Teeth Cleaning

[MaxBooBooBear]

How is poor little tang Lexi doing today??

[nala121498]

Aw…poor little baby...you are a good Mommy to have tucked her in. I'm sure she'll be back to her usual tricks very soon.

[Mantis]

Why was she shivering? I have Caesar scheduled for his first teeth cleaning in a week. Any tips would be helpful. He is 6 this year….

[BDawg]

The only thing I could figure about the shivering was that anytime I've had anesthesia, I've always felt really cold afterwards. Maybe they react the same way too? I came home and she's fine today. She just needs a bath since they goo'd her eyes and taped the tube around her mouth. She is not her usual pristine self…hahahaha... But she's back to her spunky self. We might take a field trip to a friend's house tonight so the bath might have to wait until this weekend.

Not really any tips to give other than don't feed too late the night before and nothing to eat/drink in the morning of the cleaning. Lexi's teeth look MUCH better so hopefully Caesar's will too. Good luck!

[MaxBooBooBear]

@BDawg1005:

The only thing I could figure about the shivering was that anytime I've had anesthesia, I've always felt really cold afterwards. Maybe they react the same way too?

My vet mentioned to me once that he puts in something like a hot water bottle with his patients after anesthesia–so I'm assuming it's typical that they are cold coming out of it. The reason he mentioned it to me is because they always had to keep an eye on Max because the first time, as soon as he woke up, he started chewing on it, and it sprung a leak.... Also--whenever he gave my dogs sub Q fluids, he would have the fluids heated up a bit so they were warm going in.

[ChaseandZahrasmom]

Zahra's gums have started to bleed and tonight I looked at her gums and they are really dark near her fangs. She just had her 6 month comprehensive exam and her paperwork was marked that her teeth needed attention but they did not talk to me about it. I guess I am going to call and schedule her a cleaning tomorrow because they look bad and they are bleeding.

BDawg or anyone else, do you always do Lexi's teeth cleaning every year?

Is it expensive? If anyone uses Banfield is it covered?

[BDawg]

Bleeding gums?? Did she get into something sharp?

Lexi is 6 and we had her teeth cleaned for the first time last year. We are on Banfield's 2nd tier plan- and a dental cleaning is included. I think the first tier it's not though- only the 2nd and 3rd levels. That's actually one of the main reasons we chose Banfield… their entire plan was going to be cheaper than one dental cleaning elsewhere...

I think the place we used to take her wanted to charge $550 for the dental. Ouch!!

[ChaseandZahrasmom]

She is on the highest plan at Banfield, I just called and got her an appointment for December 4th to have her teeth cleaned.

It is weird, I don't religiously brush their teeth but I do try to do it at least once a month (I know I should do it more). I have never noticed the build up or the black gums until recently when I saw some blood on one of her chew toys.

[wizard]

My previous basenji had terrible teeth - he had one pulled when he was only 4 and several more later in life. My vet told me that I really needed to clean his teeth (doggy brush and paste) which I tried at least once a week (he hated it). My current basenji tolerates getting his teeth brushed every other day or every three days but I skipped the brush and just rub the paste directly on his teeth, which the vet said was just as good.

[Barklessdog]

My current basenji tolerates getting his teeth brushed every other day or every three days but I skipped the brush and just rub the paste directly on his teeth, which the vet said was just as good.

We do the same - they allow it, but do not really like it .

The paste thing just does not remove tatar & hardened plaque

We only feel out dogs dry food.

[Basenji_Boy]

We brush the teeth and we also have dental tools to scrape them too. That combined with bones, the teeth stay pretty clean.

[Mantis]

teeth cleaning is expensive. banfield can do it on a wellness plan, but if you did the spay neuter this year you may want to wait until next year if you use the plan. they put the dog to sleep for this procedure.

i paid about $350 at a regular vet when caesar had it done. he had his teeth cleaned for the first time at 5 years old. this is not something i would recommend doing every year. too expensive.

this is a good reason to stay with dry food over wet.

[tanza]

@Mantis:

teeth cleaning is expensive. banfield can do it on a wellness plan, but if you did the spay neuter this year you may want to wait until next year if you use the plan. they put the dog to sleep for this procedure.

i paid about $350 at a regular vet when caesar had it done. he had his teeth cleaned for the first time at 5 years old. this is not something i would recommend doing every year. too expensive.

this is a good reason to stay with dry food over wet.

Better reason for using raw meaty bones…. also....

[ChaseandZahrasmom]

I use dry food, there are bones, dental chews, etc. Would the raw meaty bones be a better option? Do you have to keep them refrigerated?

@tanza:

Better reason for using raw meaty bones…. also....

[dmcarty]

You might want to try a product called DentaTreat. It is made by Wysong and is a Cheese based abrasive. You sprinkle it on their food daily and in a couple of weeks - teeth will look like they have been polished. Use it on my old dogs and it is fabulous. It's expensive but not like a vet dental.

[Basenji_Boy]

@dmcarty:

You might want to try a product called DentaTreat. It is made by Wysong and is a Cheese based abrasive. You sprinkle it on their food daily and in a couple of weeks - teeth will look like they have been polished. Use it on my old dogs and it is fabulous. It's expensive but not like a vet dental.

http://www.onlynaturalpet.com/product_detail.aspx?item_cd=101087&click=5&s_kwcid=dentatreat|925802223&gclid=CMaikKDx148CFSBMGgoduQgL9g

Found this link with a few reviews. Thanks DMCarty, I may have to give it a try.

[Barklessdog]

Seems like mixed reviews-

We feed our dogs only dry food and they still get quite a bit of plaque build up.

Ours count tolerate dental tools- tooth brushes- yes

[Basenji_Boy]

@Barklessdog:

Ours count tolerate dental tools- tooth brushes- yes

Like crate training, dremeling nails ect…..you have to start them on it when they are very young. I wouldn't say it's they're favorite thing, but they tolerate it.

[senji]

Deke will be 5 in December. His teeth are pretty clean. He only gets dry food and we usually don't give him any of those soft treats either. I worked for a vet a while ago. I did dental cleanings. I wouldn't want to put my dog through the procedure yearly. It seems like dogs like people vary in the way their teeth are. Some go for along time and don't need it done others more often. I would only do it as an "as needed" type of thing. As the dogs age it gets harder on their Kidneys to have proceedures done with anesthesia. Things can be done to make it easier(like extra fluids after the proceedure) but I'd try things to keep them clean. I just started working on Deke's teeth I really forgot when he was little..I know bad mom. I got those dental wipes to start figured I work up to more "aggressive" cleanings.

[Basenji_Boy]

@senji:

Deke will be 5 in December. His teeth are pretty clean. He only gets dry food and we usually don't give him any of those soft treats either. I worked for a vet a while ago. I did dental cleanings. I wouldn't want to put my dog through the procedure yearly. It seems like dogs like people vary in the way their teeth are. Some go for along time and don't need it done others more often. I would only do it as an "as needed" type of thing. As the dogs age it gets harder on their Kidneys to have proceedures done with anesthesia. Things can be done to make it easier(like extra fluids after the proceedure) but I'd try things to keep them clean. I just started working on Deke's teeth I really forgot when he was little..I know bad mom. I got those dental wipes to start figured I work up to more "aggressive" cleanings.

They have toothpaste that is chicken flavored, that really helps getting them used to brushing…..ours love the brushing part because they love the toothpaste......they aren't wild about the follow up to the brushing with Oxi fresh....that must not taste as good.