# teeth cleaning at the vets - cost?



## Chez87 (Aug 11, 2010)

Hi all, 

I just a look at Annies teeth, and there seems to be a fair bit of plaque over her back teeth. She has no other problems though, breath doesn't smell particularly and no problems eating. I wonder if you had any idea how much it costs to get her teeth cleaned and polished at the vets? Have any of you had to do this recently?

I'm guessing a couple of hundred?  I'm guessing chewing on chunks of meat isn't going to make a huge difference at this stage? But I will carry on doing it after she's had them done.

Edit: She is 9 now by the way.


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## DKDREAM (Sep 15, 2008)

if she will eat chicken wings they will help a great Deal as they use the back teeth alot.


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## Chez87 (Aug 11, 2010)

She won't tackle a whole wing yet, although I am trying to increase the size of the pieces of meat she'll eat. She's a bit set in her ways see. She likes raw but when the pieces get too big, she doesn't bother as much.

Luckily I have my kitten tackling chicken wings (and even some of the bone) so hopefully he won't have the same problems.


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## DKDREAM (Sep 15, 2008)

have you tried her with some steak its a very chewy meat and it might help. A good toothpaste to get them is one called Logic ..... you dont need to brush the teeth if she wont let you just put a blob on her paw she will lick it. It has enzymes in that helps break down plaque.


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## Chez87 (Aug 11, 2010)

Will it work though? I thought her teeth would need properly descaling? And after that I can do the "maintenance." Or if it's not affecting her as yet shall I not bother? And just try the other teeth cleaning methods?


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## DKDREAM (Sep 15, 2008)

if its not bothering her and the gum looks fine I personally wouldn't bother and try and sort it out myself rather then risk her going under. The tooth paste is good. I cant say weather it will work for you or not. Maybe take her to the vets and ask their opinion?


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## gypsymoth (Oct 10, 2010)

If it's plaque build up you won's shift it with food and toothpaste, only a proper cleaning. but if she seems happy enough with her eating and theres no sign of gum problems, I'd leave her.


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## Chez87 (Aug 11, 2010)

Maybe I'll leave it for now and just try some other things. She HATES going to the vets, poor girl. Only thing is, if I ask the vet, will he tell me to do it anyway as it's such an expensive procedure? I'm so cynical!!

But you're right, shouldn't put her through an unnecessary anaesthetic.


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## DKDREAM (Sep 15, 2008)

You could try missing one of her meals so she is a bit more hungry and see if she will try the chicken wing?


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## buffie (May 31, 2010)

Hi Chez Its a couple of years since I had a cat have a scale and polish but it was nowhere near £200.and my vet is not cheap.If I remember it was about £90/£100.If you cant shift the plaque any other way and you think it needs to be removed it may be better to have it done while your cat is still youngish and with out any other health problems.


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## Chez87 (Aug 11, 2010)

Hi buffie, thank you. Yes, that's the other side of the coin, if she gets to be older, and the vet decides she needs it done then, she will be at greater risk from the anaesthetic.

Where abouts in the country are you buffie? I'm in greater london. Just wondered about the different costs of vets services!


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## DKDREAM (Sep 15, 2008)

oh Right I did not realise she was 9 year old. Could you not ring a few vets in your local area for an estimate? Given her age i'd have her health checked (heart) and maybe consider a dental


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## buffie (May 31, 2010)

Hi In bonnie cold Scotland(Edinburgh)My vet practice is ,I believe ,the first animal hospital in Scotland.Built from an existing vet practice that I was a client with(wont say how long :lolDirty teeth can I think be at the root(no pun intended)of so many other problems that I think they do need to be sorted.


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## Guest (Oct 10, 2010)

My cat has had his teeth done twice! (including extractions) He is sixteen now and the last time was about 3 years back, and before that when he was around 7 The first time it cost me around £85 and last time I seem to remember that it was not an aweful lot more maybe just over the hundred. Felt this was pretty reasonablt myself - but as I said that was over three years ago.

DT


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## Paddy Paws (Jul 11, 2010)

I'd get them scaled now before the plaque starts to push the gums back. When this happens, the roots get exposed and then all sorts of problems arise. Once scaled you can try something like Plaque off in food which is a great help. The longer you wait,the more of a problem it will become (& the more expensive). No amount of brushing will shift this.


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## Lulu's owner (May 1, 2009)

Chez87 said:


> Hi all,
> 
> I just a look at Annies teeth, and there seems to be a fair bit of plaque over her back teeth. She has no other problems though, breath doesn't smell particularly and no problems eating. I wonder if you had any idea how much it costs to get her teeth cleaned and polished at the vets? Have any of you had to do this recently?
> 
> ...


