Whatcha Think??

[Jennifer and Jack]

My mom lives in the adult version of Disney World... They have all kinds of clubs, She belongs to the dog lovers club. Tonight they had a Doggie Dentist come in and speak...  This women ONLY does cat and dog's teeth. They do cleaning, root canal and other services.

I have always used Petzlife and Jack to date has always had since then mild tarter build up.. We are coming up on his fourth birthday in March. 

This Dentist states that even if you don't see any visible tarter that doesn't mean that your dog is free from disease. Jack does have stink breath at times ( sorry Jack) She said dogs need a full exam. She does a full set of x rays (just like humans get) to make sure nothing is growing in the mouth.  Then she puts them to sleep and does a full exam and cleaning. She will fill cavities and do root canals if the owners want.

She said just brushing your dogs teeth alone does not get up under the gums where the bacteria is hiding and it can cause all kinds of disease from kidney, liver and heart. Also  she said dogs are very stolic (she doesn't know Jack) and they can be walking around with a broken tooth and root exposed and we would never know.

Needless to say she is against bones and chewing on hard surfaces... 

So her fee is almost $400.00 for full x rays, cleaning and lab work to be done in advance.  I just logged on to Pet Plan to see if our insurance covers it.. It looks like it does from what I can tell... 

Points of interest.. his insurance says that if a vet recommends a dental procedure and you don't do it, they are not responsible for any disease that occurs.. To date Jack has not been officially recommended to have teeth cleaning, but Molly has.

So if Jack were to get sick and it was linked somehow to his teeth... His insurance is null and void.

I really hate, especially given he is adrenal insufficient to be put under. He doesn't have any signs of disease that I can see but what do I know????  

I am torn.... I know his insurance will cover the bulk of it but do you think she is just trying to drum up business??? I think she has some valid points but ??

Also as a side note., as I was going through Pet Plan exclusions do you know if your dog gets LEPTO and you have not kept up with vaccinations, they don't have to pay for any care related to the disease or any of the other diseases you CAN but are not required to get shots for as well.

I never noticed that before????

Why can't I ever make a rational decision when it comes to Jack ever? I swear I am educated. I swear I am not an air head but when it comes to him I just love him so much.

Do you all go to regular dog dentists? Do you let you dog get put to sleep? She said that if you don't let the dog go to sleep they can't do proper exams. 

Thanks in advance.

Signed

Crazy, Paranoid Doodle Mom.

[Jennifer and Jack]

Hilton Head is a more upscale area no doubt....THe longer I am a dog owner, the more I know I know nothing.  

[Ginny Nightingale]

fill cavities? Do root canals? Sounds nuts to me--I know there are dentists for horses that do all that, but they live much longer--40 years sometimes--and lots of people have very valuable horses--but a dog will stop eating if his teeth are causing him pain and the gums will be red and inflamed if the tartar is an issue--I say "leave well enough alone!"

[Jennifer and Jack]

Root Canals?? what do I know?? That is why I run everything by you guys... Seems normal to me. I don't want him to lose teeth.... It isn't the money... it's the issue of over treatment.. but at the same time I won't lie...I have thoughts of endocarditis, kidney and lung disease in my head.

This may be a silly question but do a dogs teeth age quicker then a humans because they have a shorter life expectancy?? 

[Rita and Fazzy]

We have two small (13#) dogs as well as our Fazzydoodle....the two small ones are both about to turn 5. One of them, her teeth always look great and a dental cleaning has never been recommended. Paige, on the other hand always has tarter and she just had her second cleaning yesterday. They wound up having to remove 3 back molars and there was a fracture on one of her " chewers", but X-rays showed that the root was good so they just sealed it. Not cheap...just over $700, but we want to make sure she is good in that dept since small dogs seem to have more issues with their teeth. Fortunately, she doesn't have any other health issues....but we had our 16 year old cat who was in kidney failure put under for a cleaning and he did great. It's always a hard decision for anything with anesthesia...I get nervous every time.

[Jennifer and Jack]

Thanks, Jack is a small dog. He ranges about 15 pounds or less....

$700.00 oh my gosh....

I wish I could trust my local vet, as good as she is to us and she is good... I am the one that had to push really hard to get Jack the proper tests and treatments for his low cortisol.... and my vet also sells Science Diet and Purina.... 

[BG and Gavin]

I would not put him under unless it was necessary.  Follow your trusted vets recommendation not this pet dentist who has everything to gain by making such sweeping recommendations.

[Jennifer and Jack]

that is true, thanks

[Ronna, Murphy & Wilson]

Jennifer, Murph is 3 and Wilson 1 1/2 and both are schedule for dental cleanings on March 8. My vet recommended it for Murph who is older and smaller (recommended....didn't push) but said wasn't necessary for Wilson. BUT when I was brushing Wilson's teeth a few weeks ago I realized he has a broken tooth, I am assuming from a Himilayan chew from Christmas....So both guys are getting the whole work up. My vet does 20% off in February for dental awareness month but was booked so extended the offer through March. My estimate for both boys , including bloodwork was $599 BEFORE the 20% discount. Call me crazy but we are doing it.

[Jennifer and Jack]

But you have insurance don't you?  

it really is a tough call.... I want Jack to have the best of everything, if only I knew what that was... 

I roll my eyes at myself all the time because I am forever reading, running in to and finding people with very old dogs who never gave it a thought what they fed them, what they did for their health other then the normal shots etc..... and here they have 17 year old poodles that look like they are five years old....

Then you have me who worries if Jack seems to have more gas then usual, I have him dying of colon cancer.. Truth I think I need an intervention....

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

I'm confused about the Lepto comment?

If your dog gets any other disease and you have not had the LEPTO vaccine then you are not covered?

For example, my dog gets ABC disease ( not Lepto), they will not cover ABC disease.

Lepto vaccine is a must to cover every other disease?

Confused.

Spud has never had a Lepto.

[Linda, Webber and Seda]

I thought she meant that if your dog gets a disease that there is a vaccine for that the disease treatment will not be covered. My dogs get the lepto vaccine because we have Lepto virus in North Carolina in my county. It seems to me if your Vet doesn't recommend a particular vaccine it would be very frustrating to have insurance deny your claim but it wouldn't surprise me if they did!

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

Thank you, Linda. I understood it that way also, but just double checking. 

Darn, I forgot to ask about the Lepto on this last visit.

Now that you bring it up I need to go find a thematic map on my area concerning Lepto. I wonder why my vet never recommends the vaccine?