DIY dental?

[Antonio65]

Did anybody of you go down this road for basic cleaning of you cats' teeth?

My cat Freya had a good amount of tartar and placque on her teeth. I took an appointment with the dentist and see if she needed a dental cleaning. The dentist looked in her mouth, saw the tartar on her teeth, mainly the back teeth, and removed the tartar with just one of her nails, as simple as that.
The dentist said that Freya had some tartar build-up but it wasn't necessary to go through a more complex session at the moment, and let us go free of charge.

I saw that some tools to remove placque and tartar in pets' mouth are available online, rather than using my nails (I tried, but wasn't able to remove anything).
Did anybody of you use these tools?

 

[di and bob]

No. I can't imagine ANY of my cats allowing me to mess around in their mouths! I would be bloody from head to toe! They are too scared at teh vets to fight back, I even have to take them in once in a while to have their rear ends shaved. They don't fight the vet, but turn into Tasmanian Devils with me.

 

[Antonio65]

No. I can't imagine ANY of my cats allowing me to mess around in their mouths! I would be bloody from head to toe! They are too scared at teh vets to fight back, I even have to take them in once in a while to have their rear ends shaved. They don't fight the vet, but turn into Tasmanian Devils with me.

Ok, I understand that, I know that some cats do not cope well with handling, being poked and manipulated, so I understand that many cat owners would find it hard or ever dangerous to undergo certain procedures at home.
In my case, I'm talking about cats which allow me to do just anything to them, so I'd be curious to read if someone finds this idea good.
I couldn't ask the dentist for obvious reasons

 

[SteveJohn]

Unfortunately unless from a kitten they have been used to you cleaning their teeth it will be impossible. I tried once with Luna and she bit my hand so that was the end of that. After that I brought some proden plaque off powder that goes on her food. You could try this but this is more for preventing I think than treating. A scrape and polish could be done at the vets but I know how expensive this can be.

 

[silent meowlook]

The problem with what you are describing is that the majority of the problems in a cat’s teeth are under the gum line where you cannot get to. This is why cats need to have dental X-rays with their teeth cleaning.

The chipping off the tarter with a fingernail is an old school thing to do that can actually compromise the cat if they swallow the piece of tarter.

Sadly the only way is with anesthesia dental X-rays and a complete dental.

 

[fionasmom]

I have had the occasional vet do the chipping off tartar with their finger, but they never suggested that it was a solution and it was only on a very old cat who had medical issues and on whom the vet refused to use anesthesia.

There is an anesthetic free cleaning that I did once on a dog I owned. However, even they admitted that they could only clean and recommended that we see a dentist for the rest of what she needed.

I would also be concerned about a dental issue that was not obvious and under the gumline.

 

[Antonio65]

Thank everyone for your replies.

Ok, I have understood that cleaning under the gum line is important and this can't be done with a simple touch of a finger.
As a matter of fact, the dentist acknowledged that there was some tartar, and that a cleaning would be necessary in the future, but she said it wasn't urgent and we could postpone it by a few months.

My two cats allow me nearly anything. I can brush their teeth no problem, just like I can trim their nails or pill them, etc.
Probably I'm just lucky.

The cost of such a procedure isn't big deal, over here in Italy the vet fees are rather low, and I had it done on the other cat a couple of years ago for a very affordable price, can't remember exactly, but it was in the €200 region (anesthesia, X-ray and cleaning).

 

[Kris107]

I used to chip of tartar off my cat's teeth but I knew a full dental cleaning was the real answer and he got it when he needed it. Gotta get to the bacteria and stuff!

 

[catloverfromwayback]

I clean Daisy's teeth daily with Dentipet toothpaste and a small toothbrush (made for human babies). It's not all that successful, though her teeth don't seem to be getting any worse. Main problem is I can't get deep enough in the side of her mouth or keep it up for more than a few seconds. It'd help if I could find a narrower brush.

ETA I just ordered a cat toothbrush from PetCircle. Fingers crossed!

 

[stephanietx]

Did anybody of you go down this road for basic cleaning of you cats' teeth?

My cat Freya had a good amount of tartar and placque on her teeth. I took an appointment with the dentist and see if she needed a dental cleaning. The dentist looked in her mouth, saw the tartar on her teeth, mainly the back teeth, and removed the tartar with just one of her nails, as simple as that.
The dentist said that Freya had some tartar build-up but it wasn't necessary to go through a more complex session at the moment, and let us go free of charge.

I saw that some tools to remove placque and tartar in pets' mouth are available online, rather than using my nails (I tried, but wasn't able to remove anything).
Did anybody of you use these tools?

My vet often does this! In fact, she did that once and a tooth came out with the tartar! It didn't bother the cat, in fact, she probably felt better after that icky tooth was pulled out. I think this may be an older vet type of thing. We also see this vet's daughter, a more recent graduate (maybe 10 years ago), and she does NOT do this, unless it's a very minor amount. She prefers to do the dental with sedative/anesthesia.