During the past year I've paid about £140 for cleaning and polishing in Nottingham and about £200 in Ruislip. Nottingham is a bit cheaper for this treatment and of course it depends how many extractions are needed.


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## Chez87 (Aug 11, 2010)

I may give the vets a ring and see how much it is. I'm sure my vet is one of the most expensive in the area (well going on the quotes I got for neutering and microchipping).

I took a picture last night, her gums do look a bit red which I'm sure can't be good.


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## Lulu's owner (May 1, 2009)

I would definitely take cat to the vet's as when they start getting a red line along the gum like that I would say it's time for treatment.


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## Chez87 (Aug 11, 2010)

Yeah I thought that wasn't a good sign! Ok, I will give them a call tomorrow. Thanks for the advice.

Just looked it up, its a sign of gingivitis right? Do you think she will need extractions? Like I say, she has no problem eating at all.


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## DKDREAM (Sep 15, 2008)

she needs a vet visit yeah I agree.


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## Lulu's owner (May 1, 2009)

Chez87 said:


> Just looked it up, its a sign of gingivitis right? Do you think she will need extractions? Like I say, she has no problem eating at all.


I wonder if she is still managing to chew all right or whether she's swallowing bits of food whole? Sometimes when they've got mouth trouble it's the former (they just end up using the front teeth) so you don't necessarily realise that they're having pain. I've no knowledge of veterinary matters so am only hazarding a guess, but I would say that some extractions are quite likely judging from your photo.


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## JOANNEJ1655 (Sep 5, 2009)

My vet is going to charge me £160 to have my cats teeth cleaned. Im in Essex.


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## Chez87 (Aug 11, 2010)

Oh poor Annie. I feel so guilty now I've left it so long. Since she had no trouble eating (she had a lump/infection in her mouth last year and the vet examined her mouth thoroughly and never mentioned her teeth - she just had antibiotics and got better) and hasn't been salivating too much or anything, I really didn't even think to check her teeth properly.


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## Lulu's owner (May 1, 2009)

Chez87 said:


> Oh poor Annie. I feel so guilty now I've left it so long. Since she had no trouble eating (she had a lump/infection in her mouth last year and the vet examined her mouth thoroughly and never mentioned her teeth - she just had antibiotics and got better) and hasn't been salivating too much or anything, I really didn't even think to check her teeth properly.


Don't pay too much attention to my guesswork, I could be very mistaken, especially if your vet examined your cat recently, I'm just going by my own cats' experience over the years. I'd definitely take her to be checked out, though, as her teeth don't look A1.


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## Chez87 (Aug 11, 2010)

I know, I want to get it sorted asap now. Just worried about her as I know it will take at least two trips to the vet, and she works herself up into such a state, and wees/poos in her carrier.


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## buffie (May 31, 2010)

Chez87 said:


> I know, I want to get it sorted asap now. Just worried about her as I know it will take at least two trips to the vet, and she works herself up into such a state, and wees/poos in her carrier.


It may be worth trying the feliway spray in her carrier,or there is a pheromone collar Feliway for Happy Cats Buy Online Plus New Zylkene I have used the feliway diffuser and the spray and found them very good,I have not tried the collar but there was some one on here recently who seemed to find it useful.


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## Lulu's owner (May 1, 2009)

Chez87 said:


> I know, I want to get it sorted asap now. Just worried about her as I know it will take at least two trips to the vet, and she works herself up into such a state, and wees/poos in her carrier.


I do sympathise with you there, I used to have a puss who lost control of bladder and bowels every time she was taken to the vet's. It didn't help that I had to walk and use public transport. I remember one awful time we were on the London Underground and the smell was horrendous and people were looking at me as if they thought I'd done it!

In fact, the same thing happened when I had to take my mum's cat to the vet by bus, she weed and pood even though she is fine when she goes by car.

Sometimes it helps to put a towel or blanket over the carrier so they can't see what's going on around them too well. That calms some cats down.


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## Chez87 (Aug 11, 2010)

Buffie, funny you should mention it, she is wearing that pheromone collar right now. I bought it so she would calm down around Loki, and I must say I think she has improved a lot! But it only lasts a month, and she's had it on about 3 weeks now.

There is a vet nearby (I haven't used it yet, she was my mums cat before she lived with me and she stayed registered at that vet.) about 10 minutes walk away, so I may take her there. Thanks for the advice. I will try the blanket thing. Last time she pooed in the box and the vet got someone to clean her box, I was so embarrassed! And she makes the most horrendous wailing noise!


