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Vet Concern and I Don't Know Where To Turn

Lisa Loves Shiny

Lisa Loves Shiny

Ideal_Rock
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Joined
Nov 1, 2007
Messages
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I'm at a loss. I trust our vet and have been with her for many years. When she has been on vacation and my pets had needs I without reservation have taken them to the emergency ER for treatment. The results of that have been hit or miss. I trust my vet for the most part. She is a very kind and caring vet and a bit conservative regarding medical treatments which I am as well.

My one dog had bad teeth before she arrived to me as a rescue. She had multiple teeth removed before I got her and two after I got her. I love this dog to pieces. We had yearly dental cleanings. She now has a heart arrhythmia that showed up 2 years ago and after a full cardiac workout it is believed to be benign. Just some PVCs. My vet however does not want to clean her teeth, she is worried that under anesthesia the heart arrhythmia could be a huge problem. I understand her concern. I then adjusted our routine to brush her teeth 2x a day instead of just once.

I had my dog checked at the vet a month ago and let her know I was concerned about her teeth. I had noticed the dog was not as enthusiastic about her crunchy treats. She evaluated her and told me her teeth were clean.

Yesterday evening I noticed that between her morning and evening brushing, one tooth is missing on the side of her mouth. She is scheduled to go back the vet tomorrow.

Suggestions please! I am so worried that my poor dog may have an underlying infection in her gum or remnants of the tooth that is missing. I do not want her to suffer in any way and she is very good at hiding any physical issue.

Thanks in advance. :)
 
I’m so sorry for what you’re going through with your dog. I was in the same kind of situation recently with my cat, eventually I found another vet who treated him and there was 90% improvement within a week. This was after months of medications and specialists prior.

I would get a second opinion about the teeth, we stuck it out with our vet, who is a really nice guy but was obviously in over his head, for too many months and our cat was suffering needlessly the whole time.

That is the one thing I learned from this recent health crisis with our cat, ask questions, get second opinions and if you have any connections to a shelter or rescue, find out who they use for their animals. There has to be a way to safely address this but I think you need to find someone to look at this with a fresh set of eyes.

Wishing you the best dealing with this and a safe and pain-outcome for the pup!
 
This is probably ridiculous but as an in-between option, since you're able to brush the dog's teeth, would it be possible to floss them too?
 
@Lisa Loves Shiny, I'm not in the medical field or veterinary field, but based being an animal lover, and seeing my neighbor lose their beloved rescue dog due to being put under for dental cleaning....I would trust your vet, and probably try alternative treatments per your vet's recommendation. I do think flossing helps. Besides giving my dog dental treats (Greenies) every morning, I also use dental picks to floss his teeth every night. He sees his human parents floss with dental picks, so it doesn't faze him when we floss him the same way!
 
I'm sorry you and your poor dog are going through this! If you decide to get a 2nd opinion, I've had good luck getting solid honest reviews from Consumers' Checkbook magazine (as opposed to y-elp). It covers various cities and includes vets - you just have to find the issue that reviews vets for that year. Many libraries carry it:

Consumer's Checkbook

Your Unbiased Non-Profit Service Ratings Authority - Consumers' Checkbook
www.checkbook.org www.checkbook.org

Best wishes!
 
Do you have an SPCA hospital near you? The one near me has a great vet staff with multiple specialties. When any of my dogs had more than normal medical needs, I'd take them to the SPCA hospital vets and they were usually wonderful. Just a thought if you want a second opinion.
 
Lisa Loves Shiny said:
I'm at a loss. I trust our vet and have been with her for many years. When she has been on vacation and my pets had needs I without reservation have taken them to the emergency ER for treatment. The results of that have been hit or miss. I trust my vet for the most part. She is a very kind and caring vet and a bit conservative regarding medical treatments which I am as well.

My one dog had bad teeth before she arrived to me as a rescue. She had multiple teeth removed before I got her and two after I got her. I love this dog to pieces. We had yearly dental cleanings. She now has a heart arrhythmia that showed up 2 years ago and after a full cardiac workout it is believed to be benign. Just some PVCs. My vet however does not want to clean her teeth, she is worried that under anesthesia the heart arrhythmia could be a huge problem. I understand her concern. I then adjusted our routine to brush her teeth 2x a day instead of just once.

I had my dog checked at the vet a month ago and let her know I was concerned about her teeth. I had noticed the dog was not as enthusiastic about her crunchy treats. She evaluated her and told me her teeth were clean.

Yesterday evening I noticed that between her morning and evening brushing, one tooth is missing on the side of her mouth. She is scheduled to go back the vet tomorrow.

Suggestions please! I am so worried that my poor dog may have an underlying infection in her gum or remnants of the tooth that is missing. I do not want her to suffer in any way and she is very good at hiding any physical issue.

