Dental Work Question

Is it normal for a vet's office to ask you to give antibiotics for both 5 days before and 5 days after a dental cleaning?

Does your kitty have any other health concerns? Maybe it's just a precautionary thing to ward off any infection. Usually my vet gives my kitties one does afterwards.

Karen

She does not have any pre-existing medical issues.

My kitties had antibiotics during surgery and after...not before.
I would call my vet and ask why.
There might be a good reason...

I believe my vet did give me a few days of antibiotics after tooth cleaning. They do some rooting around under the gums while they are in there, so the extra meds are to make sure nothing nasty develops (or if it does, it is nipped in the bud early).

My cat had antibiotics afterwards but not before. He had 2 teeth removed.

Originally Posted by xocats

My kitties had antibiotics during surgery and after...not before.
I would call my vet and ask why.
There might be a good reason...

Click to expand...

They said that it was in case bits of plaque were swallowed by the cat during surgery.

Your vet is just very causitious... most of the time this is done with older or sick animals

Molly always had antibiotics after, but not before.

My cat had an abcess starting to form-he was put on a weekWent friday) of antibiotics and I scheduled a cleaning for this friday. He has it forming cause his teeth are bad. Hes also getting another 10 days on antibiotic after the cleaning. Great thing is he has alot of urinary issues and I asked will this also treat if he hasa current infection and he said yes...My vet requires the cats to be tested for felv/fiv before surgery(they have seperte area for positive cats) RJ

If you respect your vet, then go ahead give your kitty the antibiotics...
if not, that is another problem all together.

It is great that you are having you cat's teeth cleaned.
Let us know what you decide and how the cleaning goes.

If we have an animal whose teeth are very bad (animal comes into clinic with the complaint of stopped eating, and we find that the teeth are most likely the issue) we start the antibiotice before the cleaning to get the animal feeling better and in better shape to handle the anesthesia. A pet that is feeling better and eating on their own is a much better anesthesia risk than one who has not eaten for a couple of days and is running a fever.

Originally Posted by Petnurse2265

If we have an animal whose teeth are very bad (animal comes into clinic with the complaint of stopped eating, and we find that the teeth are most likely the issue) we start the antibiotice before the cleaning to get the animal feeling better and in better shape to handle the anesthesia. A pet that is feeling better and eating on their own is a much better anesthesia risk than one who has not eaten for a couple of days and is running a fever.

Click to expand...

This was just a description over the phone. The vet in question has never set eyes on my cat. She is eating normally (and always has. She's like a little vaccum cleaner), and healthy.

Some vets like to be more cautious than others, and a cats mouth can be a very dirty place. I would not be to concerned about an antibiotic regimine before and after a dental .

When Twitch had her dental extraction, she got antiobiotics beofre & after surgery. The vet did tell me it was just to be safe.