Questions about having a dental?

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Anne & Zener GA

Anne & Zener GA

Member Since 2011
Zener is seeing his vet on Friday for his annual shots and we are going to ask the vet to take a look at his teeth for a possible dental. A few months ago, the vet thought he might need one but not right then. We are wondering if his teeth could be having an impact on his poor appetite and BG numbers. And our animal communicator told us that Zener's teeth were giving him some trouble. We've read on here about cats having dentals, precautions and complications and would like to be prepared with the right questions for our vet on Friday. Zener has been in pretty good health with the exception of his FD. Any help is greatly appreciated.
 
If his teeth are bothering him, it could effect his appetite. (I certainly don't want to eat if it hurts!) Likewise, if there's gingivitis or resorptive lesions, it could cause inflammation or pain, respectively, either of which can elevate BG levels.

This is a good brochure from my vet on dentals. They have a state-of-the-art set up and I think this is a useful piece of literature.
 
Good luck with everything Anne! My Morris is getting ready for a dental - his teeth are in REAL bad shape!!! He will going to the vets on Thursday for his pre-anesthesia bloodwork & ECG (he drops a beat about once per minute) and then, providing he passes these tests, he will have his dental next Thursday Nov 18
 
Thanks for the websites Sienne and Julie. We will read this material tonight.

Zener has had some pretty stinky breath lately and we thought it was related to the switch to wet food, but I read on the Chicago Cat Hospital site, it is one of the symptoms of dental disease. When our vet last evaluated Zener, he had quite a bit of tartar but no gum inflammation. So, we are hopeful it is not serious at this time.

Julie, our vet is a CSU grad (all 3 in the practice are from CSU) and does not recommend annual vaccination, so we don't get the same shots every year, but on a rotating schedule. Rabies is rampant in our area, transmitted by skunks and kit foxes, and both kitties spend time in our backyard only but it is frequently visited by skunks. The info on vaccines will be interesting to read and our vet is very open about discussing treatment ideas.

Thanks Gwen for the info on Morris' preparation for his dental. Is an ECG common for all cats pre-anesthesia, or only if there are heart problems? We'll keep paws crossed all goes well with the testing!
 
BK is a good example of what a difference on BGs healthy teeth and gums can make.
His breath could have knocked over an elephant. . .
He had his first dental 12/2008 (8 extractions) and then a second dental 05/2009 (another 3 or 4 extractions) - big difference in BGs

A lot of problems can be under the gum line and are not visible, except by x-rays.
 
Thanks Sandy! Zener's breath is not quite at the elephant knocking over level, but certainly could take down an elk! Were there any addition tests that Black Kitty needed before the procedure?
 
Gabby has had several dentals. She's never had an ECG. However, certain breeds, like Maine Coons, are prone to certain types of heart disease. In this case, a cardiac work-up may be prudent.
 
Anne & Zener said:
Thanks Gwen for the info on Morris' preparation for his dental. Is an ECG common for all cats pre-anesthesia, or only if there are heart problems? We'll keep paws crossed all goes well with the testing!
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No - my vet just wants to be safe with Morris. We don't know why he drops a beat about once per minute - at a minimum she wanted him to have a pre-anesthesia screen ECG (wouldn't diagnose anything, just say if it was safe for him to be put under), but we have elected to go with a routine ECG in hopes of finding out why his heart beat is irregular. To be honest, I am really scared about what the findings might be!!!! I think that is scaring me a lot more than the labwork & the dental next week!
 
Hi Anne,
Rusty had a dental this fall and we had a full blood workup a week beforehand to make sure that it was safe for him to have anesthesia. All went well and he only needed a cleaning (Rusty has only 6 teeth left!).
Good luck. You will be glad that you had the dental if Zener's teeth are bothering him. Rusty had had a total of about 12 extractions before he came to live with us. His teeth must have been a mess. He eats very well with the 6 he has left.

Ella & Rusty
 
Thanks Ella! It sure seems like having the dental is well worth it. We are feeling much more positive about it and feel better prepared to talk with our vet on Friday.
 
Ann, Moonie has had 2 dentals since we are here total 9 extractions--She was fine each time, but we took all precautions before each procedure..Each cat has it's own special problems that need to be addressed before the dental is done, and being Safe is Better!! Hope Zener gets a Easy dental & he gets better & better!--It is so true that the teeth & surrounding tissue can cause problematic for an FD cat--
Plus it must feel badly--You are such a good concerned bean, we know Zener will be in good hands.
Hugs ^ Lub from Us!!
 
Thanks Ella and Roni, the more information we get, the better prepared we feel.
And another question, how are insulin injections and feeding handled before, during and after the dental?
 
Why do some cats need antibiotics after their dental? I think I remember reading some posts about dentals & antibiotics. I am assuming that Morris will need to have pain meds afterwards - especially since we already know that he will be loosing several teeth!
 
we gave punkin his dinner the night before and just a bite of food in the morning so we could get his shot in. we gave 1/2 dose, the vet wanted him to have his full shot but i was afraid with no food to give him a full shot. anesthesia can cause BG to drop. they did punkin's dental the last of the surgery because he'd had that bite of food, but i thought it was better to have the bite so i could shoot.

the antibiotic is for any infections or bacteria let loose into the body by all the work. punkin had 2 extractions and we didn't have any AB. the vet wanted to give convenia and i refused it. he developed an infection and 2 weeks later started taking AB.

your vet will give you directions of how they want it done, but i did ask here the day before.
 
Hi Anne and Liz,

Leo had a dental exactly a month ago, his very first one! We knew Leo would be the second dental patient of the day so I got to feed him half of what he would normally eat and a half dose of insulin, so I gave 0.5u. He also had some stinky kitty breath which I thought was normal but now that he's got clean shiny teeth I know now that he has some very fresh kitty breath! :lol: I followed Sienne's instructions (the website she gave you) and luckily that's what our clinic would do anyway. Pre-dental bloodwork a few days before and pre and post xrays. I didn't end up even giving him a dose of insulin that night just because I've seen from this forum that anesthesia can really mess with and lower BG's, plus I wasn't sure how much he would feel like eating. Lucky I didn't give a dose because he didn't eat a thing that night. He had 2 toofies pulled and is all healed up nicely. Oh and we didn't give antibiotics before or after and he's done just fine.

Good luck with the vetty visit!
 
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