jewe6l0187
New member
I know many of us become very nervous when it comes to having our dogs undergo a surgical procedure or be under anesthesia. I thought this post would bring some peace of mind and give people an idea of what to expect. On Feb. 24th my dog went under for her first dental while in my care. She had a cleaning done at the shelter before I adopted her around March 2015, but shelters do not do x-rays unless it is necessary. She came to me with several broken teeth -
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Many vets I saw said there was no reason to do x-rays unless I noticed pain or symptoms of infection. However, as we all know many dogs are good at hiding pain and discomfort. I had my doubts and I wanted to be sure that everything under the gums was really okay. So I booked a dental procedure at my new vet with full pre-anesthetic blood work, dental x-rays, and monitoring during the surgery.
During the surgery my dog did have a mild reaction to an anesthetic drug. Her heart rate was dropping to a level the vet was not comfortable with. They stopped the procedure, brought her off that drug, and administered a new one. The second drug worked fine and no further complications came from that. However, after the cleaning and x-rays they realized that 12 incisors would need to be extracted – pre/post x-rays . There was exposed pulp and many loose teeth; most of these were the ones that were already severely broken and just nubs in her gum line. It was best to remove them and prevent pain and future infections.
We are now a week post-surgery and recovery is going very well. She was groggy the day of and the day after, but is back to normal. She is on a soft diet of soaked kibble for 2 weeks from the surgery date and has dissolving stitches. She will go back to kibble/chews after the wait period and I can continue to brush her teeth and we will evaluate dental cleanings at low cost clinics in the future now that the bulk of the work is done.
All of this came at a pretty steep cost. Below is a breakdown, please remember prices vary based on your area – this price is for metro Atlanta.
Dental Total: $1,508.15
This wasn’t even the end of my bill because I had other non-related procedures done making a grand total of $2,116.24. My pet insurance should reimburse me for all non-preventable costs once everything is applied to my deductible. So hopefully I get a good amount back but this is dog ownership!
Many vets I saw said there was no reason to do x-rays unless I noticed pain or symptoms of infection. However, as we all know many dogs are good at hiding pain and discomfort. I had my doubts and I wanted to be sure that everything under the gums was really okay. So I booked a dental procedure at my new vet with full pre-anesthetic blood work, dental x-rays, and monitoring during the surgery.
During the surgery my dog did have a mild reaction to an anesthetic drug. Her heart rate was dropping to a level the vet was not comfortable with. They stopped the procedure, brought her off that drug, and administered a new one. The second drug worked fine and no further complications came from that. However, after the cleaning and x-rays they realized that 12 incisors would need to be extracted – pre/post x-rays . There was exposed pulp and many loose teeth; most of these were the ones that were already severely broken and just nubs in her gum line. It was best to remove them and prevent pain and future infections.
We are now a week post-surgery and recovery is going very well. She was groggy the day of and the day after, but is back to normal. She is on a soft diet of soaked kibble for 2 weeks from the surgery date and has dissolving stitches. She will go back to kibble/chews after the wait period and I can continue to brush her teeth and we will evaluate dental cleanings at low cost clinics in the future now that the bulk of the work is done.
All of this came at a pretty steep cost. Below is a breakdown, please remember prices vary based on your area – this price is for metro Atlanta.
- Canine Dental Cleaning/Periodontal Probe: $147.40
- L-Prep Profile II/CBC: $155.55
- Full Mouth Dental Radiographs: $209.10
- Anesthesia Dentistry: $90.70
- IV Catheter: $70.70
- Gabapentin Capsules 100mg – 14ct: $37.25
- Rovera Chewable Tablets 75mg – 4ct: $37.25
- Extraction Incisor (10 teeth): $515.00 – ($51.5 per tooth)
- Extraction Incisor (2 teeth): $245.20 ($122.60 per tooth)
Dental Total: $1,508.15
This wasn’t even the end of my bill because I had other non-related procedures done making a grand total of $2,116.24. My pet insurance should reimburse me for all non-preventable costs once everything is applied to my deductible. So hopefully I get a good amount back but this is dog ownership!
x-rays were a crucial part in diagnosing all the decay beneath the gums. Still hear amazing things about them!