Anesthesia-Free Teeth Cleaning

teckster

Can anybody here recommend a vet who does anesthesia-free teeth cleaning?

I would travel anywhere in Ireland to have my dog's teeth cleaned without anaesthetic.

Of course I would attempt to do it myself, but I can't see sharp enough (it is not a matter of glasses).

Regards,
Teckster

Crafty-Chel

i dont think its possible to get it done without anesthesia, unless your doggie is very quiet while having his mouth held open and teeth pulled at... my puddy has to go in to get his done and has to be knocked out, and it is a worry but the vets i use are amazing, i drive for nearly 40 mins to get to them... if it makes u feel better, my boss brought her dog to get his done (with the same vets i use) only last week and hes really old and it all went fine...

Ruby Soho

This really boils down to how bad your dog's teeth actually are. If there's just a bit of tartar on the lateral surfaces of the canines for instance and you want it removed for aesthetic reasons, then I don't see why any vet wouldn't use a manual descaler to scrape it off.
However, if its a big job that's likely to take a while (and these can be big time consuming jobs), then I really don't see how it would be possible to carry it out on a conscious animal.
There's a couple of reasons for this. Firstly, it can be really a painful procedure. Fair enough, you can use local anaesthetics, but this is not the norm and I cannot see any dog sitting still to have a painful stingy substance injected into their gums and not take the hand off the vet.
When a dog has its teeth cleaned using an automatic descaler, there is alot of water involved which is projected from the scaler head to wash away debris / keep the instrument cool. If a dog is restrained for this procedure, there is a very real risk that he/she may inadvertently inhale / aspirate either the water or highly contaminated pieces of tartar. This is prevented in the unconscious animal by the placement of a tightly fitting endo-tracheal tube, this ensures the airway is kept open, but prevents the aspiration of potentially life-threatening substances.
Is there a reason why you do not want an anaesthetic? I'm just curious, has the dog had a bad reaction before? Is he / she very old? Heart condition?
If that were the case, then I think that a safe anaesthetic would be more beneficial to the dog than restraining it manually thus terrifying it for the sake of doing it conscious. If the dog is particularly old, make sure that a panel of bloods are taken prior to the procedure to assess its systemic health and its ability to metabolise / excrete the drugs appropriately.
You simply can't explain to a dog what's happening and expect it to sit quietly for what would be a very very unpleasant and frightening procedure, I wouldn't put my own dogs through it. From the vets point of view, I think the risk of being badly bitten is just too high.

shu

Sorry but you will not find a single vet in the country willing to do that! And I am surprised that you thought such a thing was possible! If his teeth aren't too bad I would recommend buying a toothbrush and toothpaste at the vets and you can work away at that yourself. Other than that, the only option is a full dental involving an anaesthetic.

teckster

I am not comfortable with the idea of sedating a healthy young dog unless it is a medical emergency.

A tooth brush will not get the tartar off, a dental tool and good eye sight as well as experience are required.

Perhaps somebody knows of somebody who is able to do this

shu

For obvious personal safety reasons no vet would not be comfortable with performing this procedure without an anaesthetic. It would also be cruel and cause unnecessary distress to the animal. Good luck trying to find someone to do it.

Ruby Soho

OP, a young healthy animal is the ideal candidate for anaesthetic! Most vets nowadays use human quality drugs and its extremely rare that there's a problem with the anaesthetic. Why not get the problem sorted now while the dog is still young and healthy?
Have you approached your own vet about scraping the tartar off the teeth? If this is done, its only for aesthetic value, and won't solve the problem if it extends subgingivally, i.e. below the gumline.
My 7 and 8 year old dogs recently had full dentals done under anaesthetic, they had pre-GA bloods taken to make sure everything was ticking over properly first and the procedures both went without a hitch.
Bad teeth may not be a 'medical emergency' but if the gum disease gets severe, it can lead to all manner of problems, including septicaemia and an infection of the lining of the heart (pericarditis). Why not get it sorted out properly and nip the problem in the bud!?

teckster

Ruby Soho wrote: »

OP, a young healthy animal is the ideal candidate for anaesthetic!

