Our dog needs her teeth cleaned but the vet charges alot of money to do it. Any ideas?

Answer 1

Here's an idea. Pay the money and have your dog's teeth cleaned.

The chews and water additives may slow down plaque formation, but they will do nothing for the plaque that's already on your dog's teeth. What you see is only part of it, the more serious problem is what's under the gums.

It's a bit more costly to have your pet's teeth cleaned at the vet's because they do it right. Your pet has to be sedated so they can get up under those gums. Since dental disease can affect the pet's body as a whole, you may come out ahead in the long run although you'll spend a little more in the short run.

Pets with dental problems can stop eating due to pain, have horrible breath, develop infections that spread, etc. Don't put the dental off any longer than you have to.

Answer 2

You really need to have the teeth cleaned at your vet's office. If you can't afford it, then brush her teeth until you can have it done. However, the best thing to do is have a cleaning done, then you can have a "fresh start" with clean teeth and gums.

Whatever you do, DO NOT scale them yourself or have a groomer, trainer, etc. offer to do it for low cost. It is illegal to perform a dental procedure if you are not a vet or a licensed veterinary technicnan and it is also very poor judgement. Most of the problem areas are under the gums, which is too risky to do on an awake dog. Second, polishing is essential after any scaling. If the teeth aren't polished after scaling, it will produce tiny, uneven areas which will cause build-up to occur even quicker.

Anyone providing dental services other than a licensed veterinarian, or a supervised and trained veterinary technician, is practicing veterinary medicine without a license.

Here is an excellent link for more info:
http://www.avdc.org/position-statements.html#cadswa

Answer 3

Check around the vets in your area, to see what their charges are, and if you can arrange a payment plan.

Start brushing the teeth now, even if you can't afford to get the scaled. This will keep the build-up from getting worse, and will also keep the gums healthy, as gingivitis often comes with bad teeth and tartar accululation.

Another tip is to use the natural remedy fragaria. This can be bought at health food stores as tiny pills. It will break down the tartar that is there and prevent any from building up in future. However, if it is really thick, your dog may still need scaling.

Take one fragaria pill, and crush it between two spoons. It's important to wash your hands first before touching it, so no contamination gets on the powder. Then wet the end of one finger, pick up the powder, and wipe it on the inside of your dog's mouth.

Do this for a week, then start putting one pill in a a gallon jug of water daily, and use this for his water dish.

Be sure to buy the 30C potency and not the 30X. This has to do with the purity of the product.

It is an all natural cure and does them no harm at all from a "chemical" standpoint, and many people report the total dissolving of all tartar.

Answer 4

Here's where prevention is better than cure - for the packed on dirt you would HAVE to take it to the vet, but after that, you do get fingewr-too-brushes for dogs, then also feed them food that prevents build-up.
It's only on the outside that it packs on.
And easy to keep clean once it's clean. If you just leave it the teeth will rot. Take this as an expensive lesson in petcare and make sure you keep them nice and clean in future.

Answer 5

Get the dog's teeth cleaned, regardless of cost. Cleaning your dog's teeth with a toothbrush will help keep the plaque and tartar from building up, but once it's there, the only way to get rid of it is to let the vet do it.

If you don't get the dog's teeth cleaned regularly, built up plaque gets into their heart and can kill them.

Answer 6

Well I dont know about your area but where I live there is a month every year called dental health month and prices for teeth cleaning are discounted quite considerably... my cat also needed her teeth cleaned and I waited until the month where it was discounted... ask your local vets and call around to as many vets in your area as possible to get prices quotes.

Answer 7

You can actually brush a dogs teeth your self and make sure and give them chewies or other dental items, dogs need this stuff to clean their teeth and plus dogs love to chew. You can always go to pet smart or other pet store and ask about these items. I have five dogs and there teeth are as clean as a babys. This is important as dogs get cavity's just like us. Good luck so far I have not had to brush my dogs teeth, so it will take a little paitience be gentle and calm when you do.

Answer 8

You can get "dog toothpastee" and even dog toothbrushes at your local pet store. Do NOT use toothpast made for humans as they contain fluoride which is not meant to be swallowed. If you're having a hard time getting the dog to accept the toothbrush, try using a small rag. Get it wet, put your dog toothpaste on it and rub away! But you should also have your vet take a look in your pets mouth every so often to make sure he doesn't have any dental issues.. Hope this helps!

Answer 9

You could check out some other vets and what they charge, but it really is worth the money. It's not a guarantee that your dog won't have problems with their teeth, but it definitely gives them better odds of keeping their teeth healthy and intact as they age.

Answer 10

Hi, my dog is the SAME exact way. But she can't handle people brushing her teeth. She is hiper. At petco you have to put that thing around the dogs neck, and my dogs just too wild. The only thing to do will be give her lots of teeth cleaning toys and treats. :)