Dental for dog with heart disease and tracheal collapse?

[donarosita]

I am wondering if anyone has any advice on if it's potentially safe to get a dental for my 12 y.o. chihuahua. He is in early congestive heart failure (stage C, just started meds a few months ago, only symptom was some crackle-y breathing heard by vet), has a heart murmur, and has a tracheal collapse (don't know the grade but he does cough, typically in the morning upon waking).

His last dental was in 2020, and I put off another because the vet always seemed a bit concerned about his heart murmur and going under anesthesia. I know his mouth is not in good shape, and he's extremely sensitive to me trying to touch it or do any home care, which is probably a lost cause based on his stage of dental disease (I'd guess stage 3?). I am really worried about making the right decision for him and struggle knowing his mouth is causing him any pain.

Thoughts? Should I consult some other vets?

 

[uetuu]

@donarosita hi!

i'm curious what you ended up doing. my dog (toy poodle, almost 18) has been need in dental extractions for a few years, but he was diagnosed with heart failure two years ago. even though his cardiologist cleared him for surgery 2.5 years ago, I wasn't willing to risk it.

HOWEVER, now he's showing signs of pain and I regret not taking him earlier. I'm considering taking him to the cardiologist for another look and possibly operating on the dental work, but he's so old. If i was on the fence when he was 15, I'm more on the fence now. he's still eating, but the occasional paw on his mouth is what's pushing me forward to actually considering it.

 

[donarosita]

@uetuu I haven't done much tbh. I have a checkup scheduled at the vet for my dog in the next few weeks and am going to bring up the dental conversation again and get a update on how his heart is doing as well. I did start adding TropiClean to his water and he still gets daily Greenies to hopefully just keep things from getting any worse. I wish I had just gotten all his teeth pulled years ago lol but that also would have probably felt crazy at the time.

 

[blondemom93]

@donarosita He would be considered a high risk patient and understandably most general DVM would not feel comfortable to do surgery on this dog. It’s not just a murmur in this case, but diagnosed CHF. Your best bet would be first, to get clearance from a cardiologist, and then consult a vet dentist. Usually tracheal collapse is not a contraindication to surgery, but does require very close post-op monitoring. If the teeth are causing a QOL issue, then it’s worth pursuing this path.

 

[donarosita]

@blondemom93 Thank you! Really appreciate your reply.