How will my pet benefit from dental procedures?
When most humans have a dentist appointment they are able to sit in a chair and open their mouth and let the dentist go to work for a cleaning. In this scenario, these cleanings usually cost over $100 and are recommended every 9 to 12 months. If a dentist finds any problems, for example – a cavity – the procedure is booked on another day and can cost hundreds of dollars depending on the severity.
There are some humans who cannot simply sit in a chair and open their mouths – due to fear or anxiety – and they often require “sleep dentistry”. This means they require some level of anesthesia in order to tolerate or cooperate during a dental procedure. The anesthesia raises the cost of most of these procedures from the hundreds into the thousands of dollars.
Dogs and cats all require sleep dentistry. They undergo the same type of procedures that human beings do, including preoperative blood tests, intravenous catheter placement, induction and maintenance, digital dental x-rays, scaling and polishing and – more often than not – dental extractions. This all means that the procedures are expensive. I advise my clients to either
- Get a pet insurance policy that covers dental procedures or
- Put aside $100 per year to build up a fund you can use to apply to your pet’s dental procedures.
A picture is worth a thousand words
Before and after pictures of dog and cat dental procedures are the best way I can stress the importance of dental procedures:
