Bad teeth! (feeling guilty)

[FollowTheSun]

So this is my dog Maya, 9 years old. We have two small dogs, both about the same age, same diet. I also have always given them Greenies, and scrape the plaque off about twice a year myself. I have always cleaned my own dogs' teeth over the years and it's always worked well until now. Maya has bad teeth, the other dog has great teeth. She went off her food a couple weeks ago and got herself into another hypoglycemic episode. I examined her all over and found a very loose rotten tooth and the others were looking pretty bad too. I took her into the vet, scheduled a dental surgery, and put her on a soft diet. Yesterday she had her surgery-- had 19 teeth pulled! 13 were rotten teeth and 6 were embedded roots. I feel so horrible that I allowed it to get that bad before noticing how bad it really was. :-( This morning she ate 100% of her breakfast, which is an improvement over the past couple of weeks, and she appears to be feeling better even though she has a mouth full of sores right now. I guess my PSA for the day is to invest that money for the annual dental exam and cleaning. I have a busy life-- working full time, two teenagers, several other critters all well cared for (I thought). Somehow I let this slip through the cracks because the dog was not acting any different than normal until she stopped eating. I'm thankful I have the resources to pay for this surgery for her (worked an extra shift), but I can't imagine the weeks and months of suffering she endured until it reached a crisis. :-(

[Bogertophis]

What an adorable dog! Bad teeth happen in dogs, don't beat yourself up too much, sounds like you've done way more doggy dental care than most ever do
anyway...& just like people, not everyone has equally-tough teeth. The smaller dog I adopted a few years back from the shelter had to have most of his teeth
out too, so I know how expensive it gets...ouch! They wanted to take his canines too (they weren't bad but a little loose....ya think? all the surrounding teeth
were gone now-) but I said no & so far, they've been fine. I'm glad with that decision*, the canines are very deep-rooted & it's a bigger deal than the other
teeth; also, dogs without canines tend to loll their tongues out which looks sorta goofy...this way Buster doesn't have that problem either. (*the canines also
would have padded their bill quite a bit... so I'd say they were "motivated" by something other than health reasons. When asked, they admitted the worst
thing that could happen by leaving them is that they'd fall out.) Anyway, your dog should feel better now (yay!).

[RickyNY]

It sucks that they can't tell us they are in pain

[L.West]

My boxer boy is in the vet today getting dental cleaning and extractions too.

He is also 9 years old. Starting acting funny, drooling and whimpering - we took him to the vet and they said he looked great for his age but highly recommended we get his teeth cleaned and two extractions. They figured he was in pain (which dogs tend to handle very well and hide it) so he went in today.

Poor baby - sure hope he does as well as your dog has come thru it.

[Bogertophis]

Teeth extractions are not without risks either. Before I got the smaller dog I have now, I had a whippet for 3 years. Tizzy was given to me when she was about

3 years old, no longer wanted as she didn't get along in their dog pack. I loved her & she got along great with my bigger dog too, but she died at the vet when

he cleaned her teeth and decided without prior tests to extract one at the same time...she bled profusely and he wasn't prepared, nor competent enough to save

her. She died the next day. Before that, I had always thought he was a good vet, but he hid the fact that he was getting dementia and continued to practice

when he no longer should have. His "out of touch" responses to me when my dog was dying made it quite obvious, along with what the vet techs said. He quit

his practice about a year after that (too late for my beloved dog) & not long after that, passed away himself. He meant well but it's a shame his family & friends

& staff couldn't have broken thru his (presumed) ego that made him continue to practice when he was no longer competent.

[67temp]

My 12yo setter greyhound mix recently had hers cleaned 3 weeks ago while she was already under getting surgery on her eye. When she was about 9yo she also had 12 teeth removed. Ever since then she has been getting yearly cleanings.

[FollowTheSun]

Teeth extractions are not without risks either. Before I got the smaller dog I have now, I had a whippet for 3 years. Tizzy was given to me when she was about

3 years old, no longer wanted as she didn't get along in their dog pack. I loved her & she got along great with my bigger dog too, but she died at the vet when

he cleaned her teeth and decided without prior tests to extract one at the same time...she bled profusely and he wasn't prepared, nor competent enough to save

her. She died the next day. Before that, I had always thought he was a good vet, but he hid the fact that he was getting dementia and continued to practice

when he no longer should have. His "out of touch" responses to me when my dog was dying made it quite obvious, along with what the vet techs said. He quit

his practice about a year after that (too late for my beloved dog) & not long after that, passed away himself. He meant well but it's a shame his family & friends

& staff couldn't have broken thru his (presumed) ego that made him continue to practice when he was no longer competent.

