Info ***UPDATED*** Information on Dental Procedures (Pictures included)

At least once a month, someone has a question about dental procedures. Rather than having to put this together every time, I've put the information in one place and this post is a way to insure the information is available to all of FDMB. (2019: Unfortunately, the original information that was from my former "cat only" vet is no longer available. The links have been updated and some information includes both dogs and cats.)

Dental Disease in Cats

Periodontal Disease and Dental Home Care

What's Involved in Teeth Cleaning & Why Is General Anesthesia Needed?

Information on anesthesia from the AVMA

2020 AAHA Dental Care Guidelines for Dogs and Cats

Updated by Marje and Gracie 1/30/2024 to add:

It has been a long-standing approach by veterinarians to tell clients whose pet needs a dental to withhold food and water after a certain time prior to anesthesia and many times it’s anywhere from 9 pm to midnight. If you look at the linked (above) 2020 AAHA Dental Care Guidelines for Dogs and Cats, it has a section under Phase 2 Step 1 regarding the length of time food and water needs to be withheld and it has an excellent table (also shown below) which addresses diabetic pets.



Please discuss this important information with your vet to ensure your diabetic kitty is getting the correct dose and is being fasted an appropriate, and not overly long, length of time prior to anesthesia.

 

This has already passed but February is Pet Dental Health month. Many vets offer discounts on dental procedures during this time. Might be something to keep in mind for the future :smile:

The Pet Diabetes Wiki has an overview of dental procedures and questions to ask the vet.

 

Unfortunately, while some of the information in the Wiki page is very good, some of it is dated and some is dangerous (e.g., using Metacam for pain management is not a good across the board recommendation due to the FDA black box warning regarding its association with renal failure in cats).

 

Great info! Bookmarked!

In HK, we have lots of vet clinic doing "dental" without general anesthesia. After a general blood test, the vet will inject a sadative jab (K..solution?) & perform the dental procedure. Usually this will finish off in 10-20 mins, tooth extraction included.
I know this is not a safe procedure for a "proper dental" but because it is relatively cheaper than a "full course" & a lot of pet owners are not aware of the difference in the service, they will opt for this. So far, I haven't heard of adverse effect on cats after this anthesia-free dental service. And some clinic is using a pain relief med Temgesic instead of Metacom while others are still using Metacam.
Pls correct me if I am wrong.

 

Great information!
Thanks for this!

 

WOO HOO! AWESOME resource. Glad this was resurrected. Thanks Sienne!

 

What a marvelous resource!! Thanks so much @Sienne and Gabby (GA) for putting it together. and @Marje and Gracie for pointing me to it.

 

@Sienne and Gabby (GA) the links aren't working any more.

Here is a link to the library of articles: http://cathospitalofchicago.com/resources/feline-health-library.php from their web site. There are a few on dental care.