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Thread: Dental cleaning

  1. #1
    Puppy
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    Dental cleaning

    Hershey had her annual check up last week. Overall she's doing great. Vet said her weight looks great; said she's "lean and mean." He did say, however, that she is going to need her teeth cleaned. I wasn't totally shocked by this because I've been noticing that her teeth seem to have what i consider to be a lot of tartar for her age (4 yrs.). It's my own fault because admittedly I haven't brushed her teeth like I should. That said, I'm very reluctant to have her teeth cleaned and I don't really know why. I guess because she will have to be put under for the procedure. I'm torn as to what to do. Should i go ahead and get them cleaned now and hopefully be able to keep them good long term with regular brushing? Or should I wait a couple of years and get them done then? It seems silly to say, wait until things get worse then get it taken care of. And i know letting her teeth get bad can lead to lots of other problems. Her teeth aren't totally awful, so I'm hoping that if I have them done now she won't have to have any extracted. And since she's young, she would presumably handle the anesthesia better than she might if she were older. I don't know why I'm freaking out at the prospect of having her teeth cleaned. I'm going to chat with the vet again before I schedule anything. I guess I'm just looking for someone to tell me a dental is no big deal and she will be the better for it.

  2. #2
    Chief Pooper Scooper JenC's Avatar
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    Give your dog some bones to chew on and you can save on the dental. I don't brush teeth or have ever had a dental service done on my dogs. Their teeth are fine from natural bone chewing.

  3. The Following User Says Thank You to JenC For This Useful Post:

    kelsyg (07-06-2014)

  4. #3
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    The thing is, Hershey chews all the time. Way more than my last dog did and she had sparkly white teeth until her last days. I wonder if dogs are like people in that some are just more prone to teeth issues. Like my sister has always had far more dental issues than I, and I know she is very regimented about her brushing and flossing, etc. I dunno.

  5. #4
    Senior Dog Halcyon's Avatar
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    I've never had to do a dental on my dog but then again, he is my first and only 11 months so take it with a grain of salt. He's on a raw diet and chews regularly (e.g. toys, bones, etc) and his teeth are as white as they first came in. However, I have been witness to a few dental cleanings and extractions and the dogs I've seen come in are usually around 4-9 years. Depending on severity of the teeth, size of the teeth and the vet, it's usually a quick procedure just like with a human dental. Generally, the longer you wait, the more tartar that builds up and it could possibly lead to a rotten tooth needing an extraction.

    Did the vet give you a grade on her teeth? What kind of chews does Hershey get and how long does she chew on them?

    You could wait and see and what happens albeit risk it worsening. She might (hopefully not) need a procedure in the future and in that case, you can opt to do both together so she won't need to go under twice.

  6. #5
    Senior Dog POPTOP's Avatar
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    Mardi does not chew on anything unless it's food related. She came to us with a fair amount of tarter so they were cleaned. I'm hesitant to get them done again; she's 11 now. Think you know Archie's story. At the age of 5 we've had to have 9 teeth extracted with subsequent skin flaps. It was from very poor care before he joined us. He will chew on some toys. I give them both Virbac veggie chews a couple of times a week and it has really helped. I also use a water additive with chlorohexadine in it.

  7. #6
    Senior Dog Labradorks's Avatar
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    My labs have all lived to be at least 15 and every year I would hear, "he could use a dental cleaning" and every year I declined. Never an issue. My older Lab now had one cleaning and that was only because he was going under anyway. That being said, I did have a smaller mixed breed dog that had terrible teeth. So, yeah, I think it's genetics.

  8. #7
    Senior Dog ZoeysMommy's Avatar
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    Just have them cleaned before it gets bad and then keep them brushed on a regular basis.

    It is genetics just like people, some have great teeth, some done

  9. #8
    Best Friend Retriever Snowco Labradors's Avatar
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    Can you post pics of your dogs teeth? I hate to say it but a lot of vets always recommend surgical cleaning. I have been raising Labs my entire life (45 plus years) and we have never brushed or had a vet cleaning, nor needed one. Marrow bones do the job.

  10. #9
    House Broken petitesalmon's Avatar
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    I read an interesting article today that said Coconut oil will clean all tartar off and is also great for your dogs overall health. One person said they cleaned their dogs teeth with coconut oil and saw a change immediately. Others said they put it in their food. It also said there are no side effects for dogs to have coconut oil only positives.


    I am not endorsing this, I simply read an article today and thought maybe you could try this at home method before your dog has to go under? Maybe give it a look and see what you think. I just had a quick squiz on google and there seemed to be heaps of stuff on it.

  11. #10
    Senior Dog Berna's Avatar
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    My dog is raw fed for the last two years, but I've been brushing his teeth occasionally since he was 3 years old and when I first spotted some tartar build up. Brushing the dog's teeth, no matter what food he is on, only takes a minute of your time and will help prevent problems in the future. My dog is now 8 and has great teeth, no tartar whatsoever.
    Cookie Black Snowflake
    July 12th, 2006. - May 25th, 2023.

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