Teeth Cleaning and Diabetes?

[lovey11]

I have not gotten my cat's teeth cleaned. I wondered if Lovey's dental situation could be affecting her BG readings.
Although, I have gotten some improved blue numbers lately on a new insulin and dose.

My vet said that her teeth need to be cleaned. Lovey is not regulated yet. Do vet's clean the teeth under anesthesia or can some cleaning be done without it?

Is it dangerous ?

 

[Sienne and Gabby (GA)]

When a cat needs a dental, it's because there is tarter and likely gingivitis. It's also possible that there are other dental issues, as well. At the very least, with tartar build up and gingivitis, there is inflammation. Any source of inflammation or infection will have an effect on BG.

You do NOT want your vet to try to clean Lovey's teeth without anesthesia. This is unnecessarily painful and there's no way anything close to a decent job can be done. When a cat needs a dental, it's the equivalent of us needing periodontal work. We get local anesthesia for this.

Gabby has had several dental procedures while diabetic. She's had her teeth cleaned and had extractions. All of these procedures involve anesthesia and she's done fine. This is a link to information on dental procedures for cats. Most of this is from my vet's website. It's pretty thorough. There's even a link on why you don't want to have a dental done without anesthesia.

 

[rhiannon and shadow (GA)]

Those cleanings are necessary for cats. Mine truly needs it almost every year.
It would be nice if they didn't need them... and the better way is to teach them to let your brush their teeth ( which is far easier with a kitten than an adult) but
most of us never knew that.
Anesthesia is definitely necessary for the vet. They need the time to do it right and not stress the cat out....
and those back teeth are hard to see with a moving target.

We will all hold your hand ( virtually) while you worry about it the day it happens.

 

[lovey11]

Thanks Sienne and Rhiannon. That makes sense that anesthesia is needed. I would not want dental work without it. thanks for the links Sienne. Thank you so much. The next time I go to the vet I will discuss setting up an appointment for Lovey.