I would suggest having both vets work up an estimate, and check to see if both are using the same type anesthesia. Most vets today use an anesthesia that can be quickly flushed from the system, but it's still worth asking. Often, specialists aren't as expensive as most pet owners assume.

I've had senior pets go thru dental cleaning with no problems and since it appears your dog is in good health and has had regular checkup he should do fine. There are always risks anytime a pet has to go under anesthesia but one can only weigh the risks against the overall health of the pet, along with the improved health from having the procedure.

great advice thank you! I made an appointment for 2nd opinion with board certified dentist next week.

Could you wait a couple weeks, finish the course of antibiotics and see where you are then?

Probably needless to say, but if you do go ahead, be sure they check and clean all teeth during the procedure. Keep us posted.

Guin La, I wonder if the infection was localized at the root tip? If so, couldn't the vet do sed rate blood work before the procedure? Or any other tests to measure the effectiveness of the medication?

nannygoat18. Thank you for your reply. In order to see the infection if at all, they do need to do a digital x ray. The only way to do dental x ray is with anesthesia unfortunately. So they would just schedule for surgery. Do the x ray, then they would call me to see what procedure needs to be done. They will remove any teeth necessary and do the cleaning at the end of the procedure. Unfortunately looking at the tooth surface without x ray, they won't know if the root is infected. From what I read because her cheek swelled up from the possible trauma when gnawing on her bone marrow, the Dr thinks most likely it is because of a tooth abscess (root infection).

Best of luck for a positive outcome! And good warning re: bone marrow hazards.

Thanks nanngoat18. I still think raw bone marrow is good for dogs but obviously keeping in mind the dog or cats age, size of the bone is very important. My dog has been given raw bone marrow to gnaw on since she was 5 years old. It's kept her gums and teeth fairly clean (the way the wolves and other animals kept their teeth and gums in shape). Taking in to account your dogs age and the size of the bone being large enough so they can't put it in their mouth to bite down. Lesson learned, I will now be making bone marrow broth soup instead for my 13 year old puppy!

By the way my vet told me an extraction (no matter how many teeth are pulled) is about $600 but if I go to a specialist it could cost $2500. The specialist I have an appointment with on Monday I have heard isn't cheap so it may even be higher than the amount. I obviously would like to save money especially for a procedure like extraction that can be done in any vets office.

Guin La, I can understand your concerns. I’ve never been in that situation but if I was, my concern would be centered around the actual experience level of the vet or clinic. If your vet only needs to do this procedure a couple of times a year, that would concern me and I would most likely go with a specialist but if he does them a couple time a week, well that’s a bit different. Know what I mean?

Thanks Lukkirish. I tried to ask the vet the same, he assured me that he does tooth extractions often. He does procedures every Weds.days which can be different types of surgeries. When I asked him if he has done tooth extractions on large breed around 13 years of age, he said several. Several isn't a ton. But tooth extractions can be performed in any vets office so I anticipate it isn't a big under taking. I see the specialist dentist tomorrow so will update on what I find out. Thank you for sharing my concern.

We met the board certified dentist today. He looked at her teeth for a good 5 minutes and he said it is a tooth abscess and there is still little swelling. He says it needs to be removed and also noticed a few teeth are cracked and the front ones are dead teeth with some infection and those will be removed also. He said given her age and her clean blood test, he didn't seem too concerned. He said most of his patience are older in age. He suggested I do a exam with her internist who is in the same shared office as the dentist and get her opinion to ease my nerves). He said the maximum time she would be under would be 1 hour. Earliest appointment is 9/18. It does sound like this needs to be done. I know now that if we do this, it will be done at this specialist and not at our regular small vets office. They will send over estimate today. He said the same as the regular vet that he charges by time not by how many teeth are pulled. Any suggestions or advice for a very worried doggy mom?! Thanks!

Follow your gut. Seriously. A few years ago, I had a cat that had been with me since her birth. She was extremely skittish and always afraid, almost ferel acting. Worried that her behavior would keep her from finding a good home, I decided to keep her. It took years of coaxing and love, but eventually she matured and calmed down. Once she did, she was my shadow; my little buddy and the sweetest most loving girl. At around 16 she started to show signs of stomach trouble and was loosing weight. I was constantly taking her to the vets and spent 1,000’s trying every remedy they’d offer but nothing worked. Finally the Vet diagnosed her with thyroid disease and said she needed her thyroid removed. The cost would be in the 1,000’s because I had to take her to a specialist so off we went. The specialist spent hours with me going over her history and examing her only to tell me her thyroid was fine but her problem was cancer. He showed me the test results and explained how he came to the diagnosis. He also didn’t understand how the Vet didn’t catch it and misdiagnosed her with something that would have had completely different symptoms. All that time (3 years total) and money was wasted because I trusted a Vet who said she knew what she was doing but didn’t. The whole time my gut was telling me something isn’t right here, but I didn’t listen to it. She should have sent us to a specialist sooner when she couldn’t figure it out and to be honest, I felt like I had been financially raked over the coals at my kitty’s expense. In the end, I still would have lost my girl, but I learned a really important lesson from it and that’s to Follow my gut.

Your Vet won’t give you specifics about his experience. It’s raising a red flag so even if it costs more for the specialist, follow your gut. And I do hope all goes well. Using someone with a proven track record will help ensure that.

