Anxiety over dental cleaning

[lissalouie]

I apologize if this is not the right forum, but I just need some people to firmly put my head back on my shoulders.

Three months ago, the love of my life Lou crossed the rainbow bridge. It was unexpected but also unavoidable. He left behind his "brother" Rory, who is a five-year-old neutered male cat.

I only had Lou for three years, and he was already an older gentleman when I rescued him. He had two dental cleanings with extractions while in my care, and they went well. (Well, the second time he had a bad reaction to the antibiotic, but the procedure itself was fine.)

Rory has a dental scheduled in February. While Lou had severe reabsorption issues, Rory's mouth is simply overcrowded. While he's your standard DSH, he has a slightly shorter snout and smaller sinuses; vet believes he likely has some fairly recent brachycephalic admixture. This also means his mouth is somewhat smaller than normal and his teeth are pushing each other out.

He also has somewhat noisy breathing at times, especially when nervous or at rest. It's not asthma, and his heart sounds perfectly healthy as well; the vet also believes it is simply his sinuses being a bit smaller than your average cat's.

While I was nervous about Lou's dentals, the combination of Lou's recent passing and Rory's breathing issues has caused me to tailspin into anxiety. I have made an appointment to speak to his vet two weeks prior to the cleaning to get all the blood work done and make sure she has all my concerns on record for the staff doing the dental. I wish I could just cancel or postpone it, but she showed me how inflamed his gums were at his last visit and I know I can't choose my emotional comfort over his physical health and safety. I also know how lack of proper dental care can lead to much worse conditions later on; it is possible that Lou's health issues were impacted by the fact that many of his teeth were infected for so long before I took him in.

But I keep reading stories of cats who die while under anesthesia and I am a wreck.

Please tell me I am overly concerned over a fairly common and routine procedure. Also, if there is anything specific I should ask my vet to ease my mind, please let me know. Thank you so much.

 

[carrie640]

I think you just typed out all the reasons why you should proceed for Rory's sake <3 It's normal to be on edge. I am in the same boat to an extent. Lucy is 19 and needs two extractions. I am TOTALLY freaking out, but for her sake, I have to sit back and take deep breaths and put her before me. It's what Lucy needs..not what *I* need. If the vet says bloodwork is great and he is a go for the procedure, I would go ahead and do it if that is what is recommended. Our vet told me procedures are continuously monitored and if they see something "abnormal" or a red flag, they stop the procedure immediately. I believe a doctor would not go ahead with something if the risks were going to outweigh the benefits. <3 Hang in there...I feel every bit of what you are feeling, but I have to sometimes put myself in a reality check.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi
I personally think that having what might be called white-coat syndrome over visits like this, whether human or cat, is pretty darn normal. I know I have it, for sure.

My Captain had a frustrating time of things regarding dental checks. He'd been found on the streets by the same animal shelter twice in 2022, in October, then got adopted, and then they found him again in December, so those people did nothing for him. We adopted him in February 2023.

We took him to what was then one of our regular vets and were told his teeth were fine. I had my doubts that she even really looked due to the fact that she seemed to be a lot more interested in cooing over him in the corner of the room on the floor (lol, he IS a charmer). I should have pressed the issue but I didn't, not least because he was eating kibble and hard treats, and playing like a madman including biting his toys, grabbing them with his mouth and tossing them, etc at the time.

Forward a few months and he started showing that infamous red gum line and the bad breath. Our other vet came to the house for his shots, looked and confirmed, yep, he needs to get dental work done.

I found a pet dental specialist in the area. They thought he had fractured front teeth but actually had to remove his two top fangs because he has a slight under bite, and the bottom fangs were literally scraping against the insides of the uppers, ruining them plus he had a couple resorptive teeth. Poor sweet boy. This was in early October.

Anyway, he abruptly got very finicky about his food after this, where before he'd eat anything I put in front of him. It's just now that he is once again enjoying a couple of things that he loved from before, and is generally a little easier to feed. I have no idea why or what went on in his brain, except to wonder if maybe he was associating food/the actual act of eating with pain somehow, and now that he's free of that pain he is wary and doesn't want it to happen again.

Long story long , it really does matter to get dental work done, including the fact that all those bacteria from the mouth have a negative impact on other organs such as the heart.

 

[lissalouie]

Hi
I personally think that having what might be called white-coat syndrome over visits like this, whether human or cat, is pretty darn normal. I know I have it, for sure.

