I was wondering if there were any older kitties that have had to have dental work done?

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Paula Nowak

Paula Nowak

Member Since 2018
Elvis has to have two teeth pulled and have a dental cleaning because his teeth are pretty bad and two of the teeth that have to be pulled or cracked. I'm just really worried because Elvis is 13 years old and when he has the surgery he will be 14. Elvis is overweight and my vet won't do the surgery until he loses some more weight which of course I think is very good but I am still worried about the surgery itself because they have to have anesthesia.I get very teary-eyed thinking about this because I know he has to have it done because he's been having a lot of trouble but like I said they have to wait a little bit so he can lose some more weight. Any info of any older kitties having surgery but positive surgery and some comforting feedback I hope!;;
 
If your vet won’t do the dental, will he/she refer you to a dental specialist? They are used to all sorts of special medical needs animals and will do more monitoring during the surgery. Some places even offer a board certified anesthesiologist vet. In our area, there is a travelling one who goes to clinics as needed.
 
Make sure that you do bloodwork prior to the dental to identify any potential problems that are silent. And I am presuming there are no heart issues present either. If so, it is often recommended that an ekg and chest rads are done prior to the dental to make sure there are no contraindications to the anesthetics used. If all check out okay, then the dental should be unremarkable. :)
 
My Jerry just had a dental last week. He's 17 and it went very well. He didn't need any extractions just a deep cleaning but he handled it like a champ. The vet did bloodwork before scheduling the dental so be sure to have them do that.
 
My Willow is 17 1/2 and her last dental procedure was pretty major and was just a year ago, and it went absolutely fine.

I understand your fear because I am always terrified every time one of my girls has to have anesthesia, regardless of their age. Taking care of dental issues is so important to their overall health though. If there is a dental specialist in your area, you may want to consider going to him/her. I use one and feel more comfortable due to the standard of care, including the way they handle anesthesia and monitoring. If that is not an option, just ask lots of questions of your vet and make sure you are comfortable with how the procedure will be handled. There is always some degree of risk, all you can do is minimize it as much as possible. (There should always be blood work done not too long before the procedure, and x-rays should always be included in the procedure.)
 
I had them sedate my Gustav and Simba only with the inhaled sedation, and not the needle sedation. To be on the safer side due to their high ages and diseases.
 
I think you have an answer. I will still input my case. Ollie had one (deep cleaning only) year and half ago by specialist. We did not know her age except estimated over 12. She was newly dx diabetic and right before her cleaning found out she had hcm and an abdominal mass. Don't know if we knew of the acro yet. Anyway, Ollie did great, me not so much. Here I was taking my high risk kitty and leaving her with unknown people and go under anesthesia. Dentals are important to have done.
 
Jerry dutchboy said:
My Jerry just had a dental last week. He's 17 and it went very well. He didn't need any extractions just a deep cleaning but he handled it like a champ. The vet did bloodwork before scheduling the dental so be sure to have them do that.
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Yes, Elvis is having blood work done before hand. He also has to lose a little more weight before he has it done so we are looking at around springtime. I'm glad you replied to my post and knowing that your kitty is 17 it makes me feel a lot better.
 
Lisa and Witn (GA) said:
Many older kitties can have dentals. It is important that you do have the full blood work and a physical before getting it done. This is to check if there are any health issues that could prevent or increase any risks during the procedure.
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Yes Elvis is having blood work done and will be checked over prior to his dental work and I feel and know that is mandatory to do that Thank you for your reply to my post.
FurBabiesMama said:
My Willow is 17 1/2 and her last dental procedure was pretty major and was just a year ago, and it went absolutely fine.

I understand your fear because I am always terrified every time one of my girls has to have anesthesia, regardless of their age. Taking care of dental issues is so important to their overall health though. If there is a dental specialist in your area, you may want to consider going to him/her. I use one and feel more comfortable due to the standard of care, including the way they handle anesthesia and monitoring. If that is not an option, just ask lots of questions of your vet and make sure you are comfortable with how the procedure will be handled. There is always some degree of risk, all you can do is minimize it as much as possible. (There should always be blood work done not too long before the procedure, and x-rays should always be included in the procedure.)
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Thanks so much for your reply. Elvis is having blood work done before hand and of course will be checked over but I'm not so sure about x-rays oh, so I am going to look into that most definitely!!!
 
All cats seem to age differently. Nigel and Noah were brothers and after they were diagnosed with cardiomyopathy but before they turned eight Nigel had major dental work. Our vet oversaw the anesthesia while a specialist did the rest. If you're confident in your vet's abilities there should be no problem.
You wouldn't be freaked out if you didn't love him. The best thing you can do now is to watch for infections (an upper tooth abscess can sometimes reach the brain) and manage his pain.
On the other hand I have Trigeminal neuralgia so vibrating my head in any way is a really really bad idea. A rare side effect of my blood pressure meds is dry mouth. I was the lucky 1 in 1,000 that had all my teeth pulled in one go. That was a bad day. :blackeye:
 
Noah & me (GA) said:
Sorry for the double post...

Being a total coward I always opted for nitrous oxide. The best part is that when the gas stops flowing you're good to go. And yes I'm the guy that used to get Valium just to have my teeth cleaned. :oops:
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Many years ago, 2012 I think, we did have a cat here we all liked who got into cardiac arrest while at the dentist. Unfortunately they couldn't revive him. That was sucha trauma for his person. So we have always cautioned all the cats when sedation needed.
 
I'm only guessing that anesthesia and such small body weights can be hard to handle and then there are all the underlying medical conditions neither the owner or doctor know about. The last time I was put under I gave the anesthesiologist a list of reasons not to put me under; hiatal hernia, heart murmur, low blood pressure etc. I distinctly remember these two idiots looking at their watches as I faded away. I've never gone back.
Noah was a train wreck, putting him under was out of the question.
 
Garfie is 14 yrs old. He has been in remission for 1 yr now. He is going in for a dental cleaning in a week. I am nervous as all get out. My vet has gone above and beyond the call of duty she has called the highest vet people possible double checking everything to make sure what he can have and what he can't. I think it was more for me then her to try and relax me. I asked if I could provide his meter and would they check his levels and she said yes how ever often I would like. I defiantly want a check before surgery middle of surgery and once it's done.
My worries are he will come out of remission !!
Should I be so paranoid
 
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