Thanks Lukkiirish! I'm so sorry to hear about the ordeal you went through with your kitty and the kitty too. Kudos to you for not giving up. I'm very untrusting of human Doctor's and vets so I always try to do a more holistic approach with home remedies etc and find specialists with good track record or reviews. I have no doubt this specialist dentist is one of the best. I question how necessary it is to treat a tooth abscess and extract other cracked teeth. He did say that it is a matter of time until the one on the right side will also get similar swelling. I obviously will not give her anything hard like a bone marrow, bully sticks, and her favorite trachea chew again due to her aging teeth. If my dog was in a lot of pain and stopped eating because of the pain, I wouldn't hesitate and do the procedure. If I could assure that my dog will be fine with the anesthesia and will recover safely, I'll do the procedure.

I cannot tell you that your dog will be ok in surgery, but vets want to do their jobs well, and it sounds like the specialist is doing just that in having her checked out with the internist. I think that if this vet was concerned about the anaesthesia, he would not wish to do the surgery. Remember, humans can have surgery in their 90's, right?

9/18 seems like a long way off, doesn't it?

I think an abscess and cracked teeth could be uncomfortable or even painful.

Just sharing here.....My sister's dog has poor teeth but is too old for surgery. He is on a schedule of antibiotics, a few weeks off then a week or so on antibiotics, to keep him comfortable.

Thanks for following up. We are all interested as we have our own pups and can learn.

It is accepted that no medical procedure has a guarantee of success, which is why the law focuses on a doctor's conduct rather than just medical results. There's many different approaches in such a complex field and reasonable minds can differ as to which is best. As long as a doctor/vet's conduct does not fall below the standard of care for medical malpractice, there's really no recourse for a poor outcome.

It certainly seems that you've done your due diligence and the specialist is well-trained and experienced to deal with your dog's issues. While there's always a possibility that something adverse could happen, the probability is low. Best wishes!

Thank you so much for all of your support and comments. This is the 2nd time Houzz Pet discussions helped me and my dog when so many well known pet forums resulted in little to no response!

I'm sorry to hear about your sisters dog. How old is too old? Even a specialist told her to just do antibiotics?

Yes Sept 18 is still pretty far away but that was the earliest available. Dr goes back and forth to 2 different locations in Los Angeles and from what I have heard many vets refer dogs and cats to him. I did ask to be put on a cancellation list if one were to open up sooner. I'll at least have some time to make my decision on if we go thru with the procedure.

I'll also schedule blood work to be done closer to the date, as well as meet with her internist. I'll also contact our pet insurance to see if the procedure can be covered. I assume it will unless they can dig up something in her past and call it "pre existing".

They haven't emailed me the estimate yet.

Thank you Guin La it’s been 7 years now and I still miss her. Having other teeth pulled probably seems extreme but I’m sure it’s in the best interest of the dog. In addition to lowering the risk of additional pain and/or infection, it also limits the number of times your dog will require surgery and having to be put under as well, that has to be a plus for both the animal and your wallet :c)

I hope you keep us posted on how your dog does. — Lukki

Thanks lukkiirish. I got a call from my dog's internist specialist. She was her Dr at an emergency hospital most of last year when she became ill with an autoimmune disease (she was bleeding out and her platelets were near zero). Anyway the internist is up to date with her recovery and her blood work results. She said that a tooth root abscess isn't really an elective surgery and it needs to be done. She is confident that anesthesia will not be a problem for her in regards to her health, age or previous illness last year. Her blood work has been very good and she said to get it done.

I feel better hearing that from her (a little!).

I haven't been able to find much of anything on dogs who opted not to get a tooth extraction after a abscess but like socks mentioned of her sisters dog having to be on antibiotics schedule... which I don't want to have to do as I know it can be hard on the body. So as of now, it looks like she will do the extraction. Still have time so I'll monitor how she is feeling.

The estimate was between $2500-3100.

It's weird though because the swelling hasn't returned and she seems fine. She hasn't been wanting to go on our usual long walks lately but that might be the heat. When you have a older dog, you worry about every little thing!!!

I don't think you can get better reassurance than that!

Thank you nannygoat18. I like this internist. She's pretty forward and isn't afraid to say things in fear that she could get sued like most doctors I have met. She could have easily added the whole "there is always a risk with anesthesia" bit but she didn't. She assured me that it was going to be fine. I still worry if this is the right thing for my 13 year old pup but I do need to trust that I have a great internist and found a well respected dentist. Thank you for your assurance too nannygoat18.

That is great news. I’m glad you have a vet that is so familiar with her. It will be fine.

Thank you so much. Will update throughout. I always think posts like this with great advice could help another pet owner who might be going through a similar situation.

HU-106844468 safe to say i am not the only one on these boards who is sick and tired of your crap. you have already been called out about plagiarizing when you post these long-winded answers. NOBODY is interested in your antics and i intend to spend however much time i need to spend tomorrow figuring out how to contact houzz about your shenanigans.

just stop, already. you are, without a doubt, the most annoying person (if you even ARE a person) i have EVER seen in all my years on the internet!

HU-106844468 has again copied (plagiarized) word for word another person's work and represented it as his/her own. Be careful, it sometimes gets posted material out of context resulting in terrible advice.

HU-106844468's Newest Plagiarized Post

thanks for the share

It is very hard to understand that your dog is getting old. When I was six years old, my parents gave me a dog as a Christmas present. I was so happy. He lived sixteen years and this is a very long life for a dog. When he was thirteen I have noticed that he wasn't so active as in the past. After some time I observed that he wasn't playing with his favorite toy that is bone-shaped. I bring him to the vet, and they said that because of the age he is having problems with his teeth. The vet helped me a lot, and I understood that having a good vet is very important.

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