My Captain had a frustrating time of things regarding dental checks. He'd been found on the streets by the same animal shelter twice in 2022, in October, then got adopted, and then they found him again in December, so those people did nothing for him. We adopted him in February 2023.

We took him to what was then one of our regular vets and were told his teeth were fine. I had my doubts that she even really looked due to the fact that she seemed to be a lot more interested in cooing over him in the corner of the room on the floor (lol, he IS a charmer). I should have pressed the issue but I didn't, not least because he was eating kibble and hard treats, and playing like a madman including biting his toys, grabbing them with his mouth and tossing them, etc at the time.

Forward a few months and he started showing that infamous red gum line and the bad breath. Our other vet came to the house for his shots, looked and confirmed, yep, he needs to get dental work done.

I found a pet dental specialist in the area. They thought he had fractured front teeth but actually had to remove his two top fangs because he has a slight under bite, and the bottom fangs were literally scraping against the insides of the uppers, ruining them plus he had a couple resorptive teeth. Poor sweet boy. This was in early October.

Anyway, he abruptly got very finicky about his food after this, where before he'd eat anything I put in front of him. It's just now that he is once again enjoying a couple of things that he loved from before, and is generally a little easier to feed. I have no idea why or what went on in his brain, except to wonder if maybe he was associating food/the actual act of eating with pain somehow, and now that he's free of that pain he is wary and doesn't want it to happen again.

Long story long , it really does matter to get dental work done, including the fact that all those bacteria from the mouth have a negative impact on other organs such as the heart.

Thank you. I know you're right--Lou's quality of life improved SO much after his dentals--but I just get so nervous because I can't stand the thought of anything happening to Rory right now. Or, well, ever, but I am particularly sensitive right now. We actually had a similar situation; first brought him to the vet and he said the teeth were fine, barely looked at them, even though I was a bit worried about his breath and some redness I thought I saw. He was very charmed by Rory, haha. Then I changed to another vet in the same practice (her schedule worked better with mine) and she did a very close look at them and had me look as well, and that's when we noticed he had a minor infection. He did ten days of antibiotics and the redness went down, but she said the infections would return if he didn't get at least one of his teeth out to make room.

 

[neely]

I found a pet dental specialist in the area.

I completely agree it is important to check if the vet doing Rory's dental is a certified veterinary dental specialist especially since you mentioned his breathing due to a smaller snout and sinuses plus being a brachycephalic mix. We've had 3 Persians which are also brachycephalic and learned the hard way with our first because the regular vet said he had a difficult time walking up from anesthesia. After that experience I researched not only the type of anesthesia used but dental vet specialists too.

I agree that the benefit of a dental for Rory outweighs the risk and you both will feel better afterwards. Thinking of you and best of luck. We'll keep our fingers crossed.

 

[lissalouie]

I completely agree it is important to check if the vet doing Rory's dental is a certified veterinary dental specialist especially since you mentioned his breathing due to a smaller snout and sinuses plus being a brachycephalic mix. We've had 3 Persians which are also brachycephalic and learned the hard way with our first because the regular vet said he had a difficult time walking up from anesthesia. After that experience I researched not only the type of anesthesia used but dental vet specialists too.

I agree that the benefit of a dental for Rory outweighs the risk and you both will feel better afterwards. Thinking of you and best of luck. We'll keep our fingers crossed.

Thankfully, my clinic does have a certified veterinary dental specialist on staff, and she is the only one who does dental procedures. She did an amazing job with my last cat and gave me so much more information than his previous clinic had--and even found a few spots the previous clinic hadn't completely taken care of. Do you recall the kind of anesthesia you found worked better for your cats? According to Basepaws/Wisdom Panel (which I know are to be taken with a grain of salt, but are useful in terms of genetic trends), Rory shares a fairly significant amount (25-30%) of genetic similarities with Persians and British Shorthairs, so I want to be as informed as possible.

 

[neely]

Do you recall the kind of anesthesia you found worked better for your cats?

I had an entire paragraph with specific notes but unfortunately lost it, (long story). However, I know the type of anesthesia and procedure is in his records at the vet. We'll be going back there the middle of January if that helps and I can ask about it. In the meantime, I do remember the anesthesia that had a bad effect on our first Persian was Ketamine.

 

[lissalouie]

I had an entire paragraph with specific notes but unfortunately lost it, (long story). However, I know the type of anesthesia and procedure is in his records at the vet. We'll be going back there the middle of January if that helps and I can ask about it. In the meantime, I do remember the anesthesia that had a bad effect on our first Persian was Ketamine.

