Teeth Cleaning Success

If you read the previous post on the blog you know we weren't able to clean Merry's teeth last week.  He wasn't able to go under because he couldn't breath on his own.  So this week my vet tried again using a different anesthesia.  It was successful this time. Though it turned out quite expensive.  When Merry went in the previous week my vet could tell he has a lose tooth, but that was all she could really see at the time.  When I picked him up he had like 8 teeth pulled!  I did have his teeth cleaned in May 2012 so I didn't think it had been that long and then 2 years before that.  He has never had teeth pulled before now.  I don't know how they got so bad.  She did say that when a cat is diabetic their teeth will go bad... but that bad~!!  He was under anesthesia for 50 minutes and so she didn't take xrays because he was under so long.  Merry gets sooooo moody at the vet.  I had to go in the back and move him into his carrier.

The vet did say she wants to see him in two weeks but she can't even get near him.  I asked her how she would look at his mouth and she said from a distance.  Well I am not going to pay $50 for her to stand away from him and say he looks good.  I have been feeding him wet food for the week, and of course he is on all kinds of medication.  I am going to start softening his diabetic dry food so he can eat that from now on.  I think with all those teeth gone it's going to be too hard for him to eat normal hard food.  His eyes also wigged out the night after his dental.  One eye was fully dilated and the other was not.   I googled this and of course this is a major sign of stroke.  Luckily my vet will email after hours if you email her so I emailed her right away! She did say this was a symptom of coming down off morphine.  But it was still very scary.

Be sure to get your cat's teeth cleaned. I had NO idea this is how bad his teeth were.  I would've never know he was in pain.  His breath did stink real bad so that's how I knew it was time.  Plus my vet had 10% off this month for dentals so I saved a lot of money there too. 

Yellow teeth are the ones removed

Teeth Cleaning

Merry's breath has not smelled good lately and it's been about 1 1/2 years since the last time he had his teeth cleaned.  I think it's important to take care of your cat's teeth.  Imagine a painful mouth!  Cats can't tell you when their mouth hurts so I try to do it every now and then (I don't do it as often as recommended though). If your cat has bad breath though then it's time.  Most likely there is plaque stuck somewhere in their teeth.

He fasted during the night but since he is diabetic he had to have a little food this morning. No shot though, no food or water during the night.  After dropping him off I called and check on him a few hours later.  Turns out he couldn't breath on his own while he was gassed so my vet decided to not do it today.  She was able to get some plaque off some of his teeth, but went ahead and woke him back up.  He does have one lose tooth so she wants to try again.  Next week we will bring him in and she will use a different anesthetic.  She said they would be able to tell before he is under whether or not he can breath.  I am hoping it works because a lost tooth can be very painful and I am not sure what the next option will be for this tooth.  This month is dental health month for pets so my vet also offers 10% off cleanings.  I wasn't charged for today either which was really nice of them.   I don't brush my cat's teeth though I should.. I do have a tooth brush and tooth paste for them for the vet but it is tough work. Be sure to get your cats teeth checked out especially if they are diabetic.  I'll update next week about how that appointment goes.