My old dog has rotten teeth, can't get anesthesia. What can I do?

I’m sorry to hear about the tooth loss. It sounds like you are trying hard to maintain good oral health and you should continue this. Definitely try to brush the teeth every day, even twice a day if possible. Pet tooth paste helps but the main benefit is the physical brushing. They also make dental diets which can improve oral health. Some pets also go on pulse therapy antibiotics to help control bacterial populations in the mouth. Unfortunately despite best efforts, dental disease can progress resulting in a he tooth loss. A fair amount of dental disease is found under the gumline and so it is hard to address without a proper dental cleaning. You may ask your veterinarian if there is an option to have you pup cared for by a specialist who may be able to preform a dental cleaning. If this is an option. Best of luck and please feel free to post any additional questions.

Age is not a disease in of itself. You will need to speak to your vet about whether or not it would be advisable to put her under anesthesia for a cleaning. Without her medical history it is difficult for me to say. If your vet does not feel it is safe, you should speak to them about the possibility of doing what is called "pulse therapy antibiotics" where you give her antibiotics for one week of every month to help keep the bacterial load down in her mouth. Hope this helps. Best wishes!

I have done long term antibiotic therapy in select cases of dental disease. It can be effective. However I have also seen patients Marquis's age handle anesthesia and tooth extraction well too. If possible sometimes a referral to a veterinarian experienced with geriatric dental disease is helpful as they may be able to address the tooth itself safely and then antibiotics are not needed long term.

It sounds like there are some anesthetic concerns and that your vet does not feel comfortable removing the incisors. You may want to ask about referral to a veterinary dentist if available in your area. Ideally Frodo should also have an echocardiogram performed by a cardiologist first to determine the extent of his heart disease and assess his risk under anesthesia. This website lists board certified dentists but there may also be a veterinarian in your area who limits practice to dentistry. https://www.avdc.org

Hi there and thank you for using pet coach to address your concern. This is an unfortunate situation. The recommendation would be to remove the tooth but with the concurrent heart disease it makes the decision difficult to put him under anesthesia. I will say, I have placed numerous pets with heart failure under anesthesia that did just fine. This just required an adjustment of the medications and careful attention to the heart monitor to catch any changes early. I would not suggest pulling the tooth at home. I would recommend continuing antibiotics every other month to prevent infection in the mouth. I might also consider speaking with a dental specialist about removing the tooth. Need Dental Specialists deal with many high-risk cases. I would also make sure that you are addressing the discomfort with some kind of anti-inflammatory. If Chico likes playing with toys, I would provide Chico with hard treats or toys to chew on. These Carter objects may help dislodge the already loose tooth. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any other questions. I am also available by phone or text based consultation.

I am so sorry that your pet has dental disease and a heart condition. Unfortunatley the tartar that causes dental disease is mostly underneath the gumline, hence the name periodontal disease. So most of the tartar that we see on the surface of the tooth is not the main issue here. It is the tartar that is touching the gum and underneath the gum that is the problem. This isn't tartar that you will be able to get off with the pet awake, because it will be uncomfortable for the pet. Also, you have a good chance of causing damage to the gum trying to do this in any awake dog. What you are asking is not possible unfortunatley. However, there are a number of heart dogs that can actually go under anesthesia for a dental cleaning, even with a heart condition. I would suggest taking Chhutki to get an echocardiogram of her heart to determine if she is a good candidate for anesthesia and then go from there. If she isn't, then the only thing you can really do here is to do a daily oral rinse and water additive such as this one --> https://www.chewy.com/nylabone-advanced-oral-care-liquid/dp/47912 Dental disease and at home care recommendations --> https://veterinarypartner.vin.com/default.aspx?pid=19239&id=4951515 I do hope that your pet Chhutki proves to be ok to go under general anesthesia, just like many other heart disease pets, and can appropriateliy address her dental disease condition. Best of luck moving forward. Take care. : )

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This is certainly a somewhat common scenario unfortunately and it is important to make sure that the potential risks do not outweigh the benefits. That is why I can understand your veterinarian's concerns. Your veterinarian could consider a course of doxycycline or clindamycin antibiotic which are commonly used for dental disease as an important component of it is likely due to an infection. Also, it would be important to make sure that you clean her teeth regularly as that is likely going to help as well. Good luck and have a great day!