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## buffie (May 31, 2010)

Chez87 said:


> Buffie, funny you should mention it, she is wearing that pheromone collar right now. I bought it so she would calm down around Loki, and I must say I think she has improved a lot! But it only lasts a month, and she's had it on about 3 weeks now.


That shows I was reading but not paying attention. Its an age thing :lol:


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## Chez87 (Aug 11, 2010)

Called the vet today, they were obviously not 100% sure on cost as they haven't checked her out yet, but they said for a dental, probably about £100, but could be up to £200 depending on what other work she may need e.g. extractions.


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## Lulu's owner (May 1, 2009)

Chez87 said:


> Called the vet today, they were obviously not 100% sure on cost as they haven't checked her out yet, but they said for a dental, probably about £100, but could be up to £200 depending on what other work she may need e.g. extractions.


I don't know what part of the world you're in but £100 sounds very modest. That's quite a broad price range too, so I guess I'd hope for midway, especially if they prescribe antibiotics, which they often do. My vets also charge the initial consultation fee, which adds about £28 to the cost, but the post-op follow up is included in the main bill.


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## Chez87 (Aug 11, 2010)

Yes the consultation fee is exactly £28 too. I'm thinking the higher end of that price range really, as the receptionist said the vet tends to "make up the price when he assesses the cat"!!


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## Lulu's owner (May 1, 2009)

Chez87 said:


> Yes the consultation fee is exactly £28 too. I'm thinking the higher end of that price range really, as the receptionist said the vet tends to "make up the price when he assesses the cat"!!


Well, you won't be disappointed if you expect the bill to be higher! Some vets use a more expensive anaesthetic for older cats and sometimes they also do blood tests (not sure what exactly) to make sure an older cat is up to the rigours of anaesthesia. Not wishing to be pessimistic, but there do tend to be these extras that add up.


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## Daisyandchlo (Feb 27, 2010)

Our Chloe recently had an x-ray and biopsy taken. Seeing as she was going to be put under anyway, I decided to ask them to do a teeth clean/extraction at the same time. Unfortunately, I don't know how much the dental was.
My other cat, Daisy, had a clean and 3 or 4 teeth out a couple of years ago, and that was about £105, I think.


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## Doolally (Oct 12, 2010)

My cat recently had a descale and polish, and the cost pre-my discount (thank goodness i'm a VN!!) was about £190 (london)

The charge is normally broken down into: GA costs - normally charged per 15mins or so, extractions if needed, dental xrays if needed, any drugs eg antibiotics, extra painkillers etc.

IMO dental issues are not something to be ignored (not saying you are, obviously) from the picture shown it looks like the cat has gingivitis which can lead to periodontal disease and tooth loss, and the plaque is quite built up so it's impossible to tell what state the tooth is in underneath, it could be fine or it could have an exposed root etc etc. Bad teeth can lead to bacteria in the blood which can lead to all sorts of nasties including kidney disease. By all means implement teeth cleaning strategies post procedure, but a GA and descale is all that's going to shift that now.
Actually, in an older cat (i'd say over 8 years) I'd ALWAYS go for the pre-anaesthetic blood test offered, we charge about £60 but i'd much rather pay that than risk a GA not knowing the state of my cats kidneys/liver...

It may be worth having a chat with your vet - they may let you take her in starved for an early morning appointment and then keep her in for her dental, saves making 2 trips


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## Chez87 (Aug 11, 2010)

Well, she is booked in for next tuesday! the vet will do the consultation at 8:30am (she will be starved) and take bloods as she's over 8. I will leave her there and if the bloods come back fine then they will do it that day. No I just have to work out how to get her in the box on my own! Usually have help!


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## buffie (May 31, 2010)

Chez87 said:


> Well, she is booked in for next tuesday! the vet will do the consultation at 8:30am (she will be starved) and take bloods as she's over 8. I will leave her there and if the bloods come back fine then they will do it that day. No I just have to work out how to get her in the box on my own! Usually have help!


Good luck.Hope it all goes well.Do you have a top or front opening carrier.The top opening ones are a lot easier ,if your is not that type maybe the vets would loan you a wire basket for the morning.


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## Chez87 (Aug 11, 2010)

My one is a front opening one but I'm goin to borrow one off my mum that I think is top opening! It is a nightmare trying to get her in it usually. At least I can get it all done in one trip though. (well, not including the post op check up!)


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## Chez87 (Aug 11, 2010)

Well, I've taken her in, and the estimate they gave me before I left was £328. Wow.


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## buffie (May 31, 2010)

Chez87 said:


> Well, I've taken her in, and the estimate they gave me before I left was £328. Wow.


