Dental cleaning / work advice and dentist recommendation - San Francisco Bay Area

[Alex]

Hi Community,

Per our vets recommendation we are looking for a dentist to do dental cleaning for Chance and Kiya. From the research so far, it looks like Basenjis and other sight-hounds are sensitive to anesthesia and the general recommendation is to go with gas based anesthesia like Isoflurane or Sevoflurane.

Found a good article on BRAT website, which describes the experience.

http://www.basenjirescue.org/Chey_Miller/Dental/dental.html

I am looking for any additional advice and dentist recommendations in San Francisco Bay Area.

Thanks,

[curlytails]

I waited until February, which was nat'l pet dental month, to do Bowpi. Scouted out several vets in the area and had estimates ranging from $600 ~ $1300, but all the vets in my area knock off 20 - 25% during pet dental month. In the end, the final bill was something in the mid-$400s after the discount. My vet did a fine job, no extractions – if one was necessary, it would have been something like $90 a tooth or $170 a molar. Yikes!

In my limited experience, if you don't have a specific vet that you completely trust with all your pet's needs, then you may as well shop around and get a few dental estimates (my estimate appointments were all free). They seem to vary a LOT around here, and you have options -- so go with whomever you feel comfortable with. All the vets I spoke to insisted that modern anesthetics are sighthound-safe. In my case, even after shopping around, my regular vet won the "bid," and I'm happy to pass along a rec if you want it. I'm in the East Bay. I think if/when I have to do this again, I would make the trip out to UC Davis.

[kjdonkers]

We hope you find a good one, and affordable.
We have tried (succesfully so far) to prevent such a visit by having Lela and Binti chew rawhide rolls (the 8" ones) daily for about 15 minutes.
So far it keeps their teeth clean and plaque away.

[Alex]

Thanks, so far we are thinking All about pets VCA hospital in Union City, as the doctors know basenji's there and we have been taking Chance and Kiya there for last 4 years. They use gas based anesthesia. Also looking into the following vets per various recommendations.

http://www.yelp.com/biz/blue-cross-pet-hospital-san-francisco
http://www.yelp.com/biz/aggie-animal-dental-service-san-francisco-2

Who is the vet in UC Davis? Is it Boaz Arzi?

[DebraDownSouth]

@curlytails:

estimates ranging from $600 ~ $1300,

Every time you all give those prices I want to throw up. My 2nd vet charges $75 for full cleaning and I am whining cause he just went up to $100. My regular vet runs about $190 with blood work, so I use the other 2x then my regular vet. Since I have to do her teeth every 3 to 4 mos, the Calif prices would be so beyond me I'd have to move or pull her teeth.

At that price, you could fly out to visit me, get Southern food, get the teeth done and go back home. I find that utterly outrageous.

[krunzer]

@DebraDownSouth:

Every time you all give those prices I want to throw up. My 2nd vet charges $75 for full cleaning and I am whining cause he just went up to $100. My regular vet runs about $190 with blood work, so I use the other 2x then my regular vet. Since I have to do her teeth every 3 to 4 mos, the Calif prices would be so beyond me I'd have to move or pull her teeth.

At that price, you could fly out to visit me, get Southern food, get the teeth done and go back home. I find that utterly outrageous.

Tuckers teeth have always cost me over $1000 a visit….:( In 6 months he has to go for another dental cleaning to see how his mouth is doing, then maybe after that I will take you up on that Debra!

[curlytails]

@DebraDownSouth:

At that price, you could fly out to visit me, get Southern food, get the teeth done and go back home. I find that utterly outrageous.

And every time you share your local prices, I think about doing exactly what you propose above.

If I traveled more often, it would be SO worth it to create a list of trustworthy vets around the country just for cases like this.

That's one reason I'd like to try out UC Davis next time, though it's about an hour and a half away from me. I don't have the name of a specific vet, but the folks I know who have gone there are pretty satisfied and cite lower prices on big things like dental work, at least enough to make the trip worthwhile – given the quality of expertise.

I know someone else in the area who has a Basenji with CUPS. I don't know how he manages it. Another Shiba friend spent $2000 on a crown for a cracked molar!

[nobarkus]

How dirty are their teeth? Do you brush them?

[DebraDownSouth]

I brush Arwen's teeth almost every day of her life. She has CUPS, reacts to plaque so I still have to get them cleaned and she still takes steroids though now down to every 3 days, and she still is on antibiotics 3 to 5 times a year for cleaning and an occasional abscess spot. But with daily brushing, she hasn't lost another tooth in almost 6 yrs.

[DebraDownSouth]

I wasn't joking… I'll pick you up at the airport, take you to my vet, get lunch, pick your dog back up... easy peasy.

[khanis]

There are a number of things you can do to make sure your dogs teeth don't build up so much tartar and calculus.
I have NEVER had a dog's teeth cleaned…. I scale them at least 1-2x a year and that is all they tend to need.... and "normal" scaling is just using my thumbnail to pull off the tartar and calculus.
Dogs need to have crunchy stuff to chew/gnaw on to keep their teeth clean.. raw bones are great... rawhides on a regular basis work great too.

BTW.. I dont' brush my dogs teeth.. the basenjis tend to have much better teeth than the IGs... and I use a gel on my IGs teeth to keep them clean [it is easier than the fight with her to scale/brush them regularly!].

[imbj]

Alex, did you find a vet in the Bay Area (or somewhere in the South Bay) who specializes in dental work for B's?
Pat (Tanza), do you know any vet near the South Bay who specializes in dental work for B's?

My B has a cracked tooth/molar which I found and took a photo, showed it to my vet and he suggested tooth extraction. Since he missed it during the physical last week and he hasn't even suggested an x-ray or something to confirm if extraction is the only option (he seems to just base it on the photo and nothing else), I'm suspicious and would like a second opinion from another vet. (I did ask for blood work and the vet said the results are fine, no issues.)

Your help is appreciated!