Jane had a dental cleaning today. She did just fine, though I couldn't help but worry. I know a dog her age (8 years) isn't at much risk, but still, it's always a little scary to have a dog put under a general.
They had to pull one fractured tooth, which they said was so bad <grossout alert> they could put a probe into it and go right down to the soft tissue. When I asked if the tooth had been causing her pain they said no, it had happened a long time ago (long before she came to live with us) and the soft tissue was dead. So it must have caused her pain when it happened but not anymore. They also said she had another minor fracture which they could ignore. It sounded like they meant a chipped tooth which is no big deal, I have one of those and I don't even know how it happened. Also Jane was missing two of her side teeth, which is a common genetic condition in shepherd mixes. But for Jane the missing teeth don't match. So they said it's more likely that she had some trauma or injury in the past which caused the damaged and lost teeth. I think she must have had a rough-and-tumble life before she came to us. She also has a weird toe (kind of crosses over the other toe) which the vet said must have been broken a long time ago and untreated, so it didn't heal properly.
They said that next time Jane has a cleaning we should consider having X-rays to see if there are still root tips in there from the missing teeth. Poor baby! I work with a guy who had that happen, a bad dentist pulled his wisdom teeth and left a bit behind, and it got infected and caused terrible headaches for years until he went to another dentist and found out what had happened. I hope Jane doesn't have that.
She ate canned food just fine when we got home, though she has been acting fussy all night. Whining and wanting to go out all the time. We thought maybe she was sick, but we watched her outside and she just stood there for awhile and then scratched to come back in. I think she wants to go out because her mouth hurts and she feels out of sorts, and she likes being outside so maybe she thinks she'll feel better out there.
I finally got Jane to settle down by getting into bed. She always lies down when I do, and now she's sleeping at the foot of the bed.
I decided that Lucy, who will be 11 in May, will no longer get put under for teeth cleaning. But the great thing is, now that I'm feeding her raw bones in her diet and giving her raw "recreational" bones (usually ribs or neck bones), almost all of her plaque is gone. She had a vet exam Monday and he noted that her teeth look great. Most vets frown on a raw diet, but when I told him why her teeth are so clean he was cool with it.
Anyway, you don't need to feed a raw diet, but occasional raw bones (maybe once a week) would probably help keep Jane's teeth clean. She should be able to handle the bones even with missing teeth (Lucy had two premolars extracted a few years ago because of slab fractures). I avoid the weight-bearing bones (the ones from the legs and feet) because they're very hard and could break teeth, but rib and neck bones work really well.
Or, if you don't want to feed bones, you can actually brush your dog's teeth with enzymatic toothpaste. I do that for the bits of plaque that the bones miss. It really helps.
I'll try bones, but I'll be surprised if she wants them -- she doesn't like hard treats like Greenies or Bully sticks. Who knows though, she might like them better now that she doesn't have a broken tooth with an exposed root.