Dental Procedure precautions

[NyCatMom]

Hello All,

I frequently posted her about my sugar cat but today I am posting regarding my 99 yr old mothers cat. She is 16 years old had been in diabetic remission for the last 6 years but recently started drinking a lot and has glucose in her urine. Spot checks have shown her numbers to be in the low 300's. I took her in for a physical as she started dropping food and eating one on side of her mouth. She needs a dental.

Our vet is running fructosamine test along with other pre dental tests to see if she is healthy enough to get the procedure. There is some concern that her specific gravity level was 1.016.

Do the vets normally try to stabilize the diabetes before moving forward with the dental or is it something they monitor during the procedure? Is there anything I should be asking about the procedure beforehand? My mom has severe dementia. She see doesn't know my name but still recognizes and adores her cat.

 

[Diane Tyler's Mom GA]

Bump

 

[Sarah&Soph]

When my cat got a dental, her diabetes was not regulated and there was no issue with doing the dental. I don’t think diabetes really has any negative effects on a dental procedure, provided they monitor the blood sugar during to make sure it doesn’t go too low or something from the anesthesia. But since the kitty is not currently on insulin I’m not sure that’d even be an issue. The main things to check are the kidneys and heart to make sure they’re okay to be put under anesthesia.

 

[Larry and Kitties]

There is some concern that her specific gravity level was 1.016.

That indicates CKD. Bloodwork before any dental/anesthesia should indicate wheather or not a dental can safely be performed and what special things shood be done.

 

[Ann & Sister]

My cat Sister who is not yet regulated, but has lower BG numbers now, will soon have a dental. The new vet told me her diabetes status will not be an issue, that they will monitor her BG the entire time she is at their clinic, and if needed, they would give her a short-acting injection of insulin (but they do not anticipate that). The day of the dental, I will not give her the AM dose, but plan to resume her dose in the evening.
Hugs,

 

[Dyana]

There's a new test that Idexx has that checks for heart problems. I think it's call ProBNA. My unregulated diabetic cat had a dental at his regular vet after many times of them saying "no, not now", when he was 14, and then had another one at a specialist hospital when he was 18, when his regular vet refused. We then went to a veterinary dental specialist, and I had an echo on his heart done first to make sure his heart was okay, and then had an appointment with the anesthesiologist to make sure she knew about his kidney disease, and then right after those two appointments, he had the dental. He lived to be 20.
My 17 year old kidney cat, had her first dental last year at her regular vet, and I had a chest x-ray done first to check her heart, and of course talked to her vet about using the right anesthetic to protect her kidneys as much as possible, and insisted that they give her fluids before, during, and after the procedure.

 

[Sienne and Gabby (GA)]

@Dyana - the test is a proBNP.

The reason your mom's cat may be showing higher BG numbers is that the kitty may need the dental work done. Dental issues are often what causes a cat to fall out of remission.

If your mom's cat is not comfortable doing a dental, there are veterinary dentists that are, well, dentists versus a general practice vet. This page has a find a dentist feature to find a board certified veterinary dentist.

 

[NyCatMom]

That indicates CKD. Bloodwork before any dental/anesthesia should indicate wheather or not a dental can safely be performed and what special things shood be done.

That’s what worries our vet but her Bun , Creatine, are perfect