Canine Cardiologist?

[al106]

So I brush my dog’s teeth religiously every single night. I scrub every tooth on both sides w an enzymatic toothpaste. BUT he’s 10 now and suddenly he has a bad tooth on one side and will not let me put the toothbrush anywhere close to that tooth. Things are getting worse so we took him to the vet. The vet says he MAY have a heart issue n we should see a canine cardiologist before we get his teeth cleaned?!

Where do we even find a canine cardiologist and how much would that cost? Is it that unsafe to proceed with teeth cleaning?

Any idea? Thanks!

 

[iferexo]

@al106 You might be able to find one in your area through the AVMA.

https://www.avma.org/

Edited to add the following:

When a dogs teeth are cleaned they are usually put under anesthesia, which could cause problems if they have a heart condition.

It sounds like your local vet may be concerned and doesn't want to put your dog under for the teeth cleaning/pulling without having your dogs heart checked first.

Their concern could just be due to your dogs age and not because the vet thinks that they may have an actual heart condition.

But it would be devastating to both you and the vet if they went ahead with the giving the anesthesia without being checked out first and something did happen to your dog.

 

[al106]

@iferexo Thank you!

 

[dylanboyle789]

@al106 if your dog has a murmur, they generally recommend a cardiologist. prices can vary greatly. the two we went to one charged 450, the other was 650. its bettervto find out if its safe for your dog to go under and they can even recommend modifications to make the anesthesia for a dog with heart iasues

 

[al106]

@dylanboyle789 Thanks! So looks like it’ll be more than 1k to get his tooth taken care of.