too old for dental?

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Marci and Buddy

Marci and Buddy

Member Since 2009
how old is too old for dental? i have a vet visit scheduled for Buddy next week, just for a regular checkup.
first time in 2.5 years. he is fine, but i have a feeling vet will want to do a teeth cleaning. He's 16 , at least, in good health
(other than diabtetes) but i'm not sure i would want him to get anethetized(sp?)
Also, vet said not to give insulin shot until after visit so the bloodwork results will be more accurate...is that true?
 
I think my Spyder was ~ 15 1/2 when she had hers done. I requested gas. And I think she had a 1/2 dose, but don't remember for sure (I'll have to see if I can find it in her records)

I'm sure that someone who's more "up to date" can let you know for sure ;-)
 
The vet said there was no need. But this was the old vet who, as i found out, didn't really put much effort into anything he didn't want to.

The new one says her teeth are fine for her age and she lets me rub her jawlines hard- in fact, she insists on it :lol:

At 17 and diabetic the new vet says for a cleaning he wouldn't advise it unless she needs it. So, mouth smells like a sewer some times, but her teeth are at least manageable.
 
hmjohnston said:
The new one says her teeth are fine for her age and she lets me rub her jawlines hard- in fact, she insists on it :lol:

At 17 and diabetic the new vet says for a cleaning he wouldn't advise it unless she needs it. So, mouth smells like a sewer some times, but her teeth are at least manageable.
Click to expand...

JMHO....if it ain't broke, don't fix it??
why put her through something that wasn't necessary
 
Hello. I have a different opinion. Max is 16. He had a very smelly mouth, his gums were red and there was plaque everywhere. Getting him regulated wasn't happening. Max has mild CRF, too.

I'm not sure the dental was the only thing that helped, but I know it helped. He had his cleaning under sedation, not anesthesia, and he was so relaxed that they were able to do an excellent cleaning job. They couldn't x-ray without anesthesia. However, after a course of Clavamox, his BG started to drop, and he is now on the 4th day of an OTJ Trial.

I feel that is the mouth is smelly and the BG is not regulated that having a cleaning and a course of AB is a very good idea. I had to push the doctor to consider a way to get it done. He didn't even think about using sedation only until I pushed him to find a way.

I suppose it doesn't always work out so well, but I strongly believe that not only was Max never going to be regulated if not for the cleaning, but given his BG being so high, he was at constant risk for ketones. I simply could not give up until I found a way to get that infection cleared up.
 
WOW! Good for Max! I have to say, the dentals are the one thing I've not had a lot of. Two of my girls are going to be done... I was hoping to drag it out a little longer, as I'm still paying for SRT. But I know they will probably live longer as a result. The stinky breath is an issue, but when I had my Elsie's teeth done, there were several that were broken or impacted. There was also gum disease. She was much happier once everything was out and cleared up.

I do have to add, however, that I've been really reluctant to put an older pet under anesthesia. The sedation is a great option. Had never thought of that. Thank you!!!
 
I posted in Lantus Land before Max had the dental, and all the responses were -- diabetic cats get dentals all the time even with anesthesia. Some people pay an extra $500 to have a board certified anesthesiologist involved. If there is an infection, it is nearly impossible to get the cat regulated and antibiotics alone will take care of the problem only for a short while.

If I had had to put Max under to take care of an abscess, that would have been a very hard decision, but the vet said, if we use sedation for the exam and cleaning and only put him under just for an extraction part, the amount of time he would be under is much shorter. He said he thought that was better.

Another vet told me that if they load the cat up on fluids before, during and after anesthesia that is a way to avoid a kidney malfunction due to the side-effects of the anesthesia. I think I would want someone experienced, highly recommended, and who does anesthesia for older cats frequently to be involved.

As for Max the vet techs saw nothing that looked like an abscess, and they didn't even call me for permission to put him under and get an x-ray. Max probably didn't need extractions because if he had, I don't think I would be having an OTJ trial right now.
 
I think that it is important that any cat going under anesthesia, for any reason, has a thorough physical exam with attention to the heart and kidneys. Heart issues can be undetected and have catastrophic consequences when anesthesia is given. That is what happened with Klinger, who had undiagnosed HCM and went into cardiac arrest. He wasn't that old either - 10 or something. Thank God they were able to revive him. And it was a concern for Jeddie and his biopsy surgery because an xray looked like he might have an enlarged heart (HCM) so they did another xray and a board certified cardiologist looked at it and said it was normal, but they did make sure before putting him under.

I would never let Beau have a dental. He has HCM that was dx at age 3, so it can happen to a much younger cat and age is no sure predictor of safety.

I guess the point is that you need to make sure the vet knows what they are doing and takes the whole thing seriously.
 
Thanks for the advice on sedation- I would feel better with that if it needed to get done.

I know she is doing okay in her BG's- right now she is working down ward with a nervous nellie (me) tagging along shaking my head.
 
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