FIV Superficial Dental Cleaning thoughts?

My FIV stray has horrendous breath. 

The vet, who is not a dental vet, suggested teeth cleaning under anesthesia to do a deep cleaning. 

I am hesitant to put him under anesthesia and also the cost is too high.

However, I found a service who does cleanings without anesthesia. I understand it may be more of a superficial cleaning this way, but that may be all he needs since he is a young cat.

They tell me that they will look at the cat's teeth and determine whether he really needs a deep cleaning or if they see anything that requires attention by a dental vet and would not do the cleaning if that is the case. However, one can never be sure they will be honest and may just do the cleaning to make some money and then leave me with a cat with issues unresolved and unknown to me. 

Also, they stated the cat does not swallow the tar they remove when I asked about possible infections on a FIV cat from this cleaning. They don't prescribe antibiotics either. 

My question to you guys is whether I should go for the superficial cleaning, which will still help him, and ask my vet for antibiotics so he is covered just in case. Or wait until I can have more money and do a deep cleaning, which may take a while. I have 4 cats and I am overwhelmed with the costs of my small rescue operation.  

Thanks for any insight. 

Something you can do in the meantime is to look up reviews of the service that is not a dental vet.  One of the advantages of using a dental vet is that if they see anything that needs attention it can be done at the same time while the cat is under anesthesia.  However, I can understand and appreciate your dilemma.  Could you possibly apply for care credit to break up the payments? 

Neely said:

 
Something you can do in the meantime is to look up reviews of the service that is not a dental vet.  One of the advantages of using a dental vet is that if they see anything that needs attention it can be done at the same time while the cat is under anesthesia.  However, I can understand and appreciate your dilemma.  Could you possibly apply for care credit to break up the payments? 

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Hi. they have good reviews. I see that they do most of the work on dogs though. This cleaning would be like what you get at your dentist. It removes all the visible tar, just not under the gumline and costs 1/3. The techs who do the cleaning can tell when teeth need more work if it's visible damage, and I bet they are better at spotting these issues than the vet who saw him. 

If I do the normal cleaning, I wonder if I should still need antibiotics for him just in case. 

On top of the financials, I truly prefer not to put him under anesthesia if possible. I would kill myself if he dies because of a dental cleaning. 

Savethekitty said:

 
On top of the financials, I truly prefer not to put him under anesthesia if possible. I would kill myself if he dies because of a dental cleaning. 

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I can fully understand your concern about putting your cat under anesthesia.  I'm exactly the same way especially since I have a brachycephalic cat.  However, our last cat and our present one were both diagnosed with FORL, (feline oral resorptive lesions).  During their dental cleaning which was under anesthesia they needed to have several teeth removed.  I'm not saying your cat may have FORL, only mentioning it because as I stated above if there is an issue that needs immediate attention it can be taken care of at the same time as the dental under anesthesia.  Just out of curiosity, if your vet is not a dental vet or does not have a dental specialist in the practice who were they recommending to do the cleaning, and if there were any problems found during it who would handle them?

Actually my daughter has used the same type of service you referenced for her dog's dental cleaning.  But they examined him first and told them if he was a candidate for the procedure.  In addition, the service comes to her vet once a week so it's the best of both worlds.    

Neely said:

 
I can fully understand your concern about putting your cat under anesthesia.  I'm exactly the same way especially since I have a brachycephalic cat.  However, our last cat and our present one were both diagnosed with FORL, (feline oral resorptive lesions).  During their dental cleaning which was under anesthesia they needed to have several teeth removed.  I'm not saying your cat may have FORL, only mentioning it because as I stated above if there is an issue that needs immediate attention it can be taken care of at the same time as the dental under anesthesia.  Just out of curiosity, if your vet is not a dental vet or does not have a dental specialist in the practice who were they recommending to do the cleaning, and if there were any problems found during it who would handle them?

Actually my daughter has used the same type of service you referenced for her dog's dental cleaning.  But they examined him first and told them if he was a candidate for the procedure.  In addition, the service comes to her vet once a week so it's the best of both worlds.    

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Sorry about your kitties. I wish them the best!

The vet suggested they'd do it in office, but have no idea if they bring in a specialist or if they have any experience. I have been calling around to get quotes on the anesthesia procedure and it ranges up to $600 just for cleaning without considering surprise on the spot removals. It seems that you are at their mercy if they want to extract and you only have to accept this as truth, and we all know how they nickle and dime you without regard for the truth or your pet's health really. I don't like those situations, but I guess there is no option. 

The Cleaning without anesthesia is just $120 vs $600 plus surprises and they too check to see your pet is a good candidate before doing anything. 

Did they perform Xrays on your kitties to see the real condition of the teeth and was that included in the price they gave you?

Savethekitty said:

The Cleaning without anesthesia is just $120 vs $600 plus surprises and they too check to see your pet is a good candidate before doing anything. 

Did they perform Xrays on your kitties to see the real condition of the teeth and was that included in the price they gave you?

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You peeked my curiosity so I looked up our dental bill from last year.  This is from a feline veterinary practice with an on staff dental specialist - the entire dental cleaning procedure, with anesthesia, x-rays and 2 extractions plus antibiotic cost $582.05. Hope this info. is helpful.   

Neely said:

 
You peeked my curiosity so I looked up our dental bill from last year.  This is from a feline veterinary practice with an on staff dental specialist - the entire dental cleaning procedure, with anesthesia, x-rays and 2 extractions plus antibiotic cost $582.05. Hope this info. is helpful.

  

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thank you ! I appreciate you taking the time to look that up. 

I know they have to do blood work before doing the deep cleaning. I haven't asked yet whether they could possibly do the Xrays at the time of the dental examination/bloodwork so we know before hand the condition of the teeth. That would be great. Do you think Xrays of the mouth can be done without having to put them under?

Savethekitty said:

Do you think Xrays of the mouth can be done without having to put them under?

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I think this link will best answer your question:  http://www.avdc.org/radiographs.html