Teeth! Just Had A Shocking Conversation With My Vet!

[riley1]

Hi All,

I posted awhile back that I was concerned because when I took my girl in for a cleaning they said she needed a tooth pulled & a canine was going as well. Today I noticed a missing canine so I called to make sure it was the one in question. I thought she was missing a total of 2 teeth! During the conversation the vet said that she was missing a total of NINE Teeth and that six were gone at her prior years cleaning. I was never told this and told my vet I was shocked!! She said it would not have changed the outcome and most people don't care! I told her that this was unacceptable! She said "well, there is a dental chart they were supposed to give you at check". I said, all I got was a bill. My cat has been seeing this vet for 4 1/2 years and they never told me about the missing teeth at her cleanings or check ups! They are giving me a referral to a feline dentist to see if there is anything more that can be done to save her remaining teeth. What do you guys think about this? Is it normal for them to not update you on your cat's dental status? My first kitty yawned all the time and showed me all of his teeth on a regular basis. I had to pry my girl's mouth open just to look at the missing canine so that is why I didn't notice myself.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi! I don't really know what to think, but this seems like it could be a case of one person thinking you were told about it by the other person ... Maybe? for her!!

 

[Tobermory]

Is it normal for them to not update you on your cat's dental status?

I wouldn’t find it acceptable if my vet didn’t discuss all aspects of my cats’ health. And I would make it clear that I wanted all of the details. And most people don’t care? Really? If true, that’s distressing.

 

[cheesycats]

I wouldn’t find it acceptable if my vet didn’t discuss all aspects of my cats’ health. And I would make it clear that I wanted all of the details. And most people don’t care? Really? If true, that’s distressing.

I work in the animal field and you would be disturbed at how many ppl give absolutely no crap about the animals they own. It’s quite distressing and I think why so many ppl end up getting burn out in the animal care industry. It really wears on your mind when you are an empathetic animal lover yourself.

9/10 probably don’t ever even take their cats to the vet unless they are sick let alone voluntarily pay for regular dental work. Most ppl I meet don’t even think their cats or dogs teeth need brushed and that kibble does all the work.

 

[jen]

6 were GONE at her prior dental doesn't mean 6 were REMOVED at her prior dental. She may just have less teeth or some fell out naturally. How old is this cat? If she is old she may have just lost a few.

 

[jen]

Also props to you for even noticing this. Seriously, most people are clueless about their cats dental health. Cats also can handle less teeth just fine so no worries, even if fed an all dry diet (which no cat should be, but that's a different convo).

 

[riley1]

Hi! I don't really know what to think, but this seems like it could be a case of one person thinking you were told about it by the other person ... Maybe? for her!!

Thank you! No, she was not the least bit concerned that no one told me! Had they told me I would have been bringing her in for 6 month check ups and making her tolerate brushing!

 

[ailish]

Ailish just had her teeth cleaned last week and the way my vet does it is I have a choice. If they get in there and she needs an extraction they call me to get permission. I can decide that if they can't get ahold of me they go ahead and do it OR if they don't get ahold of me they don't do it without my permission. I elected to have them go ahead, since I would do it anyway and I don't want them to have to keep her under until I get back to them or have to put her under again to do the extraction. Plus, the bill is itemized, so I would see any extractions.

I read cats can resorb their teeth, so that could have happened. I can't imagine they would extract and it wouldn't have an effect on the bill!

 

[riley1]

6 were GONE at her prior dental doesn't mean 6 were REMOVED at her prior dental. She may just have less teeth or some fell out naturally. How old is this cat? If she is old she may have just lost a few.

Only the last tooth was an extraction which they called me about. She had all her teeth when I adopted her and I took her to my vet that same month. Three years later she had her first cleaning and at that time she was missing 6 teeth but they didn't tell me. During that 3 years I had her in at least twice per year and they must not have looked in her mouth!!

 

[riley1]

Ailish just had her teeth cleaned last week and the way my vet does it is I have a choice. If they get in there and she needs an extraction they call me to get permission. I can decide that if they can't get ahold of me they go ahead and do it OR if they don't get ahold of me they don't do it without my permission. I elected to have them go ahead, since I would do it anyway and I don't want them to have to keep her under until I get back to them or have to put her under again to do the extraction. Plus, the bill is itemized, so I would see any extractions.

I read cats can resorb their teeth, so that could have happened. I can't imagine they would extract and it wouldn't have an effect on the bill!

Only 1 tooth was extracted! My problem is that they did not tell me she was losing her teeth a year & a half ago at her first cleaning OR at this last cleaning. She is reabsorbing her teeth but that is not an excuse for them not to report on this!

 

[riley1]

I wouldn’t find it acceptable if my vet didn’t discuss all aspects of my cats’ health. And I would make it clear that I wanted all of the details. And most people don’t care? Really? If true, that’s distressing.

Thank you! I really am upset over this! In that conversation she offered to deactivate my account like it was no big deal that I was upset and that I should go somewhere else! This after I have been with this clinic 13 years. Yesterday I had her records transferred to another clinic!

