I'd get a second opinion.......then make my decision.

Try calling the Animal Medical Center in NYC. I'd spoken with one of their dental vets a few years ago, a Dr. Steven Ryback when one of our cats had a gum abcess. Our own vet had recommended an ongoing course of on-off antibiotic treatment (a pulse therapy), and I definitely wanted to get a second opinion (our feeling was that this abcess might be an isolated incident). This Dr. Ryback actually called me back, and spoke with me at length on at least two occasions I think (I'm trying to remember back a few years!). He gave me some good, sound advice, and I never even had to bring my cat in, but would have, had it been necessary.

I don't know if Dr. Ryback is still at AMC (I believe he was there T-F's, at least that's what I have written down in my cat's folder), but it's worth a call. If he's not there any more, you can ask to speak with another dental vet. You can pick their brains, and find out your different options.

His # was 212 329 8647. The appt desk # at AMC was 212 838 7053. Good luck!

Stomatitis is relatively common and I can't imagine that a vet would make an incorrect diagnosis. I've seen some cats do OK for a while on pulse antibiotics, but eventually they need more and more antibiotics and still had to get their teeth pulled. L-Lysine is good for cats with herpes and other immunosuppressive diseases to boost their immune system, but your cat's immune system is already working over time attacking her own gums, so I don't see how that would be useful in her case. Stomatitis is EXTREMELY painful and causes a direct route of infection from the gums to the blood, resulting in septicemia and colonization of organs such as kidneys, liver, even brain, by bacteria, which can be life-threatening.
All that said, I know my regular vet pulls all teeth on a regular basis and it doesn't cost anywhere near $3600. Not even close- under $1000 easily. Pulling teeth isn't rocket science- an experienced RVT could do the entire procedure. I'd find the vet that has the best monitoring for general anesthesia, including IV catheter and fluids, pulseOx, etc. especially since it is a longer procedure than a regular dentistry. But $3600 is ridiculous IMHO, and you don't need a specialist to do the procedure unless your cat has some other weird dental disease that needs correction at the same time.
Good luck getting your kitty fixed up. She's going to feel a lot better once the stomatitis is resolved.

We just had to have our 11 yr old kitty's teeth pulled - all except for her 4 fangs. It was $900. The follow up appointments are at no charge (as long as the vet doesn't have to do any work on her). The vet was a dental specialist. From what I understand, most regular vets won't touch this sort of major surgery at all. If a tiny bit of tooth or root is left, the stomatitis will not be fixed. Puddin didn't even have to stay overnight, I was able to bring her home the same day (w/antibiotics and pain meds). She did say some vets do charge several thousand dollars, and keep the kitty several days, which she feels is unecessary, if there are no complications.

Puddin had her surgery on a Thursday, and by the following Monday, was feeling a lot better (she came home with 6 days worth of pain meds, and was recommended to use for 3 days at the minimum, which is what we did).

We adopted her in December 2006 - had the worse breath - very putrid. She had other health issues to overcome (courtesy of the "rescue" that had her), and we finally realized there was something not right w/her mouth a few months ago. She had never had any problems eating (even raw meat chunks), but the change in her behavior since her surgery does show that she did suffer before the total extraction.

We had her on steroid and antibiotic therapy for a few months, and it helped a good bit, but not enough, and that wouldn't cure the problem, it just masks it for a while. It helped, but she still wasn't totally comfy.

From reading on the internet, and talking to the vets, there are no magic potions or drugs that can fix this - they can only mask it and not 100%. While steroids did help, she still wasn't comfortable and was in PAIN, just not as bad as before the drugs.

And, the longer you do steroid therapy, the less chance you have of the extractions working. The dental specialist has gone through this w/people before - keep insisting on steroids and finally realize that it is working less and less, and decide they want extractions, and it doesn't work!

