Why does my dog need an anaesthetic to have his teeth cleaned?
February 22nd, 2009 Posted in UncategorizedWhy does my dog need an anaesthetic to have his teeth cleaned? Can’t the vet just clean them with him awake like my dentist does for me? Isn’t an anaesthetic risky?
I hear this question in my practice a lot. I can understand your confusion and concern.
First of all, when you and I go to the dentist, we will sit in the hygienist’s chair with our mouth open while she is cleaning our teeth. We understand the cleaning is important, so we cooperate.
Unfortunately, pets don’t do this. They will not keep their mouth open so we can clean all surfaces of the teeth. They won’t sit still for the 30 to 60 minutes it takes to do a good job. The ultrasonic scaler and polisher make noise that frightens them. Some hand dental instruments are very sharp and would injure a squirmy pet.
A critical part of the “Dental” is the examination. We check for gum recession, bone loss between roots, broken teeth, cavity-like tooth resorption, tumours and so forth. Many of these conditions result in pain for your pet if untreated.
We use a special probe with 1 mm markings like those on a ruler, gently advancing it under the gumline to measure any bone loss and pocket depth. Abnormalities indicate periodontal disease under the gum where we may not see it externally. We check all sides of each tooth, not only the outside that you can see when you “flip the lip”, but also the inside surfaces that lie near your pet’s tongue, and far back inside the mouth.
It’s impossible to do a thorough dental cleaning, polishing, and examination in an awake pet. My dog Ernie is gentle and very cooperative, but I know I would not be able to do a good job on his teeth without giving him an anaesthetic. I can’t even imagine trying on my cats Tino and Stitch. What a rodeo that would be!
We don’t want to make dentistry a negative or frightening experience for our patients. After all, we’re going to ask you to brush their teeth. How can we expect you to have any success if your pet was held down by force while someone scraped its teeth? I’ve seen videos of anaesthesia-free dentals on the Internet and it just makes me cringe! I’ve even heard of people using a Dremel to scale teeth, instead of an ultrasonic scaler. Can you imagine the damage that is done to the enamel of the teeth? It’s just horrific!
Dr. Ian Haws, a veterinary dental specialist at the University of Guelph , tells us: “Anesthesia-free dentals are only cosmetic, cleaning above the gumline to make the teeth look white. That leaves any infection under the gumline untreated.” He sees patients who have had “standing dentals” with untreated infection so severe that most or all of their teeth must be extracted. “Owners are shocked to learn that the “standing dentals” their pets have been receiving have resulted in years of chronic, advancing disease and pain,” Haws says.
There is a small risk with all general anaesthetics, but that risk is far less than that posed to your pet’s health by untreated periodontal disease. Statistics have shown that pets receiving regular dental cleanings usually live longer than animals that don’t. Oral infections may spread to the liver, kidneys, lungs, and heart, and cause serious problems. Regular dental care, both at home and with professional cleanings under general anesthesia, is one of the most important things you can do to help keep your pet healthy and pain-free, to live a longer and happier life.