 

[riley1]

6 were GONE at her prior dental doesn't mean 6 were REMOVED at her prior dental. She may just have less teeth or some fell out naturally. How old is this cat? If she is old she may have just lost a few.

She is 5 1/2 years old! Her teeth were reabsorbed between the age 1 when I got her to now except for the one extraction. Between age 1 and age 4 she saw this vet twice a year and they never said anything during this time or when she had her teeth cleaned at age 4. After the last cleaning in August nothing was said. I just found this out when I called because I saw a canine was gone.

 

[riley1]

My first cat Rizzo never lost one tooth! He yawned a lot so I was able to keep tabs on his mouth. My current little girl hardly ever opens her mouth & has not shown any discomfort so I was in the dark about her dental losses!

 

[Furballsmom]

Hopefully the new clinic works out I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you!!

Let us know how things go

 

[ailish]

Only 1 tooth was extracted! My problem is that they did not tell me she was losing her teeth a year & a half ago at her first cleaning OR at this last cleaning. She is reabsorbing her teeth but that is not an excuse for them not to report on this!

Oh! I've got you. I was thinking you meant they extracted them and didn't tell you. Sorry. Yeah, I would expect my vet to notice and tell me if teeth were missing. Especially multiple teeth! My vet just seems to assume everybody cares about their animal.

 

[ailish]

My first cat Rizzo never lost one tooth! He yawned a lot so I was able to keep tabs on his mouth. My current little girl hardly ever opens her mouth & has not shown any discomfort so I was in the dark about her dental losses!

I didn't know Ailish's teeth (not her fangs) were BLACK until the vet showed me. Once I started reading up on cat dental problems it seems its actually a common problem, and not just in older cats.

 

[riley1]

I didn't know Ailish's teeth (not her fangs) were BLACK until the vet showed me. Once I started reading up on cat dental problems it seems its actually a common problem, and not just in older cats.

Her teeth don't get black. A lot of white scum builds up at the gum line. Sometimes the tooth just cracks because the base is gone. The vet showed me the one tooth she was going to pull but that was it. I talked with a very nice small animal dentist. He said daily brushing might help but a lot of times it doesn't. More keeping up with anything that is or may cause pain.

 

[FeralHearts]

I agree, I would have been shocked too and then almost instantly - not shocked.

My advice to most people is always get a copy of tests and clinic notes and read them. A good example was me getting notes the other day for one of my girls and finding out she had Apnea during her biopsy. Scared the life out of me and then I realized it was good because the note is there for the future.

The start of this year a vet forgot to tell me my boy had crystals. Though she wanted him to eat something different for a while to help him with one of his issues - I didn't clue that another issue, the crystals, had developed. (We had been treating him for a UTI / Bacteria infection with no crystals originally.

There are a few notes I read over and go huh - that's not what I really said or something not quite right with it.

Even with my people DR. I have copies of my own personal tests too because it's happened there too with my own blood work or something else that I felt should have been addressed.

This kind of thing seems to happen a lot. Even with the two seriously, remarkable, stellar vets I have. I have no idea why tbh. The only thing I can think of is that often they are pressed for time and tell you what they think you need to know only. Maybe to some people would be overwhelmed by tmi? Just guessing.

XOXOXOXOXOXOX

 

[jen]

I thought the original issue too was that they pulled teeth without telling you. Which wouldn't make sense because extractions are expensive and they don't usually do that for free.

But they were already missing at the time of the dental right? So many pets have the wrong number of teeth just due to genetics or them falling out, it is extremely common for them to be a bit crooked also just like in people. I can't imagine them just not mentioning hey btw there are a few teeth already missing being a reason to never go back, that is a bit harsh.

However if they gave you a dental chart that shows all the teeth in the mouth, like below, and just failed to mention the ones missing I would be a little annoyed sure because that is just lazy. I dunno. They did a major procedure on your cat, they kept it safe during that procedure, it now has a happy healthy mouth thanks to them, I just would say it is a bit of an overreaction to discredit them for not mentioning a few missing teeth that they didn't even remove...

 

[FeralHearts]

I have another example for you. I finished reading and fully going over the kitties report that came home from her biopsy last week. I in the notes where they go over the overall health there is a small line that says Crown fx 204. I kinda thought I knew what it meant (Fractured canine) and verified - yup, that's what it means.

It too wasn't mentioned to me, but this explains why when I brush her teeth my finger keeps getting caught. (She's too nervous to let me fully open her mouth right now and look. We're working on that.) I'm not upset though, as if it was a real issue, like pulp showing or something I needed to be on top of now, now, now - I know they would have told me. They probably only caught it because she was knocked out cold. I managed this morning to open her mouth enough to see it. Very small - but something I will watch now.

And like I said earlier - this is a top-notch absolutely awesome Doctor.

I completely understand your distress though because like many of us - you care and want to be fully informed on what's up with kitty.

Get the notes, get the test results. You'll feel better about it all and there is peace of mind in a lot of ways IMHO. At least that's how I end up feeling.

jen Totally love that chart. Imma keeping a copy. Looking at that is fascinating. Kitties have a lot fewer teeth than I thought!