I did lots of internet research - there is a yahoo group on Feline Stomatitis, but what that group/site taught me was that NOTHING WORKS except for the extraction. There were tons of people that tried and continue to try homeopathic/holistic/traditional meds, rinses, etc... and none of them work. They may seem to help for a bit, and then more issues arise. And, these people seem to forget, that throughout all their experimenting, their kitty is SUFFERING and in PAIN. Plus some of this stuff is toxic - someone was singing praises about some "magic" mouth rinse - it had essential oils in it - EEEK! (Essential oils are deadly to kitties. So maybe it soothed kitty's mouth for a bit, but would end up destroying their liver/kidneys.)

If the diagnosis is definitely stomatitis, NOTHING will cure it except for extraction. It was a hard thing to do, but I do not regret it. Since the extractions (end of August), she now does a full body kitty bath every day (never has done that before), and is much more active and happy. Her 1st after surgery check up went very well - things are improving greatly (both regular and dental vet warned us that it will take months to totally heal/clear up, and she may need steroids on occasion along the way - so far, just once).

IMHO - 1. Get a definite diagnosis; 2. Find a dental specialist that you can get to (our's is in Alpharetta, GA - about 20 miles from us, but she has people drive from all over the SE US). Hopefully you will have more than one to choose from, so you can "shop"; 3. Hopefully you can find one that has a reasonable fee - if not, maybe you can convince the vet to let you take kitty home early = less monty? 4. Save up $ for it, and do steroid and/or antibiotic therapy until you can get it done. It will at least make your kitty feel better (not great, but better) until you can afford to get the teeth extracted; 5. Have ALL the "bad" teeth pulled at ONE time. I know it sounds awful, and you will feel awful for your kitty, but it is better to get it done ONE time, instead putting kitty through that several times! 6. Give probiotic supplements when you do antibiotics, to keep kitty's digestive system comfy.

Our kitty is and was negative for all the nasties (FIV, calci, etc...), but was so sick when we adopted her, that might have triggered the stomatitis, but we will never know.

(PS. You will need current blood work before the dental vet will do surgery. Most dental vets are referral from your regular vet - they don't just instantly take you and pull your kitty's teeth. They will want a history from your regular vet showing that you tried steroids, etc... and that it didn't work. Also, our dental vet wanted Puddin OFF steroids/meds for a bit before she saw Puddin - she wanted to see Pud's mouth looking its "normal" bad self. Oh yeah - Pud now bites and chews her toys - she wouldn't do that before the extractions, either.

While it may seem like alot of money - you can do steroid therapy while you save up the $ needed. Oh - keep in mind it is not 100% sure bet. There is a small percentage of kitties that it doesn't work for (mostly those that have been on steroids for years), a percentage that it will help alot, but not cure. (I think it was 70% has 100% cure, 20% have improvement and 5% nothing.) If the cat has any of the nasties (FIV, calcivirus, etc.), that also lessens the chance of 100% cure.

Some regular vets will say that cleaning will help, but that will only make the kitty's mouth look nicer for a bit, but since it isn't a cure, the stomatitis is still there, and the gums and teeth will go back to bad after a short while. Our regular vet didn't want to even try cleaning, she said it would just be a waste of our $ - Pud's mouth might look better for a few weeks or even a month or two, and go right back to where it was before. She would rather have that $ go to fixing the problem (getting Pud's teeth extracted). Pud eats raw food - she has no problem eating small meat chunks, and won't touch the nice soft canned food I got her for the few days after her sugery that her gums were too sore to deal w/the meat. She is still going through a learning curve regarding how to pick up food in her mouth w/out all those teeth!

Hope this helps...

Corinne, you have email.

It was my vet who advised me to see a vet dentist, and all her tests were sent over to him. I've already had a blood panel work-up which was $100 at my vet, and $220 at the vet dentist. I think his prices are overinflated. After I take Sissy to the feline specialist on Thursday, and her recommendation is pulling all the teeth, I hope she uses a dentist who has a little more consideration about the size of a persons wallet.

Thank you again. ;o)

Patty_cakes, my little Diamond has stomatitus and has been thriving on prednisone twice weekly. My Vet is vehemently against teeth pulling and feels the disease can be controlled with ocasional antibiotics and steady prednisone. So far so so good. She is really doing quite well and it has been a year or more. /Abi