Approx. 4 in 1000 dogs die under anaesthesia while having their teeth cleaned.
Besides that, I have no interest in pumping any sort of drugs into my dog, which is the reason he is healthy :rolleyes:

Ruby Soho wrote: »

Bad teeth may not be a 'medical emergency' but if the gum disease gets severe, it can lead to all manner of problems, including septicaemia and an infection of the lining of the heart (pericarditis). Why not get it sorted out properly and nip the problem in the bud!?

I am looking for somebody with experience in descaling teeth before the teeth go bad and/ or gum disease sets in.

All over the world there are vets who can do this, breeders clean their own dogs' teeth. It is not unusual.

Ruby Soho

Well then, might I suggest that you go back to your dogs breeder and ask him!

teckster

Ruby Soho wrote: »

Well then, might I suggest that you go back to your dogs breeder and ask him!

Whatever your problem is, it is not mine

Your suggestions are not conducive to the question heading this thread -

*
I am still looking for somebody who can descale a domesticated dog's teeth :eek:

Ruby Soho

[All over the world there are vets who can do this, breeders clean their own dogs' teeth. It is not unusual.[/QUOTE]


I don't have a problem. I've given several reasons why I think that its a bad idea, you obviously think you know better. Have you approached any vets (ie. your own vet) about this? What have they said? I presume that they have refused and that's why you're on here looking for advice. If it were that easy to do conscious, sure we'd all be getting it done to our pets without anaesthesia!
And, just incase you're wondering, my dogs are also perfectly healthy, despite the fact that I 'pump drugs into them'. I don't think that putting a healthy dog under for half an hour to humanely sort out a potential health problem is 'pumping drugs into them'.

teckster

You are hijacking this thread by repeating your opinion over and over.

Why do you have to have the last word?

Do you know sonebody who can descale teeth?

Blueprint

How bad are his teeth? If they've only a little tartar build up, I suppose a groomer might clean them a bit, you should ask a few and see.

Have you considered using something like Plaque-off and giving him plenty of chews to help keep his teeth clean? This alone might work if his teeth aren't too bad yet.

teckster

Blueprint wrote: »

How bad are his teeth? If they've only a little tartar build up, I suppose a groomer might clean them a bit, you should ask a few and see.

Have you considered using something like Plaque-off and giving him plenty of chews to help keep his teeth clean? This alone might work if his teeth aren't too bad yet.

Thanks, Blueprint. I will give the groomers a try

The teeth are not too bad, they need to be done now-ish so that they don't deteriorate. He chews plenty, the problem most likely comes from him being given treats (sugar free etc.) in between too often ..

doctor evil

OP to me it sounds like you are the one with the issue not the dogs, so why do they have to go through discomfort and stress to comply with your issue(s)?

doolin101

It is not possible to do a full descale and polish without sedation as you will not be able ot see the inner surfae of the teeth due to the fleshy part of the tongue. Also it can be dangerous as a lot of water is used and the dog could aspiate this water.
that said if you take responsiblity for your dogs dental health and claen his teeth twice daily with a canine toothbrush and tooth paste the necessity of an extensive dental could be greatly decreased.
Please be skeptical of anyone saying it is possible-it simply is not possible to do a good job this way and for sure you will end up having to give your dog a full GA (nevermind sedation!) when his teeth become rotten.

Sigma Force

Since the dogs teeth just basically need a good clean and aren't so bad that they may need descaling by a vet these are some things I tried because my smaller dog has very bad tartar (sensative tum so only certain food could be given) and didn't want her to have to go under anesthetic.

I've found that a combination of beef strips, pigs ears and those white filled bones have been excellent at getting the majority of the tarter off her teeth look great now. I had cut down on these treats because of her sensative tum but as long as she doesn't get tons in one go she's fine and the white filled bones have hardly any filling in them so she chews them a lot.

There's also a paste called 'Logic' that you rub on to the dogs teeth, it can be effective.

Dogzone

:DGood on you for looking for a non anesthetic teeth cleaner! I do basic teeth descaling on lots of my fury friends that come in for grooming. Its pain free and not distressing at all for them, if it was I would not do it. Hopefully by now you have found a groomer that will do it for you. I am in New Zealand so no help from me but you could try getting intouch with the the Grooming industry over there they may be able to give you a list of suitable groomers. Good luck!

teckster

Thanks, Dogzone :)