Dental cleaning extend dog's life?

Dr. Marie replied:

I can understand your frustration at being told your dog needs an expensive procedure each time he sees the vet. I feel the same way quite often when I take my car to the garage. I am always worried that I am being taken advantage of and that perhaps the extra work that is recommended is not absolutely necessary.

I can tell you though that pretty much every animal I see over the age of 2 really should have their teeth cleaned under an anesthetic. Think about how our teeth feel if we go a day or two without brushing. Now, imagine several years without brushing...they would be in very rough shape! We can't always see evidence of this on a quick glance, but by the time we see large chunks of tartar and periodontal disease then a lot of harm has been done.

I spent a lot of time producing this answer to your question. One of the main goals of my website is to provide actual factual information as opposed to just regurgitating what is commonly believed. So, I found some journal articles for you that will hopefully help.

This study showed that periodontal disease made dogs more likely to have kidney disease.

This study showed the same thing and also that the more periodontal disease a dog has, the more likely they are to have heart disease.

This article showed that the amount of dental disease a dog has can correlate to disease in the heart, kidneys and liver.

There are also studies that show that dental disease can cause problems with the lungs, can cause a dog to be more likely to develop diabetes. There is also a study that shows that dogs who have regular dental cleanings respond better to chemotherapy treatments than dogs with periodontal disease.

The other factor is your dog's discomfort. Dogs will not show us if they have dental pain unless the pain is REALLY bad. Regular dental cleanings are the only way to thoroughly assess and clean the teeth.

Now, with all of this being said, when I see a wiggly incisor, I don't usually call that a dental emergency unless there is obvious pain when the tooth is handled. Most likely if this were my case I would recommend having the teeth cleaned within the next few months and then that incisor could be removed.

I hope this answers your questions. Please let me know if you have more.

Dr. Marie.

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Dr. Marie replied:

I can totally relate to your situation! It's very hard to examine the mouth of some dogs. But it really sounds like it's time for a cleaning and a good exam.

Hope all goes well!

Dr. Marie.