never experienced this before and said, like everything else he's been through, that it's a medical mystery.  She did mention that there are options for dental work with sedation but that xrays could not be performed.  Again, my focus was on his heart and getting him home after spending four days there so I wasn't able to develop a solid future dental plan for him. 

I have a phone consult arranged with his former cardiologist and I'll be speaking to the doctor from dentistry/etc but I thought I'd ask on here first. What options are there for cats who need dental work and can't go under general anesthesia?  

Boy, that's a tough one, especially if he needs an extraction!  I asked my Vet once about all those places that advertise teeth cleaning without any anesthesia,and she told me I shouldn't even consider them and the reason she gave me was really credible, but, naturally, I can't remember what they were .  Seems like it was something that could even be dangerous to their health.  Of course, most of those places were grooming places, so if something were to happen, there wouldn't be anyone there who could help in a medical emergency.   But, truly, for an extraction, I would think he would need to be completely out

Sorry, I've got no suggestions except wait to see what your Vet has to say.  Hopefully they'll come up with something good

Yeah, this isn't good. I've been doing a lot of crying.

I've always heard anesthesia-free dentals are a no-go as well. I brought it up with the cardiologist and she did say there are possible options but we didn't get into it much as the focus was obviously on his heart/getting him home. I'll be calling their dentistry department as well as a dental specialist(same city as the uni) for their opinions. I'll also be asking his regular vet when I bring him in for the EKG but I'm not hopeful that he'd have much input. There are various supplements I have in mind to use on his gums but I know nothing can replace dental work when it's needed.

Oh poor baby.

Chumley had an anesthesia-free dental. They're good for teeth cleaning, but that's it. They can't see what's going on under the gumline, and when he had his regular dental, turned out he needed three teeth removed. So they're not really good for much but removing plaque - which is better than nothing, but with a loose tooth that needs to be removed....

Is there a holistic vet you can get to? There are herbal supplements that WORK. Lazlo had bad gingivitis when he was diagnosed with cancer, and treating it was put on a back-burner because of the chemo. But the vet gave me an herbal for him that the oncologist said was OK to use during the chemo treatments. And it completely resolved Lazlo's gingivitis. It was called Jade Lady, but it was formulated for the practice - I haven't found it online. He still needs a dental, which hopefully we'll be doing in a month or two. Unfortunately, I don't know how you'd get around dental x-rays (in the future) without the anesthesia. Though a lot of people use acupuncture instead of anesthesia for dental work. It might work for kitties too, come to think of it. But you'd need to find a D.V.M. trained in Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture. I found one searching here: http://www.ahvma.org

Another thought - a friend uses raw honey on her rescue kitties when they have gingivitis. She uses a q-tip to rub it on their gums. Usually works within a week, but it doesn't cure it, so it needs to be treated again usually after a few months if dentals aren't possible. The honey has to be RAW (organic) though.

I'm happy to report that Nate had a great day yesterday. It was a bit difficult to get any work done, even, as he was very active and wanted to be involved in everything, taken outside, and so on. After everything we've been through together, I cherish his good days more than anything. It's a big comfort right now though I'm still quite worried.

I did find out that the loose tooth was pulled! I was only told that he had a loose tooth, not that anything was done about it. Apparently it was the first thing they did after the nasal flush. I'm waiting to find out more from the dental department. He does have a bad canine tooth(pockets mentioned and whatnot) and I know that can be a strong contributer to sinus difficulties. I'll be finding out more.

Unfortunately, the closest holistic vet option is about 3.5 hours away from us. After that, they're very far. In the past I would be okay with bringing him on a long car ride as he tends to do very well but now I'm hesitant. I'm looking into it, though. He's gone for regular acupuncture sessions in the past(back home) and seemed to genuinely enjoy it. I tend to be skeptical of everything but I feel he benefited from it. I wish there was someone closer to us whom I could trust/used healing methods I believe in/was affordable.

I'm glad to hear there was something to help Lazlo. I've worked with a lot of people who suffer with dental issues and can't afford the cost of dental care and I've found there's always something that can help. I'm actually one of those people(I've had impacted wisdom teeth for years now). I've heard of using raw honey as well but have not known anyone who has actually tried it. I imagine he would enjoy that a lot more than some of the awful tasting things I had in mind.

The phone consult with his former cardiologist is in a couple of hours and I'm hoping she has some input on the dental options. His EKG appointment with his regular vet is next week. And he'll be going for an echo in "3-6 months" which means another very long car drive but we'll also be in an area with more possible options for dental care.  

Thank you for the reply and the vibes, they're much needed right now.

I'm so glad he had a great day yesterday, and hope he's having another one today .  Also very good news that they got that one tooth pulled at least . 

So, all in all, things are looking up.  You've got a couple of avenues now to check into, HE'S feeling better, you've found a holistic vet, albeit kind of far away, but better than nothing, etc.   Yay!

Continued vibes

Hi, looking to revive this dental discussion. Any additional ideas regarding anesthesia free dental work? I've got a 15 year old cat with 3rd degree A/V block and stage 2 chronic kidney disease. Her slow heart rate did not respond to atropine, and the cardiologist did not recommend anesthesia without pacing. She is still eating canned (regular diet) and dry foods (as a treat - she loves dry cat food). Her back teeth are yellow and her gum line is raw. The general vet scraped some tartar off a few months ago. I try to brush the teeth but as you can imagine, there is a lot of resistance in getting to the back teeth.

I've read about dental scaling, which is not recommended by the american veterinary dental college. Would love to hear about people's experiences any and all dental treatments that do not require anesthesia.

Thank you.

That's a tough one.  Obviously is the gumline is raw, something is going on, and without really getting in there to check it out, it's hard ot know WHAT.  And without anesthesia, that's not going to be easy. 

So...anesthesa WITH pacing?  (whatever that is?)  That's ok?  Otherwise, how's this for a long shot?  http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2015/07/23/manuka-honey.aspx  (basedon Lauries post above about raw honey)  I actually ordered some of this and it arrived today

Thanks. i'll look into the honey!

re: anesthesia at a hospital with pacing capabilities - i believe the hospital would have a pacemaker on hand in case the cat has heart complications.