Does anyone have experience with Veterinary Dentists?
Aries has a broken left 3rd Incisor and a slab fracture on her left 4th premolar. Both have tartar buildup over the fractures, so they are probably pretty old.
The vet is talking about extracting both teeth. The 3rd incisor is broken off almost to the root, and what remains is very loose, so I do not see a way to spare that tooth, but I am thinking that extracting the 4th premolar seems extreme.
I do not see pulp exposure, but the vet says we would have to get the calculus off of the teeth to be able to see for sure. I am thinking that we should go to a veterinary dentist instead, so that capping might be an option, but I am not sure.
Our vet gave us an estimate for about $400 for the dentistry with extractions.
What do you guys think?
-Nicole
Nicky was referred to a veterinary dentist when he broke his canine. He needed a root canal but doesn't have a cap. He has to go back in for a recheck to make sure that there are no problems with the work which will require putting him under anesthesia again. We opted to go ahead with the root canal though because the canine is such a deeply rooted tooth that extraction can be problematic for some dogs.
Even with my husband's 20% discount from the VMTH it was an $800 procedure.
If you can afford it I would go to the dentist. They can be pricey but they will know more about saving the tooth, general vets just know how to extract. I do not care for pushy vets who just want to extract w/o looking at the condition of the crown and pulp canal via xrays first before arbitrarily deciding beforehand. If you can not afford dentist then I would have the gen. vet clean, extract the incisor and evaluate the premolar with xrays, et al and CALL YOU BEFORE extracting. Many times slab fractures can seal off with no pulp exposure. The dentist would be the best to decide this.
I called Erin, Aries' foster mom, to thank her for mailing Aries' bed to us, and to ask about the teeth.
She told me Aries had never had trouble eating, and the vet for the health cert didn't really look at the teeth, so she didn't know about any problems.
But, she told me that the woman who turned her over had tried to make her be an outside dog, because Aries pees inside, and Aries destroyed their screen door trying to get back into the house.
Erin told me that Aries had scabs all over the top of her nose when she was turned over. I almost cried.
I'm happy that she went to a good foster home. Erin really seems to care about her, but I am so sad that she had to have such a hard time before that.
Poor Aries. I can't imagine her as an outside dog. She doesn't even want to go outside for a short while without her coat. It breaks my heart to imagine the panic she must have been feeling to destroy the door, and hurt herself in the process.
Just had to share that story. We had an extra snuggle after I heard it.
-Nicole
Great that Aries is safe and well cared for now
