Should I Get My Cats Teeth Cleaned?

[Nathan1123]

Hello,

I've had my Calley for a little while, and recently went to the vet for my first time (just as a routine checkup). They were very nice people, recommended some treatments, and also scheduled for me an appointment to have her taken back and have her teeth cleaned. Nothing very severe at all, they just saw some tarter and recommended it get taken care of.

However, apparently Calley will be at the vet all day, and be put under anesthesia so they can get into her teeth. My mom told me I should cancel the appointment, and generally not get dental work on my cat unless she has some major issue to be addressed.

I usually trust my mom with cats, as she has had one for several years, and also I don't want my Calley to suffer through anything she doesn't have to. What do you think? Should I cancel the appointment or go ahead and get her teeth cleaned?

It's in like two weeks so I have time to think it over.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi! Welcome!!

In my opinion dental health is extremely important to the overall health of a cat.

If you decide against the cleaning, maybe look into this;
Any Food That Induces Chewing?

...or gizzards or chicken wings that require her to really chew? This thread may be helpful;
Raw Meat For Teeth Cleaning?

 

[FeebysOwner]

Personally, I would ask the vet that if you begin a regimen of tooth brushing could you avoid the dental cleaning and see how they look at the next check up.

If you want more information on cleaning a cat's teeth, just ask. We will find information and suggestions for you!!

 

[jen]

100 times yes yes yes get her teeth cleaned. If you start young it will be a simple process and address any issues as they come up and save her teeth. Then her next dental and every one after that will be simpler for her.

If you wait until they are bad (horrible advice btw, I'm sorry.... who waits for something to be really bad before doing anything about it? For people or pets?) then the bill will not only be outrageous but you will be much more likely to need to have the vet pull her teeth. You could easily end up with a $1,000-$2,000 dental with all the infection and extractions needed later on. It is the same with people. If you never ever go to the dentist and don't brush your teeth, your teeth and gums are going to be disgusting and full of infection.

People ignore dental issues, pets get older, mouth gets infected, now they are WAY too old to go under anesthesia and its too late, they have a rotten, swollen, painful mouth for their last few years and can even die of the infection in their gums if it is bad enough.

Nothing scary about anesthesia. The vet should do bloodwork first to make sure the cat has healthy organ function. They monitor your cat while under anesthesia and after care also. Then they may give meds or a shot to go home and your cat is back to new shortly after with a shiny, clean, happy mouth. "Why wouldn't you want that for your cat?" is the question I ask people.

 

[kittyluv387]

Preventive regular dental work is very good. It means your cat will always have an easy dental. Relatively stress free. Just some gingivitis under the gum and tartar to clean up. If you wait until there's problems, I promise it will be so stressful and you'll wish you had done preventive dentals instead. You don't want to deal with your cat being in pain and not eating. Plus your cay may need to have some teeth pulled out which could have been prevented.

 

[lalagimp]

My mother knows squat about oral issues in our pets. I don't listen to her. My parents have never taken a dog in for a cleaning ever. I let them take my dog after four years because she was eating out of the litter box and getting sick, and I told them she has a dental problem. They never had her teeth done over the next four years until she died. *eyeroll*

My cat Tommy has always had gross teeth. I used to scale them with a dental tool. His teeth were cleaned July 2017. I need to sit him down on the couch and tell him I want to go over his teeth with the tool again. He never had a big problem with it.

My cat Yue had her teeth cleaned the same session with Tommy. She has teeny tiny teeth and her gum line was really turning red.

My cat Amalie gets her teeth done every 2 years because she has an oral issue called FORLs and we always have to do xrays to see how many we have to pull each cleaning.

My cat Stewart just turned 7 this year and finally is starting to show signs that he may be needing his teeth cleaned in the foreseeable future, but NOTHING like Tommy's.

 

[jen]

My ex put off taking his cat in for the much needed dental cleaning and she ended up needing a ton of teeth pulled. The bill was around $1,500. Before knowing better, I waiting until my cat was 13 before having hers done and she had excellent teeth, only needing 1 dead tooth pulled. My other cat I took at the same time and she needed 4 teeth pulled. It all depends on the cats individually and genetics play a part in it too. Some people think dry food helps clean teeth and wet food rots them. ANY food will rot teeth if you aren't cleaning them regularly or brushing them daily. Plus most dry food is full of sugars which rot the teeth also. So really the whole "does the type of food help keep teeth clean or not?" is really a huge controversy/conspiracy IMO.

 

[daftcat75]

Absolutely get her teeth cleaned now. If there is tartar above the gum line, what’s going on below? It’s going to be a lot easier on Calley to do a cleaning now than to wait for a major issue. Cats hide pain so she could go a very long time in pain before her pain exceeds her hunger. If you want to reduce her suffering, get proactive about her dental care now while she’s young rather than waiting for problems to realize that maybe you could have done more sooner.

 

[solowars]

Hi, I understand your worry about anaesthetic and dental workas there is always risk, but it is generally very very safe (and the vet will check blood values before deciding whether it’s safe for your kitty)! I recently had a dental done on my 3 year old, as she had some tartar and plague build up. As this was purely preventive, the vet told me the procedure took only 15 mins to give her teeth a good clean and she was perfectly fine after the whole thing. She was bright and alert and very very vocal about having been left at the vets, and the only difference when she got back was she slept more than usual for a day. She did have a slight cough from the breathing tube, but it’s nothing to be worried about.

If you’re worried about the dental work, I suggest you call your vet up and request that they explain the entire procedure to you, e.g. how the cat will be put under, who will be watching her, how they will do the wake up, everything. Also, it doesn’t really take the whole day, the vet may keep her there for longer just to make sure she’s completely recovered from the anaesthetic, but if they do the procedure in the morning she should be ready to be picked up by lunchtime. Talk to your vet!!

 

[lalagimp]

This is Amalie's most recent dental information:
Amalie’s Dental at the Cat Clinic

And this is Amalie's first dental information:
I bet that vet tech never knew she’d end up on the internet

I believe she had one tooth pulled on a different dental visit in between, but I don't have it recorded online, and I don't want to go sift through my massive pile of records at the moment. I believe the total may be 9 extractions, as well as all those little flea biter feet in the front that were missing on the first dental.

They wanted her to have another dental this year, but I had car repairs, unfortunately, and have not been paying my credit card down. I try to get her in at least once every 2 years.