Is my cat's expensive dental cleaning and extraction necessary?

Question

My new vet says my cat has bad teeth and needs them cleaned and a couple pulled. It will cost close to $1000 with sedation and blood test to check for preexisting conditions. Growing up we had many cats and most lived into their late teens. We never had their teeth cleaned. Only 2 out of about ten of them ever had dental work and it was to remove teeth and then they were fine. Can I just ask my dentist to remove the offending teeth? I get cleaning is beneficial but dont know that it’s necessary. Pet's info: Cat | Mixed Breed | Male | neutered | 8 lbs

Lotus Altholtz · Accepted Answer

The scaling and polishing portion of the dental is the least time consuming, and most inexpensive portion of the $1000 estimate. In addition, tartar left on teeth can further aggravate gum disease. The necessary extractions cannot be done without anesthesia or pre-anesthetic bloodwork to make sure that Baxter’s liver/kidney function appears normal enough to handle anesthesia. With severe gum recession/fractured teeth, cats can develop serious tooth root abscesses and oral pain resulting in weight loss, poor health. If there are in fact diseased teeth in Baxter’s mouth, having a complete dental scaling/polishing with necessary extractions will likely significantly improve his quality of life and decrease the chances of oral bacteria causing heart valve issues in the future. Good luck!

Is my cat's expensive dental cleaning and extraction necessary?

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