Chez I'm shocked at that estimate,That seems very expensive.Make sure when you pay the bill you get an itemised one.


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## Tje (Jan 16, 2010)

buffie said:


> Chez I'm shocked at that estimate,That seems very expensive.Make sure when you pay the bill you get an itemised one.


you're not the only shocked one Buffie... almost fell off my chair when I read that! Can you ask for a written quote/estimate from a vet ???? Or is that just being too brass necked? £328 does sound soooo high that I would want to know how that breaks down. I got a written quote (well emailed) from a vet opthamologist when my (then) cat needed complicated eye surgery. And it did help me understand why it was so expensive and where the money was going. But for routine dental work @ £328... I would be wanting to know exactly what they're doing for that price, and see a rough breakdown of the costs. For instance with my cat, in the quoted price, they included enough prescription eye drops 2 or 3 times per day for 6 weeks, painkillers for the few days after the op, and 2 follow up consultations and an overnight stay in the hospital for the day of the op (if the overnight stay in the clinic wasn't needed, they just deduct that). So it did kinda help me to see the brealdown cos my initial reaction to the price (for my cat's eye op and Chez's dental work) was "they've got to be taking the pi$$"


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## buffie (May 31, 2010)

Tje said:


> you're not the only shocked one Buffie... almost fell off my chair when I read that! Can you ask for a written quote/estimate from a vet ???? Or is that just being too brass necked? £328 does sound soooo high that I would want to know how that breaks down. I got a written quote (well emailed) from a vet opthamologist when my (then) cat needed complicated eye surgery. And it did help me understand why it was so expensive and where the money was going. But for routine dental work @ £328... I would be wanting to know exactly what they're doing for that price, and see a rough breakdown of the costs. For instance with my cat, in the quoted price, they included enough prescription eye drops 2 or 3 times per day for 6 weeks, painkillers for the few days after the op, and 2 follow up consultations and an overnight stay in the hospital for the day of the op (if the overnight stay in the clinic wasn't needed, they just deduct that). So it did kinda help me to see the brealdown cos my initial reaction to the price (for my cat's eye op and Chez's dental work) was "they've got to be taking the pi$$"


Two years ago my stray/feral cat had to have his ear amputated after a few years of non healing ear lesions which turned out to be cancerous.His whole treatment from operation to being finally given the all clear was somewhere in the region of £400/£450 and my vet is by no means cheap.


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## tyrole (May 5, 2009)

thats a lot of money 
Can dental work be claimed back on insurance?


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## buffie (May 31, 2010)

tyrole said:


> thats a lot of money
> Can dental work be claimed back on insurance?


Not always.This is quite a grey area.Mosy insurance companies do not include dental work.Pet Plan does but you must have regular dental checks done.One example of what to look for when costing your insurance cover.


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## Chez87 (Aug 11, 2010)

You can't have been more shocked than me! I had already taken her in, she had been examined and taken by the vet when I came out to sign the consent form and see the estimate. I will DEFINITELY be asking for an itemised bill. I'm a student (luckily I have a small amount of savings put away) so this is very expensive as far as I'm concerned, and I won't just hand over the cash willy nilly.

Dental work can only be claimed on some policies and only when the cat has had yearly checks, which she has not. So I wouldn't be able to claim anyway.


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## Chez87 (Aug 11, 2010)

Right, well it came to £326. I got her chipped too which was included. That was only a tenner. Blood tests were about £84. Premed £20. GA was £70. Descale was £80. One extraction was £20. Microchip was £10. The rest was medication she had there and to take home. Oh and her extraction was sutured. She will also go back for a post op check next week.

I also got 10% discount which should have taken it down by £32.60 but in the end she charged me £274.


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## Taylorbaby (Jan 10, 2009)

when i went to the vet with my old boy, 13, for adifferent problem they said his teeth need doing quoted me £280.........


went back to my orginal vet who quoted me £40!!

ended up buying some toothpaste, his teeth are fine!


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## buffie (May 31, 2010)

Chez87 said:


> Right, well it came to £326. I got her chipped too which was included. That was only a tenner. Blood tests were about £84. Premed £20. GA was £70. Descale was £80. One extraction was £20. Microchip was £10. The rest was medication she had there and to take home. Oh and her extraction was sutured. She will also go back for a post op check next week.
> 
> I also got 10% discount which should have taken it down by £32.60 but in the end she charged me £274.


Good that they reduced your bill but I still feel they have been very high with their prices ,esp.blood test as far as i remember it is a basic blood test,not a full blood screen,and was done inhouse,descale and 1 extraction £100 seems high also.


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