Thanks in advance. :)
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If you're vet is telling you she's not comfortable putting your dog out, believe her. Don't let her do the work.

Just like with humans, you have to find the best vet for the job. meaning, you may have to find a doggie dental specialist (they're out there!) do do this. Ask her if she knows of one because broken teeth is a very big deal.

First thing first; insist on having xrays done. if they can't do it, find a vet who can do it. Sometimes you have to rely on the local veterinary college if they have the equipment, and Your dog doesn't have to be out for this either. If there's broken teeth, you'll probably see it there.
 
Arcadian said:
If you're vet is telling you she's not comfortable putting your dog out, believe her. Don't let her do the work.

Just like with humans, you have to find the best vet for the job. meaning, you may have to find a doggie dental specialist (they're out there!) do do this. Ask her if she knows of one because broken teeth is a very big deal.

First thing first; insist on having xrays done. if they can't do it, find a vet who can do it. Sometimes you have to rely on the local veterinary college if they have the equipment, and Your dog doesn't have to be out for this either. If there's broken teeth, you'll probably see it there.
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This is where I am going to start-asking for X-rays. I will go wherever we need to go to get them. Thanks to you and everyone else for the advice.
 
My sister who’s a vet had us see a vet cardiologist and get our cat an echochardiogram for this very reason. To make sure he’d be ok to be under for tooth extraction and cleaning. It was worth it for peace of mind. He was elderly and desperately needed the work but we had concerns if he could handle the anesthesia. Anyway it went well.

I’d get a second opinion if I were you. Don’t ignore your gut. Sending your furry baby bucketloads of healing vibes and gentle hugs
 
missy said:
My sister who’s a vet had us see a vet cardiologist and get our cat an echochardiogram for this very reason. To make sure he’d be ok to be under for tooth extraction and cleaning. It was worth it for peace of mind. He was elderly and desperately needed the work but we had concerns if he could handle the anesthesia. Anyway it went well.

I’d get a second opinion if I were you. Don’t ignore your gut. Sending your furry baby bucketloads of healing vibes and gentle hugs
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Thanks for the reply Missy. We had a cardiologist work her up. She had the echo and wore a holter monitor for 24 hours. Her heart is structurally fine, but she does suffer PVCs when stressed. I understand the vet's concerns because anesthesia can cause arrhythmias. This is why I am at such a loss. I feel the risks are high either way we go. :( Hubby is taking her to the vet today while I'm at work. I wrote everything out for him to give to the vet. I'm going to spend my workday worried about her.
 
Lisa Loves Shiny said:
Thanks for the reply Missy. We had a cardiologist work her up. She had the echo and wore a holter monitor for 24 hours. Her heart is structurally fine, but she does suffer PVCs when stressed. I understand the vet's concerns because anesthesia can cause arrhythmias. This is why I am at such a loss. I feel the risks are high either way we go. :( Hubby is taking her to the vet today while I'm at work. I wrote everything out for him to give to the vet. I'm going to spend my workday worried about her.
Click to expand...

I am so sorry. I totally understand how stressful this all is. They are our family, our babies and mean the world to us. It is a rock and a hard place and I hope you can find a satisfactory resolution. I would consider a dental vet specialist who does this all the time rather than a general vet. Good luck!!!
 
Thanks everyone for the well wishes and excellent advice!

Here's the update. The vet did as thorough of an exam as she could without putting her under anesthesia. She palpated her gums, looked closely for redness or infection and believes the dog is fine and her teeth are clean. She notes her teeth are very clean and believes the tooth that fell out fell out intact. Hubby asked for documentation to show to me and I did receive her printed vet notes.

What I learned that I did not know. Two years ago during her last cleaning, my sweetie suffered bradycardia and hypotension while under anesthesia. They needed to bolus her to get her heart rate and BP stable. The vet sent this information to me with her concern that the dog is now 2 years older. It was after this event the vet recommended the cardiac workup. But she did not tell me about her issue with that cleaning. I understand now why she is so hesitant and the dog is now over 12 years old.

So what to do now after all the great PS advice. I am going to research how to properly floss her teeth and start that routine. I am going to research and find a specialist to at least evaluate my dog and have a plan in place for the future if things go wrong.

Thanks again everyone.
 
Some places will do a twilight dental, where your pet is sedated but not completely out. If your pet isn't the type to get squirrely, it can work well. because of the tieback, Lucky can never go under deep anethesia again, but even before the surgery, she could only do twilight.

If you have a animal veterinary specialty clinic near you they probably do them. Lucky's main vet does them only on greyhounds and cats.


Some practices don't do this for dogs but will do it for cats. Some won't do it at all. Its worth asking.

Surprising your vet never told you about the episode.
 
I’m so sorry to hear about your little doggo. I hope everything goes well and I’m sending your family healing vibes.
 
How is your sweet little doggo doing?
 
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