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Professional Cleaning Of Teeth


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I noticed the other day my Chihuahua had a bit of tartar build up on his teeth.

He gets bones a couple of times a week as well as teeth cleaning treats so I thought it might be worth getting him to the vet for a teeth clean.

I am especially attentive to this issue considering my MIL’s small dog had a have a bunch of teeth removed not long ago.

So where in Western Sydney does one go to do this? Is there a special dog dentist or would my normal vet do this?

And what am I looking at for costs?

Comments on your experience would be handy.

Also is this something you have to get done once a year like people?

Yes I am quite new to this subject matter!

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Guest lavendergirl

Your regular vet should be able to do a standard dental clean and any extractions necessary. The cost would depend on the extent of the work and what is included in the cost - such as a pre-anasthetic blood test as the dentals are done under a GA - and pain relief. Expect to pay anything up to $600 if extractions are necessary. There can be a fair bit of variation in the price - some people ring around a few vets - but you need to find out what is included.

Whether the teeth need to be cleaned yearly is dependant on the individual dog - some need more regular cleans than others. A teeth check should be part of the dog's yearly check up. I think bones are the best things to clean the teeth IMO - Dentastix and Greenies etc freshen the breath but I don't think they do much to clean the teeth :) .

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Most dogs never need a vet to clean their teeth. None of my dogs have ever needed one. If they get bones the teeth stay fairly clean and any extra marks can be cleaned by the owner by brushing the teeth with special doggy toothpaste or using a tooth scaler.

Older dogs who have been fed mush and not had their teeth cared for may need a vet dental but it is certainly not a routine part of dog care and shouldn't need to be done often unless the dog has really bad teeth. Some dogs have much better teeth than others and it is due to genetics as well as diet.

Cost to have dental done on a small dog could be anything from $150 for a basic clean to several hundred if teeth need to be extracted. Again, none of my dogs have ever needed a tooth extracted.

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I use a raw diet, which means usually feeding my dog small raw chicken and lamb rib bones. I think if you feed your dog bones every day, and avoid doggy pellets that can get wheat stuck in their teeth, or tinned dog food that is full of soft gunk that wont clean teeth, then your wont need to brush your dogs teeth.

Dogs in the wild dont need special tooth brush treatments or whitening, because they eat natural meat products. Something to think about?

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I think it cost us around $250 when our rottie needed it done ... it is the sedation that costs a bit (he was hard to sedate). It was quite some time ago (we lost him in 2007) so I don't know how current the price is. Best to get a quote from your vet ...

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Some dogs, just like some humans need professional teeth cleaning semi regularly almost regardless of what you do as a preventative. You should be getting the vet to look at any dogs mouth every 12mths to see if they need a proper cleaning under an anaesthetic- generally they wont :thumbsup: .

Perhaps you could book in with your vet for a dental check (I think this is dental health month so there are a few clinics around doing a free check) and see what is actually going on before booking in a dental. Also use the opportunity to look at the variety of different preventatives that are available.

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I recently enquired with my vet about a teeth cleaning for one of my Chi girls - her teeth had quite a lot of tartar build up. The vet recommend a product called PlaqueOff as stated that I should use this instead. I have started to use it and can see a reduction in plaque. It takes a couple of months to see the full effect but I was glad to be given something that would avoid an anaesthetic. I would never had tried this unless the vet had recommended it. Costs a lot less than a dental as well!

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Unfortunately Chihuahua's are prone to tartar build up etc, one of mine has perfect teeth and the other needs a dental every year.

Same for my greyhounds. Maddie has had two dentals in the last 12 months, her teeth are shocking and she is only 3. She will definately need yearly dentals. Stan's were fine last check in May.

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The vet I'd been taking the Rotties to for many years chased me away with his high and ever increasing prices. He did a dental for Faith, my rescue Rottie which involved removing two teeth. One wobbly canine and one molar plus a scale and clean. The bill came to just over $1000.00. I can't remember the exact cost but I remember it was over $1000.00. Bloods had already been done recently so that wasn't included in the cost. I asked for fluids and pain relief which were included.

I knew he was exy because with my insured dogs they reimbursed me only what they considered was the average fee charged and noted that my vets fees were higher. Faith of course wasn't insured. She was too old when she came to me.

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Your regular vet should be able to do a standard dental clean and any extractions necessary. The cost would depend on the extent of the work and what is included in the cost - such as a pre-anasthetic blood test as the dentals are done under a GA - and pain relief. Expect to pay anything up to $600 if extractions are necessary. There can be a fair bit of variation in the price - some people ring around a few vets - but you need to find out what is included.

Whether the teeth need to be cleaned yearly is dependant on the individual dog - some need more regular cleans than others. A teeth check should be part of the dog's yearly check up. I think bones are the best things to clean the teeth IMO - Dentastix and Greenies etc freshen the breath but I don't think they do much to clean the teeth :) .

especially when they gulp them down as fast as mine do. No point in them at all really.

Same with any chicken bones. They take just two bites then swallow. Way too scary to feed them these...

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