How Effective is Anesthesia-Free Dental Work?
I was wondering if anaesthesia-free teeth cleaning
is as effective as traditional cleanings? I brush
my 13-year-old dog’s teeth daily in addition to
six-month cleanings (anaesthesia-free) and it all
seems good. I just wanted to make sure there
wasn’t someting I was missing.
Thanks!
Hedy
Los Angeles, CA
Anesthesia-free dental work is sometimes touted as a substitute for procedures performed under anesthesia by a veterinarian’s staff. Many people reason that they do not need anesthesia to have their teeth cleaned. Why should it be different for pets?
Also, clients often express surprise when I recommend anesthetic dental work for their pets. I cannot count the number of times people have said, “But Fluffy just had his teeth cleaned two years ago!”
What you must remember is that pets don’t brush their teeth. Remember as well that pets age five to seven human years for each year that passes.
If you went 10 – 14 years without brushing your teeth and then visited the dentist, I promise that he or she would want to put you under anesthesia for some major work. That is what vets do when we perform dental work on pets every couple of years.
Veterinarians often refer to such procedures dental cleaning or teeth cleaning. These terms sell the procedures short. What we do, in fact, is ultrasonically remove dental calculus and infection above and below the gum line. We assess and treat dental pockets, odontoclastic resorpitve lesions (severely painful enamel defects in cats), and periodontitis (infection of the ligaments and structures surrounding the teeth). We evaluate fractured (chipped) teeth, and work to correct gingivitis (gum infection). We often take dental X-rays. We sometimes extract hopelessly compromised teeth. We screen for oral cancer. And, last of all, we clean the teeth.
Anesthesia-free teeth cleaning involves removal of calculus from the teeth themselves. It is teeth cleaning, and nothing more.
For most animals, anesthesia-free dental work is no substitute for the real thing. However, Hedy, your pet may be an exception. If you brush your pet’s teeth daily and regularly have dental calculus removed from the teeth before it can spread under the gums, you may protect your pet from serious dental issues.
Nonetheless, I urge you to check the credentials of the person working on your dog’s teeth. I have met several people who perform the procedure. Some of them knew what they were doing. Others displayed an appalling lack of knowledge.
No matter what, I recommend that you have your vet perform regular thorough oral exams. And keep brushing your dog’s teeth!
You have questions. 
Thanks for putting the teeth cleaning thing into perspective. I never considered that my dogs aging faster than humans would have an effect on their teeth. I’ll be brushing them now with a little more frequency.
I used to get my old cats teeth cleaned that way, and they guy doing it was trained and would recommend a vet if the gums were inflamed, etc. BUT he trained a few of his best friends to do it, who did not go to the courses/ school, and they were doing it as well in the Bay Area at various pet shops, etc without credentials. I got to know this guy enough to know that they did a lot of non-declaring of pay (the contract to the school required a cut for a certain amount of time). They would ask for cash, discounts if you were a return customer, and the store owner at this one particular place was well aware of how they did their finances and took a cut as well. My vet wanted to put a stop to these practices as they are no substitute for real dental cleaning. Beside the high cost of vet cleaning, my only concern is for the taxing on the kidneys with the anesthesia. My old cat had kidney failure, amongst a host of other issues. Any ideas on how bad it is for them?
Our 6 year old Brussels Griffon has had ear problems since birth. He has thick gooey ear discharge/wax. I clean them once a week with a drying solution. Yesterday, our vet had to put him to sleep to ‘deep clean’ both ears. The vet says that Henry has very small ear canals with lots of deep hair. He was sent home with Chlorehexidine cleaner and Otomax and the vet says if this doesn’t take care of the problem he will require surgery. Has anyone had any experience with this type of problem? Any tips to avoid surgery?
I’ve heard putting your pet under anesthetic could possibly kill your pet. They never bothered doing that in the past. I brush my dogs teeth regularly, and give him only dry dog food and healthy treats. Chew sticks also help to clean your dogs teeth. I don’t know whats best, but I know I can’t afford to do that right now. Does it make a difference how old your dog is or are vets trying to get as much as they can out of their customers?
my 4 yr old toy poodle just had teethed cleaned and after about 4 minutes they said his heart stopped and they tried to revive him with shots and heart massage for 30 minutes but he died anyway. I am heartbroken. what do you think? The Vet said he couldn’t figure out what went wrong. He has had his teeth cleaned before there and was ok. He was only 4 yrs old.
My two chihuahuas Zoey and Leroy get their teeth cleaned at least every two years. The first I did this it made me realize the importance of regular brushing.
Good to know that vets do offer anesthesia free dental work nowadays .It a must help for all dog lovers.