I actually just checked his paperwork and noticed the vet already made it clear he needs isoflurane instead of ketamine! I feel so happy that they're proactively looking out for him.

 

[neely]

I actually just checked his paperwork and noticed the vet already made it clear he needs isoflurane instead of ketamine!

Yes, that's it, isoflurane. It's considered very safe and has a quick recovery time, If I'm not mistaken the dental vet also used propofol. It's injected as a small dose for induction of general anesthesia to allow intubation and initiation of the inhalant anesthesia.
Glad your vet is proactive and taking the proper precautions.

 

[fionasmom]

My vet has used Alfaxan and Dexdomitor for my HCM boy. I know that the first one has less risk for cats with a cardiovascular problem, but I don't know what kinds of procedures it is suitable for. It might not be appropriate for dental work.

 

[lissalouie]

Hi everyone,

Rory's dental is on Tuesday. We went to the vet a week and a half ago so we could get his bloodwork done ahead of time and so I could talk about my concerns, and it was wonderful. My vet office employs a surgical specialist to do all their dentals and they do EKGs on every patient before anesthesia. His blood work came back healthy and they already have noted his odd, stuffy breathing on his chart. The surgeon called me a few days later to let me know she saw all the notes and that he would be in good hands. I am still nervous, of course, but the vet also showed me where he had developed a visible resorption in his molars, so the sooner we take care of that the better. My poor Louie came to me as a senior whose mouth was full of them, and I always wish I'd been around to take care of them when he was younger. So I'll do it for his little brother instead.

 

[fionasmom]

Let us know how things go. It sounds like you have a very good doctor who will be taking care of Rory.

 

[neely]

Let us know how things go. It sounds like you have a very good doctor who will be taking care of Rory.

Good luck, we'll be thinking of Rory and you this coming Tuesday. Please keep us posted on his progress.

 

[misty8723]

The only time I was not freaked out and crying when a cat had to go under anesthesia was when My Cindy had cancer. They couldn't tell what kind of cancer she had from the other tests. One vet said make her comfortable, probably 3 months. Another vet (our regular vet) said she was a good candidate for surgery and hooked us up with one of the best in the area. He examined her, looked at the records, and thought it was likely lymphoma. But she couldn't be treated for anything until they found out what kind it was, and that meant surgery. They allowed us to wait in their waiting room (rather than dropping her off) and did her surgery first since we were there. While we were waiting my husband was a nervous wreck, but I was surprisingly calm. I knew in my heart that if we didn't find out what it was she was going to die anyway, and if she did die under anesthesia I would have been heartbroken but it would have saved her from a lot of pain.

One of the happiest moments of my life was when the surgeon came out with two thumbs up and a smile on his face. Turns out it was mast cell attached to her colon and he got it all. She had chemo and thrived for a while, but started having intestinal issues they couldn't figure out, so eventually we lost her. But we had her was with us for almost two more years until her little body just gave out.

But honestly every time I've had to drop a cat off for a dental or anything, I've left the office crying and pacing around the house til they call and tell me the cat is okay. So far our two current cats (Austin and Cricket) have not had to have dental or been under anesthesia. I almost thought Cricket would at one time when she was losing weight and they suggested doing an ultrasound, but I decided to hold off and just see maybe she wanted different food, and that worked.

I've been under anesthesia several times, my husband had major surgery having his prostate removed, and none of those were I as nervous over as when it's something to do with my cats.

Good luck with everything!

(ps - true story. My previoius vet told us that she was doing a dental on a cat and he was having problems so they brought him out of it. When she called the owners their reaction was, well couldn't you just have finished doing the dental? No, because they would have a dead cat with pretty white teeth. Moral, make sure there is someone monitoring while he's under like they do with people.)

 

[lissalouie]

Hi everyone!

The vet called a few hours ago and Rory did great! He ended up having seven teeth removed. No FORLs, thank goodness, but he had many loose teeth that were the cause of his previous dental infections, and two of them were growing in the wrong direction and pushing out the nearby teeth. He'll be home in an hour and I can't wait to see my baby.

 

[fionasmom]

Let us know how he is.

 

[neely]

The vet called a few hours ago and Rory did great!

That's wonderful news! I'm sure he'll feel much better with the teeth that were removed. Best of luck and glad the dental procedure is behind you.