Saturday, May. 10, 2008

Pet Talk: Anesthesia-free dentals are dangerous

By the age of 3, it is estimated that 80 percent of dogs and 70 percent of cats have signs of dental disease. This includes bad breath, red, swollen or receding gums, loose teeth, bleeding from the mouth, increased drooling, and reduced activity or energy.

In fact, most owners report a significant improvement in their pet's energy level and an increased quality of life within a few weeks of having the animal's teeth professionally cleaned.

Bad teeth have been linked (in people and animals) to heart disease, kidney failure and liver problems. In fact, the inflammation from dental disease has been shown to predispose people to a large variety of health problems. Animals tend to be more stoic than people, so it is difficult to pinpoint when dental pain has become a major problem.

Unfortunately, there are people who are willing to endanger your pet in order to make a few dollars when they offer an anesthesia-free dental cleaning that is supposedly "as good as" a professional dental cleaning. These folks are preying on your concern about anesthesia while promising to save you a bunch of money. I don't know about you, but I don't allow my health care to be provided by the lowest bidder. By getting an anesthesia-free dental, you are actually exposing your pet to a great deal of physical risk and serious emotional stress.

According to the American Veterinary Dental College, it is "impossible in an unanesthetized canine or feline patient" to properly clean the teeth. The AVDC states that "removal of dental tartar on the visible surfaces of the teeth has little effect on a pet's health . . . The effect is purely cosmetic."

Have you ever tried to brush your pet's teeth? It isn't easy. That's why a professional dental cleaning involves safely anesthetizing your pet so that all of the plaque and calculus can be removed -- on the outer and inner surfaces of the teeth. Quality dental work means that the most important area of the mouth -- the region below the gum line -- is safely and thoroughly cleaned.

When your pet's teeth are cleaned without anesthesia, someone must physically restrain the pet to keep him from moving while the teeth are being scaled. Imagine the stress a pet is under when he is being held down while someone scrapes tartar off of the teeth.

In fact, anesthesia-free dentistry isn't safe at all -- there are numerous instances of pets getting broken or dislocated jaws during the procedure, sharp dental instruments slipping and stabbing the eye, and even some cases of death by accidental strangulation.

Simply stated, cleaning a pet's teeth without anesthesia is not only cruel, it is also illegal if performed by a layperson and malpractice if performed by a veterinarian. In the end, anesthesia-free dentistry may make the outer surface of the teeth look whiter, but was the stress and danger to your pet worth the money saved?

Dr. Jon Klingborg is a veterinarian at Valley Animal Hospital in Merced. He can be contacted at askdrjon@pacbell.net