Sasha may need a tooth pulled

Sasha went in for her annual checkup today, and the Doc found a big hunk of tartar or something on one of her back teeth (he scraped it off with his fingernail) and under that, the tooth and gum are messed up. He said she may have just chewed on something and cut her gum somehow, and to keep an eye on it. But she was squirming and trying to bite his finger, so I don't think he got a very good view of it. When we got home I looked at it, and she was more calm and actually didn't fight with me, and it looks way worse than what I saw at the office. It's her top back molar (I think the very last one) on the left side, and it's black in the middle and has some tartar around it. The gum is kinda inflamed looking as well. So I think I'm going to call the vet office in the morning and see what we have to do. I'm sure it's worse than he could see with all her squirming and attempts to bite.
She seems fine, and all of her other teeth look great. She's eating half of a 5.5 oz can of Nutro every morning (shares with Gizmo), half a pouch every night, and I leave dry kibble out all day, but now that I've upped the wet food, neither one of them pays much attention to it. A half cup lasts about 2 or 3 days unless one of the dogs gets into it. But she does eat it and doens't act like it bothers her at all. She's healthy and active and I haven't noticed anything out of the ordinary with her.
Any idea what to expect on having a kitty tooth pulled? I know my vet only charges $10 for a dog tooth, but the anesthesia is what gets ya!

Amber

I don't know what the vets in your area may charge, it is best to discuss that with your clinic. But from the sound of it, a dental exam with a thorough cleaning/scaling and possible extraction sound like a good thing to pursue for Sasha.

It hasn't been until recently that vets have finally connected the dots between dental issues in some cats and chronic renal failure or heart problems. Dental health for cats is important and a lot of people just don't know that.

Call and make an appointment to have a dental cleaning/scraping done.

Yikes, we definitely don't want to have to deal with renal failure!
I just looked in her mouth again (Sasha's probably wondering what the sudden fascination with her mouth is!) and that tooth/gum area looks pretty bad, and there's a red spot on the other side, same tooth position, that neither I nor the vet noticed earlier. So I'm definitely going to call the vet in the morning and make an appointment to get that taken care of.
I risked life and limb to look at Gizmo's teeth (LOL, she growled and was NOT impressed) but aside from a tiny bit of tartar (she's going to be 5 in August), she looked great. Gums nice and pink. So I think I'll pick up a kitty toothbrush and paste at Petsmart this Friday and see if I can brush her teeth without her hurting me too seriously. All I have on hand is a doggy toothbrush and paste, and I don't think I can use that on the kitties. But Sasha's definitely going to the vet and having the works done.

Amber

Poor baby! Great job taking such wonderful care of her, Amber! Be a brave little girl, Sasha, I know you'll do great for your procedure!

I just found a thing from my vet (they send a little mailer from time to time) that says a dog tooth cleaning is $40 plus anest. and $10 per tooth for extractions. That's not too terribly bad. Are cats usually less expensive than dogs? This is a really bad time for this (not to mention I spent $113 at the vet today in routine stuff plus heartworm pills for the dogs) but I'll let something else go for a couple weeks if I need to. Sasha is more important than the bills!
I feel bad about this, really. I'm always looking at the dogs' teeth, but since my cats really hate having thier mouths messed with, I don't check them. But I'll definitely start checking them now. But it's too late for Sasha's tooth. I feel like if I'd kept a better eye on it, I would have noticed when the problem was small and easy to fix. I hate the idea of her losing a tooth so young, she's only 3!

Amber

I'm so sorry you and Sasha are having to go through this!

I've been through a similar thing recently (last Friday, actually). My Tibby is only two and a half and had to have both his bottom back molars extracted during his teeth descale and polish.

I had been very anal about keeping my cats' teeth clean due to my first cat suffering badly from gingivitis

Please don't blame yourself though, dental problems can be genetic, so there may not have been anything you could have done to prevent this!

I definitely recommend getting the dental done for Sasha, you vet may be able to help you work out a payment plan if things are a bit tight. She may have been chewing on one side or just swallowing. Also it is a great idea to get your kits used to having their teeth brushed!

She will feel much better once she has beautifully clean teeth and any problematic teeth have been removed.

Sending good }}}VIBES{{{ your way

Please let us know how things go!

Well I just got off the phone with the vet and yes, she definitely needs a cleaning and that tooth pulled. The cost will be $115 total. Not as bad as what some people have posted about the cost, but bad enough. This is a really bad time for it, hubby told me today that his pickup needs new tires. There's over $400 there. And I'm not getting as many hours at work right now. I'll make it happen, but it really sucks. :-(

Amber

Sasha
Your mommy has been poking around in your mouth cause she loves you... Please be good girl at the Dr ... they will make you feel better..:0

Dentals are definitely worth doing. If a tooth needs to go it's probably hurting her and she'll be much happier when it's gone!