Has your dog ever had to have dental surgery?

My dachshund has a fractured molar and my regular vet sent me to a veterinary dentist. I knew going to a specialist would be expensive, but I wasn't prepared for this! Just the initial visit cost $120 and when I got the estimate for the procedure, I almost fell off my chair! More than $1300!!!! Just to pull a tooth. Of course that includes anesthesia, antibiotics and pain killers, but still! She's worth every cent I have to spend to keep her healthy, but this is going to be tough.





So has your dog (or cat) ever had to have dental surgery, or any other type of expensive procedure? How much did it cost?





BTW, don't let your dog chew on any hard toys! Those hard plastic Nylabones are a no-no and my dog loves them. The dentist told me a chew toy should pass the 3 following criteria:


1. Soft enough to make an indentation with your thumbnail.


2. At least a little flexible.


3. If it is hard enough to hurt you if you bang it on your knee, it's too hard for the dog to chew on.

Has your dog ever had to have dental surgery?
Why can't your vet just pull the tooth? It should be under two hundred dollars for everything including extraction. Is it broken below the gumline?


I think you are getting "took".
Reply:No she hasn't . But I know my one chihuahua needs a dental Cleaning. But it does sound high. Call around also call the vet school they usually will do it for a little cheapier.
Reply:Holy crap! Couldn't they just pull her tooth out? My girl had extracapsular cruciate ligament repair and I went to 4 vets for consultation and opinions on surgery for my girl (to see which I liked best) and finally had surgery + preop X-rays + preop bloodwork + pain killers and anti-inflammatories + all follow up visits and suture removals and all panicky calls and come ins and shots when she did too much too soon and extra pain pills twice through to the final all clear visit (so probably about 10 visits over 3 months) was probably @$1700.
Reply:Your vet doesn't like to do dental work... My dogs cost me about 300 for teeth cleaning and 25 for extraction and 30 for difficult extractions! That includes every thing-
Reply:Yes. Oodles of procedures and stuff. He has cost me a few thousand dollars thus far, and worth his weight in gold. (It started the very first day we got him - rushed him to the vet the morning after we brought him home - anal glands - NOT a pleasant way to start your first dog ownership :)





When he was losing his teeth, two or three of his canines refused to fall out, and finally, the vet said that they needed to be pulled, otherwise he might need braces (that's when I almost fell out of my chair). It took her two hours - she had only had one German Sheperd whose teeth were more difficult to pull.





Let's see - then he had some urinary issues. Some intestinal issues. Some eye issues (his eyes get irritated by hairs in his eyes %26amp; allergies). He had a thorn in his - uhm - butt (passed it all the way through, though, except that last inch). He was at another vet and chipped his canine on their cage. (He had a traumatic incident in a crate as a puppy when he managed to hook his teeth around the wiring of the crate and get stuck that way. It was AWFUL!) The same vet hosed him down while he was under, left him in the a/c office, cold, wet and unconscious. They drugged him too much, and he came stumbling out of a sideroom when me and my sister came to check on him, collapsed in my arms and remained unconscious for another forty-five minutes. AND they didn't fix his broken tooth - only cleaned his other - recently cleaned - teeth. He got a bad cold after that. Oh - and he had an allergic reaction to something once - I looked at him one night, and thought to myself that his face looked awfully fluffy. Decided to attack him with the comb the following morning, and thought nothing more of it. Looked at him again some time later and thought his eyes looked awfully small and slanted, but figured it was because he was tired. Twenty minutes later, I realized that his cheeks, eyes, lips and neck were getting puffier by the hour. Oh. and this summer he had a cyst that had to be taken care of. And his microchip was moved - it had slid down from his neck to under his 'arm' - so we moved that while removing his cyst.... Of course, there was the neutering, last summer. And his knees are a little peculiar, so there were some xrays and testing that had to be done. Uhm, yeah - there has been some stuff....





Granted - The teeth was probably the most expensive procedure - around $500, I believe. But he's insured, so every issue that may arise, we only pay the first two hundred, then the insurance company takes care of the rest. (bless their souls) We also pay more usually because when he is knocked out, so to speak, we also make sure to clean his teeth if necessary, shave his face (crestie, after all) and clip his nails down if needed.





I think $1300 is A LOT for a tooth - have you considered insuring him? I find it odd that your vet can't pull it - try calling another vet, if you feel comfortable doing that - another vet might actually do it, rather than refer you to a specialist, who is bound to be pricier.





Good luck!!!
Reply:We have a foxie jack russell cross she had a tooth removed the nerves had been exposed, thank goodness it didn't cost anywhere near that it was $350