My Dog’s Dental Cleaning is How Much?

Regular at-home dental care for your dog will benefit both of you in the long run.

An example of when pet parents don’t give much importance to at-home dental maintenance and delay dental care for their dogs.

You arrive at the vet early on a weekday morning to bring your dog in for a dental cleaning. The nurse goes over the paperwork with you and presents you with an estimate for the cleaning. The cleaning itself is not bad as far as cost goes, you can make that work. Then the nurse presents you with the general prices should any extractions be necessary. You give it a few seconds before signing the estimate and think to yourself “Eh, it can’t be that bad.” You sign the estimates, kiss your furry kid goodbye and anxiously sit by the phone awaiting updates on how things are going.

A little time later you get a phone call. You answer it hastily, hoping that there is nothing but good news on the other side. You hear a warm and friendly voice that tells you that your dog is doing great under anesthesia. You exhale heavily as some of your anxieties are relieved.

Then you hear about the 20 teeth that require extractions and hear a price that will put a decent hole in your wallet at the end of the day. You panic, a million thoughts rush through your head in a whirlwind of financial calculations that you make your stomach sink just a little. “Can I really afford this? What is the right choice here? Are all these extractions truly needed? What happens if I do not proceed with these extractions? How will your dog eat with little to no teeth?” You decide to ask the questions that are rushing through your mind. You are reassured that yes, your dog can eat just fine without teeth, and that the extractions are truly needed as the roots of the teeth are breaking down and heavily infected.

Since your dog is 10 years old, you have no interest in doing a dental in the future. You take a deep breath and in a meek voice say, “Go ahead and do it.” Your dog is your child to you and a valuable member of your family. You worry about how your significant other will react to such a hefty charge on your credit card but come to the conclusion that they will understand. They love this wonderful furry kid just as much as you do.

A little while later you get another phone call. You have been on the edge of your seat since the last phone call and so, you once again hastily answer the phone. The doctor informs you that the dental procedure went just fine without any complications and your dog will be ready to go home in a couple of hours. You exhale a sigh of relief, you can finally relax.

The reality is that your 10 year old dog is a Greyhound with extremely poor genetics as far as oral health goes. You have been putting the dental cleaning off for years and have never been very good at being compliant with brushing your dog’s teeth. Your dog’s breath was the equivalent of raw fish left out in the summer heat prior to the dental cleaning. Veterinarians have previously recommended a dental cleaning but you kept putting if off for one reason or another.

What you didn’t realize is that had you agreed to a dental cleaning based on your vet’s recommendations there is a good chance that your dog would have more teeth right now. Now, that may sound like a bunch of hokey-pokey but think about it; if you never brushed your teeth and never got a dental cleaning until you were the equivalent of 70 to 80 years of age how do you think your mouth would look, smell and feel? How do you think your first dental visit would go?

The moral of the story here is, dental hygiene is extremely important for our canine companions as it is for us. Ten years of no dental care is the equivalent of decades of lack of dental care for us since they age so much faster than we do. The best way to maintain good dental health is a healthy diet, regular dental care at home and regular dental cleanings with your vet as needed - by the way, if you brush at home you won’t need to pay for a dental cleaning at the vet nearly as often.

Click for a quick demonstration on how to gently brush your dog’s teeth

Author on behalf of Dr. Bhatt and Arya Animal Acupuncture : Weronika Shore