Tooth extraction in diabetic cat?

Hi all,

I have a question regarding an older cat of mine. He has some very bad teeth, including 4 molars that need to be removed desperately. To emphasize how bad they are, the teeth are loose in the gums and wiggle all around, and this cat is struggling to eat as each day goes by.

I took him to the vet last week where they confirmed that yes, 4 (to 5) teeth will need to be extracted. This will cost me around 1500 dollars, which to a student is like 15 million. Anyways, they took a blood and urine test and today they called me. I was informed that he has diabetes and will require insulin shots; no big deal as I figured he might get that. However, they are telling me that they cannot remove any teeth for a minimum of 8 weeks. They say it's linked to the diabetes and that he'll need to receive these insulin shots for a while before they can work on his teeth. Does this sound legitimate? I'm worried for a few reasons (financial of course), but also due to the fact that his teeth are extremely painful and I can pretty much guarantee they won't last 8 weeks without being worked on now.

I want to help him out the best I can, so I'm not sure what to do. 8 weeks is a long time for him to go without any immediate dental work...if anyone knows the possible reasons why they can't remove his teeth yet, please let me know!

Thanks!

 

I haven't heard of ever having to wait for a dental. There is often some extra care taken for my Tucker, but for the most part if he needs teeth out, they get removed.

The bad teeth may be the reason why your cat has increased blood sugar and getting the teeth removed might cause his blood sugar to go back to normal without insulin.

Can you call some vets in your area and see what their policy is on dentals for possible diabetics.

What did this vet say about the FD? Did they give you a blood glucose number? Run a fructosamine test? Check the urine for sugar? Does your cat have any symptoms of FD? Drinking more water, peeing more, hungry?

 

agree with jen here. even if he was on insulin, it would not be given before dental BUT.... It is a good chance the bad teeth and pain are raising his sugar. I personally would call around for another vet who will do it or maybe tell this vet, or mention, that maybe blood sugars are up due to pain and infection cause he has no other symptoms?? otherwise, find someone who will do it and is willing to work with you or discuss

 

I'm with Jennifer on this...pain and infection can raise BG levels. I think you need to discuss this further with your vet, and check out other vets, and find a way to address the dental needs. If you kitty truly is diabetic, then an inability to eat (or eat as much as needed), together with pain and infection, will likely make regulation of the diabetes very difficult, if not impossible.

As to the dental itself, one of my diabetic cats just had a dental with three teeth extracted. It went very well, and he recovered and was as chipper as my vet has ever seen him by that afternoon. I do know vets do make certain diabetic cats are monitored closely during and after surgery, but I've never heard of one refusing to provide what is clearly a much-needed dental because a cat was a newly-diagnosed diabetic.

 

I agree that you may see a BIG improvement if the teeth come out.
The high blood glucose numbers could be caused by many things and getting the teeth fixed may cause his numbers to come down.
I know just a cleaning and one canine extraction for my cat resulted in a great improvement for her.
Can you get some estimates, some vets are grossly expensive but really not alot better than a reasonable vet. Get the estimates in writing, and get the charges itemized so you see what they are charging for diff things.
I paid less than half that amount and it included pain meds for after the dental cleaning and one extraction and Xrays.
I would for sure want to know why so much.
Don't get suckered into paying what is ridiculous.
Ask how much for each Xray and each extraction, and ask about the procedure, and what sort of meds are given, etc.
Good luck on the dental; it may turn out that you can do a compromise with cleaning and 1 or 2 pulled. Before the Xrays, my vet said it looked like 4 teeth were bad but after a little cleaning and the Xrays, only one had to go.

Your cat WILL feel better after, and I question that you cat has diabetes. Get copies of all tests done on your cat and others here can help you understand the results.

 

Actually, many vets insist upon waiting to do dentals or other surgeries requiring anaesthesia until a diabetic cat is 'regulated'. This may seem backward to people on this board, but in some cases there is good reason. It depends on the overall health and stability of the cat, and its ability to go 'under' with minimal risk. In a newly diagnosed cat, kidneys may be stressed, etc.

That said, if your cat is relatively healthy otherwise, and your vet uses various monitoring equipment like blood pressure monitors, fluids, etc., then I cannot see why these teeth should be allowed to stay in any longer as it will jeopardize your cat's overall health and ability to become regulated....

 

My vet also told me they won't do a dental until my cat is somewhat regulated. They are worried about complications during anasthesia. Someone on the board wrote that many vets won't do dentals on unregulated diabetics. I know- it's a viscious cycle, considering that bad teeth can raise BG. Go figure. I tried to convince my vet, but she said lets give it a few weeks...But- my cat's teeth are not nearly as bad as it sounds your cat's are...

E

 

I would also get estimates because we paid that ourselves, but it was 8 teeth that were extracted. You are only getting half the teeth taken out and it's costing almost as much as what we paid!

 

Estimates vary geographically and according to scope of work (canine teeth or not, blood pressure monitoring or not, etc.). I paid approximately $1000 for 2 teeth removed last year....

 

The pet diabetes wikia has a page on dental procedures you might find helpful.

 

Our vet is also hesitant to do anything requiring anasthesia until Cotton is somehwat regulated, or at least until his BG is consistently lower than 25. They will, though, if it's an emergency and it certainly sounds like those teeth need to go...

 

Hello.

I have a diabetic cat as well.

Very easy to do the injections and make healhea again.

It does make sense to me that you have to
Wait until he's stable before you put him under general anastesia.
Im going tomorrow for my cats teeth removal and even if he is diabetically stable, I'm worried because of the risk factor. What doesn't make sense to me is that for my cat, its every single teeth that need to be removed. The costs of medecine, xray, blood tests and all, my quote is for about 800$ tax in. You need to shop for vets because 1500$ is WAY too high i think.

 

You're responding to a very old thread here.