Worried about upcoming dental cleaning

Dillard04

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Hi everyone, not sure if this is a heath question as much as me just looking for reassurance about my cat's upcoming dental cleaning. My 9-year-old cat has a cleaning on Friday. His vet said he has some gingivitis, but couldn't see anything obvious going on from his last annual exam. I still scheduled the dental as a preventative measure as he's been doing some odd movements with his mouth and favoring one side when he chews.

He's had several dentals in the past. I try to schedule one every 2 years or so. His last one was in July 2019. Also, he had to undergo anesthesia back in November for an emergency MRI and I wasn't too anxious about it because he was in such pain that I just wanted a diagnosis. However, this upcoming dental has me so anxious about complications. I keep reading about how the older the cat is, the more risk there is to anesthesia, and hearing that makes me worry. He's 9, which seems right on the cusp of senior age. He had bloodwork a month ago and everything was normal except slightly elevated creatinine levels, which our vet wants to test again.

Just wondering if anyone could reassure me a bit or has similar experiences to offer. Thanks in advance!
 

maggie101

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I brought my cat home today for dental cleaning. She was active when she came probably because they kept her for so long to make sure she had no bad reacctions. I assume your vet will do that.
 

abyeb

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While, yes, there are inherent risks with anesthesia, the risks are very small. And 9 years old is not really that old for a cat. I’m certain that your vet has performed surgery on many cats older than that! Also, at least in my experience from what I know from vets and other pet parents, for something like a dental, the vet won’t go ahead with the procedure if they think that putting a patient under anesthesia is too risky. At the vet Charlie goes to, all patients undergo pre-anesthesia blood work, to make sure that it will be safe for them. It sounds like your vet is planning on checking bloodwork anyway to look at creatinine levels, so your vet will know whether there is anything to indicate that he will be at an elevated risk while under anesthesia.

Of course, I understand that my explanation probably doesn’t calm your nerves. The best thing I can recommend is talking with your vet before the dental. Ask him or her any questions you have, or just to explain the procedure so you know what’s going on.
 
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Dillard04

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I just want to thank you both for replying and reassuring me. I watched some vet videos about anesthesia and those made me feel so much better. I also talked to my vet to make sure there was someone dedicated to monitoring my cat and that really helped, too.

Dillard is back from his dental and doing well. I'm so happy I took him in as he had 3 teeth with cavities/FORLs that needed to be extracted. I'm glad I didn't wait until he was in obvious pain.
 

neely

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Sorry I just read your thread but glad to hear everything went well for Dillard and you found out about his FORL. :thumbsup: I was going to share that both our previous cat and the kitty we have now had FORL with extractions when they were slightly over 9 years old. I was also worried about anesthesia especially since our present cat is a brachycephalic breed but the proper precautions were taken and like your experience it was beneficial for our cats. I hope Dillard is on the mend now.🤗
 

PippasMum

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I have not been around for a while. I'm an anxious cat mum as I recently took my 4 yr old Pippa to have an annual examination and was told she needs a dental. The price is exhorbitant and no relief from her pet insurance as this will be classed as pre-existing. On one fang she has a darkening of the tooth near the root and her veterinarian asked me if I had ever cause to give her antibiotics - I have not. She said that would cause the darkening of the tooth but she didn't explain what else could have caused it. Pippa has lived indoors with me for three years but I have never needed to give her an antibiotic, oh wait! Yes, I did! When I took her to be altered, I had to give her antibiotics, didn't I? Well, answered my own question right here. Daft as a brush, me!
 
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