Did You Know...

vraiblonde

Board Mommy
PREMO Member
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...that dogs have 42 teeth?

Confession: after making merciless fun of people who spend large amounts of money on health care for their pets, today I will be forking over about $1000 for Apollo's dental cleaning and some extractions.*

Some? That would actually be 12 teeth that needed to come out. I said, "12 teeth?? Does he have any left?" and Dr. Adam said, "Oh sure, he still has tons of teeth left." That's when I googled and learned that adult dogs have 42 chiclets.


*Feel free to mock me. I have it coming. :blushing:
 
...that dogs have 42 teeth?

Confession: after making merciless fun of people who spend large amounts of money on health care for their pets, today I will be forking over about $1000 for Apollo's dental cleaning and some extractions.*

Some? That would actually be 12 teeth that needed to come out. I said, "12 teeth?? Does he have any left?" and Dr. Adam said, "Oh sure, he still has tons of teeth left." That's when I googled and learned that adult dogs have 42 chiclets.


*Feel free to mock me. I have it coming. :blushing:
Mine are 15 and 16 now and if I let the vet near their teeth they would have NONE left as they are most all bad... :dead:

I've come to the conclusion that I will never own dogs again because I won't commit to brushing their teeth daily and therefore I'm an unfit owner. :ohwell:
 

luvmygdaughters

Well-Known Member
My dog Nikki lived to be 18 years old. She had all her teeth. I took her to a vet in Leonardtown when she was 14, nothing to do with her teeth, I think it was for a shot she was required to have when I took her to the groomers. Anyway, of course they had to do a check up and found that she had a "bad tooth". They said it would have to be pulled. I asked if it was causing her pain, because if it was, it wasn't apparent by her appetite and her ability to eat. They said oh yes, if she wasn't in pain yet, she would be. It would only cost $ 1000.00 to pull it. FOR ONE TOOTH! I told them I would think about it and took her home. My husband and I decided if she acted like she was in pain, we would have it done. As I said, she lived until she was 18, never had a problem eating or drinking and when I had to have her put down, she still had all her teeth.
 
My dog Nikki lived to be 18 years old. She had all her teeth. I took her to a vet in Leonardtown when she was 14, nothing to do with her teeth, I think it was for a shot she was required to have when I took her to the groomers. Anyway, of course they had to do a check up and found that she had a "bad tooth". They said it would have to be pulled. I asked if it was causing her pain, because if it was, it wasn't apparent by her appetite and her ability to eat. They said oh yes, if she wasn't in pain yet, she would be. It would only cost $ 1000.00 to pull it. FOR ONE TOOTH! I told them I would think about it and took her home. My husband and I decided if she acted like she was in pain, we would have it done. As I said, she lived until she was 18, never had a problem eating or drinking and when I had to have her put down, she still had all her teeth.
I've spent a couple thousand on each over the years for teeth cleanings, pulling when needed but it didn't matter. I didn't brush them every day so now they have stinky teef... :dead:
 

lucky_bee

RBF expert
Maggie's breath is awful. :dead: But her teeth don't look that bad. I think it's the stupid expensive food I have to feed her. However after bringing the cat to the vet recently for a totally unrelated visit, she insisted his teeth needed a serious cleaning too. I'm usually of the pet-owner's mindset of "only if it's causing them pain". I'm not brushing my dog's OR my cat's teeth every day, for the sake of my own mental health. And I'm not paying $1000 for doggy dental. Maggie is an ornery little old lady. Getting her teeth cleaned once in awhile will probably cause her more stress than eating with a "bad tooth" should she get one anyways. But I will pay a couple extra bucks at Dang Dirty Dog next time they both go for someone else to clean them (just learned they offered this service) and I'll convince myself I'm a decent pet owner.
 

vraiblonde

Board Mommy
PREMO Member
Patron
what do dogs do in the wild ?

Die and get eaten by other animals.

Apollo came through his surgery with flying colors, but he's woozy tonight. I just gave him a pain med with some chicken, so he should go out for the night here shortly.
 

vraiblonde

Board Mommy
PREMO Member
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I just gave him a pain med with some chicken, so he should go out for the night here shortly.

Or so I thought. It actually perked him up and he was romping around. Went for a nice walk, did his bidness, and he seems to be pretty happy.
 

littlelady

God bless the USA
Or so I thought. It actually perked him up and he was romping around. Went for a nice walk, did his bidness, and he seems to be pretty happy.

That's good. Vets are concerned about pet teeth problems because they can cause other conditions and infections. I don't know why it has to be so expensive. I have ignored recs sometimes for tooth procedures and done others for my dogs and cats over the years. It is like luv says she never did it and her dog was fine. Other times bad teeth can cause complications. It is the owners choice what to do. Just like us humans, we are our own best docs, and we, also, are our own best docs for our pets, and children because we are with them 24/7. It is an instinct/observation thing. I am glad Apollo is doing well.

Forgot to say that all my pets died of something else that had nothing to do with their teeth.
 
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Bann

Doris Day meets Lady Gaga
PREMO Member
I'm so glad Apollo is doing well! :cartwheel: Can't wait to see him this weekend.

I wouldn't mock you, we talked about this last year, and I think people need to do what they feel is best for the animal and what they can afford. I spent money trying to find out what was causing my beloved kitty's problems last year, and I signed a release for ONE tooth to be extracted, which turned into 4! I was livid because he was 15 and his health was starting to decline. (he was losing weight unexplainably) In hindsight, I am 95% sure that the 4 extractions put him over the edge health-wise, and he never recovered. He went steadily downhill all summer and it was a horrible experience for us. (He was horking up all over the house, all the time and he was beginning to have litterbox problems) I just think the sress of that procedure and then adjusting to life without them stressed him out.

Anyhoo, having said all that - I never brushed his teeth! Like Kwillia said, I wouldn't and couldn't even if I wanted to - he wouldn't have tolerated that at all! :lol:

I took care of my kitty for 15 years, and he had the best care I could afford, which included yearly checkups and immunizations. He was a pampered, well-loved family pet, for sure. I didn't spend a ton of money to discover what was wrong at the end. In August last year, the Vet told me he was 95% sure kidney failure had started and I made the decision to put my cat down. I couldn't see dealing with month after month of more horking and more litter box troubles. I just couldn't do that to him - and us. So, I considered his 15 good years to be the best he had for all of us. It was better all around for him.

BUT! He was 15, not 5 or 6. Big difference.
 
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