How often should my cat have a professional dental cleaning with sedation?

Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! The photo is slightly blurry for some reason, but I can see some inflammation on Simba's gum line. This can be caused by build up of plaque and bacteria, which can be removed by dental cleaning. I recommend feeding Simba hard food, brushing his teeth gently if he allows, and giving him dental treats for cats to prevent him from needing frequent cleanings in the future. $273 is a very fair price for the cleaning if it includes the anesthesia. For reference, in my practice in New York, a dental cleaning typically costs about $600.

Hello and welcome to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Although frequent sedation is not ideal, sometimes this is needed for some animals. There are a few things that can be done to help decrease the frequency of the nails needing to be trimmed, and also ways to ensure the sedation is 'safer'. Firstly, make sure you have lots of scratching post options for Sweet-Tart. If she is overweight, getting that weight down as well will increase her activity which will cause the nails to file down naturally more, requiring less frequent sedation. If she is going to be sedated frequently, doing bloodwork and a urine check every year or two is a good idea to make sure her kidneys are doing ok, as sedation can be hard on the kidneys. Also, depending on what type of sedation is being used, they can be 'harder' or 'softer' on the body. So just make sure your vet is using the 'softest' possible sedation to get the job done. Best of luck with Sweet-Tart.

Thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach with your question about Poppy. Yes an overnight stay can happen. Typically dental cleanings are a day surgery, meaning the animal comes in during the morning and goes home later that afternoon, but if there is a concern about the animal's health during or after surgery, they can stay the night. It may just be an extra precaution by your vet. I would speak with your vet about why they want her to stay the night. I hope this helps.

The answer to the frequency of recommended dental cleaning really depends on the dog. Most dogs would probably do best having their teeth cleaned every 6 months the way we do, but that often is not practical. Some dogs develop dental disease very quickly and need their teeth cleaned at least once a year while other dogs do very well not having their teeth cleaned for years. So, I would recommend following your veterinarian's recommendations for frequency of dental cleanings based on how quickly Otis develops dental disease. The anesthetic techniques and monitoring that we use now are very safe, so that is not a concern. It is much more likely that dental disease will cause more health problems. And there isn't any age limit as long as the dog is healthy. I just did a dental cleaning on my 14 year old dog last year. I hope that was helpful and answered your questions. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Hi there. I agree having her teeth cleaned it’s a good idea especially if she has tartar buildup.I would start by having your veterinarian run some general bloodwork to make sure her organ function is good and if everything looks good and her heart is healthy and anesthesia is very safe. Having bad dental health can be more detrimental in the long run and getting this taken care of would be a great idea. Also make sure that wherever you have her teeth cleaned has full monitoring devices and that they do intravenous fluids during the procedure. This is a standard safety measure and you want to go somewhere that has that available. Hope that is helpful and have a wonderful day.

Baby Bear is adorable! Thanks for including a picture! Many clients are surprised when we tell them that their pet has dental disease. But the reality is that over 50% of animals over 2 years of age have dental disease. Imagine if you didn't brush your teeth for years! So, if Baby Bear has not had her teeth cleaned before, I would imagine that she has some degree of dental disease. If you would like a second opinion, you could always see a veterinary dentist. You can find one near you here. https://www.avdc-dms.org/dms/list/diplomates-map.cfm I hope that was helpful and answered your question. Thanks for using PetCoach.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Dusty. Gingivitis and an infection under the gumline can recur as quickly as 14 days after having the teeth professionally cleaned under surgery. To combat this problem, he will need at home care. Some cats will allow you to brush the teeth. Others simply will not tolerate it. There are dental treats that are available. There is also a dental gel called Maxi-guard that works very well. I hope this give you some options to help with his breath. Great job being attentive to his oral health! It will make a huge difference for him.