Vet didn't do X rays for dental cleaning

[MrKitty7]

My cat Spooky who is a domestic shorthair is a few months into being 3 years old. I noticed he started having a bit of difficulty when eating. He still finished his food but was taking him longer. When I brought him in the covering Doctor said he had some gingivitis and needed a cleaning. So I take him in or the cleaning, I tell them how he's been side chewing and have some pain. When the vets calls me, he said his mouth looked healthy other then some tarter and it was a routine cleaning and that some cats just side chew. I assumed they did x-rays but didn't see it on the bill. I asked the next day and they said they didn't. He still has a small area on one side of his mouth that's red on his gums after the cleaning. He's doing better but still side chews occasionally. I'm worried they might have missed tooth resorption. What do I do? He was just under anesthesia so it's not really an option right now. I should have asked but I thought x rays were standard procedure figuring they do blood and echo before they will even do anesthesia, I figured it was a good responsible office. Is it dangerous to not get it rechecked? The first picture is the side I’m concerned about, it looks more red in person. The other side is a comparison. And his one back tooth had a red area as well.

 

[cejhome]

I'd say find a new vet if you can asap, and get a 2nd opinion asap. Our 3-ish year old kitty, Buddy just had his teeth cleaned. We knew he needed one of his canines removed due to resorption. Our vet gives us a very detailed line item estimate with a lowest-highest cost range. It clearly stated dental radiographs as well as everything else involved. Buddy ended up having to have 4 of those teeny teeth taken out as well, due to resorption. They showed me his x-rays when I picked Buddy up - in fact, the vet tech wanted me to see them - to show the difference between a healthy tooth and one with resorption. The quote includes a time of 30 minutes for the dental extraction. It didn't matter if it was just the fang or fang +4 more teeth. We ended up paying less than the lowest estimated cost - they have a senior's discount that brought the total cost of everything, cleaning + extractions + dental radiographs and all that both entail (pain meds, etc.) down to about $840 USD. Even the follow up post-op checkup was included.

Can you find out if there are any vet practices in your area that have a vet that has a lot of dental experience? We are blessed that our vet practice just hired a vet with extensive dental experience in her background.

 

[MrKitty7]

I'd say find a new vet if you can asap, and get a 2nd opinion asap. Our 3-ish year old kitty, Buddy just had his teeth cleaned. We knew he needed one of his canines removed due to resorption. Our vet gives us a very detailed line item estimate with a lowest-highest cost range. It clearly stated dental radiographs as well as everything else involved. Buddy ended up having to have 4 of those teeny teeth taken out as well, due to resorption. They showed me his x-rays when I picked Buddy up - in fact, the vet tech wanted me to see them - to show the difference between a healthy tooth and one with resorption. The quote includes a time of 30 minutes for the dental extraction. It didn't matter if it was just the fang or fang +4 more teeth. We ended up paying less than the lowest estimated cost - they have a senior's discount that brought the total cost of everything, cleaning + extractions + dental radiographs and all that both entail (pain meds, etc.) down to about $840 USD. Even the follow up post-op checkup was included.

Can you find out if there are any vet practices in your area that have a vet that has a lot of dental experience? We are blessed that our vet practice just hired a vet with extensive dental experience in her background.

I wish I had your vet! I plan on finding a new vet after this. I am so disappointed as I’ve been with this office for a long time and always trusted them. The cleaning without extractions or x rays was $732 here but I am in NJ so prices always tend to run high for everything.

But just dropped all that money and financially the thought of having to pay that again for a second look is stressful. Not to mention I don’t feel safe putting him under anesthesia again so soon. Not a good situation.

 

[neely]

I'm sorry you experienced an unsatisfactory dental exam for your cat. I agree that you should get a second opinion, preferably from a board certified veterinary dental specialist. Here is a directory by state, scroll down to New Jersey: AVDC Veterinary Dentist Directory

 

[silent meowlook]

Hi. The red gums are to be expected after a cleaning. It is true that they do not know about what is going on under the gum line without X-ray. Most practices have dental X-rays. All practices should have them. I would wait on having his teeth done again though. Give him some time and then if still having problems, you may just want to go to a dental specialist. Anesthesia is not without risk and does take a bit of a toll on cats. I wouldn’t be in a hurry to anesthetize him again right away.