What a tragic thing to have happen! So sorry! Yes it can be risky indeed. In my work with dementia patients I have found that most are completely unaware of the severity of their disease or else in strong denial. That must have been traumatic not only for you, but for the staff handing the procedure, too.

- - - Updated - - -

My 12yo setter greyhound mix recently had hers cleaned 3 weeks ago while she was already under getting surgery on her eye. When she was about 9yo she also had 12 teeth removed. Ever since then she has been getting yearly cleanings.

It seems like age 9 is the "magical" year for developing bad teeth!

- - - Updated - - -

My boxer boy is in the vet today getting dental cleaning and extractions too.

He is also 9 years old. Starting acting funny, drooling and whimpering - we took him to the vet and they said he looked great for his age but highly recommended we get his teeth cleaned and two extractions. They figured he was in pain (which dogs tend to handle very well and hide it) so he went in today.

Poor baby - sure hope he does as well as your dog has come thru it.

I hope he feels a whole lot better after the surgery!

[pretends2bnormal]

We rescued my dog Remus from a local shelter. He's a red heeler mix (at a lanky 55lbs) and we got him at about 1.5 years old. He's now about 4 years old, but he's been missing one/a few rear teeth on the bottom on one side the whole time we've had him. When we got him, the vet thought that he may be young enough to have them grow in, but they clearly haven't, ha.

He was surrendered for helping himself to formerly alive "chicken dinner", so it's possible he lost them to a chicken fighting back. That or he was just born without them. But as a result of these missing teeth, he doesn't chew food, dental chews, or toys on that side and the teeth on that side get pretty bad, pretty quick with no regards to the doggy teeth wipes/toothpaste.

Luckily for us, our vet has a program you can pay monthly that covers an annual dental clean, 2 checkup visits, all required vaccinations, etc. The total cost works out to be the price of a normal dental cleaning, so we basically get free checkups/vaccinations and get to pay it monthly instead of as one big bill all at once.

[FollowTheSun]

We rescued my dog Remus from a local shelter. He's a red heeler mix (at a lanky 55lbs) and we got him at about 1.5 years old. He's now about 4 years old, but he's been missing one/a few rear teeth on the bottom on one side the whole time we've had him. When we got him, the vet thought that he may be young enough to have them grow in, but they clearly haven't, ha.

He was surrendered for helping himself to formerly alive "chicken dinner", so it's possible he lost them to a chicken fighting back. That or he was just born without them. But as a result of these missing teeth, he doesn't chew food, dental chews, or toys on that side and the teeth on that side get pretty bad, pretty quick with no regards to the doggy teeth wipes/toothpaste.

Luckily for us, our vet has a program you can pay monthly that covers an annual dental clean, 2 checkup visits, all required vaccinations, etc. The total cost works out to be the price of a normal dental cleaning, so we basically get free checkups/vaccinations and get to pay it monthly instead of as one big bill all at once.

I just signed up for a similar program through our vet! I still had to pay per tooth extracted, but it allowed me to spread out the rest of it over a year, plus the vaccinations, exam visits, etc. I wish I had done this earlier. I think if I had known such a plan existed I would brought the dogs in more regularly instead of waiting until one had an obvious problem. Both dogs are now signed up.

[pretends2bnormal]

I just signed up for a similar program through our vet! I still had to pay per tooth extracted, but it allowed me to spread out the rest of it over a year, plus the vaccinations, exam visits, etc. I wish I had done this earlier. I think if I had known such a plan existed I would brought the dogs in more regularly instead of waiting until one had an obvious problem. Both dogs are now signed up.

We agreed to sign up for it at our last checkup when they said his teeth were in need of a cleaning. Since we signed up before the appointment for the cleaning, it kicked in then, though it locks us in for the 12 months on an auto draft. Luckily, we havent needed to do any extractions, though I'm sure that would be additional even on the plan.

Between his one-sided chewing habits, refusal to chew dental treats where it would be a benefit, and his adoration for ropes and tug, I bet he will eventually have some teeth come out, either by a vet or from his own actions.

He can pull 200lbs of dead weight across a wood floor when playing tug. My husband tried laying down to add resistance and make the game easier for him when the felt lazy one day, but it didn't quite work as planned, lol.

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