c;eaming teeth

[Greylie]

How dangerous is cleaning teeth for a 14 year old cat. He is in good shape/

[Brian C Hurley, D.V.M.]

Good evening.  I am glad to see you ask this question and a common question I get in the older patient.  Anytime anesthesia is administered to a pet there is a risk no matter what the age of the pet is at the time of anesthesia.  However, if your pet has a normal physical examination, blood work and radiographs, I believe they are not at any greater risk as a healthy young pet.  I would recommend that an IV catheter and fluids are given during and after the procedure.

[Jim Humphries, B.S., D.V.M.]

Hi Kathy:  

Dr. Hurley has an illness in the family and will be out for a bit.  

Animals lay down tartar because of a chemical / bacterial reaction on the surface of the tooth.  Consequently each animal's chemistry is a bit different.  

At home care and prevention is as important as the dental cleaning at the veterinary office.  Your pet's doctor should go over with you the various prevention measures you can take and provide you with the materials you need.  There is brushing, tartar prevention solutions, Oravet gel etc.  

Once the teeth are clean, then begin this weekly process and you'll prevent much of this problem in the future.  

[kathy434]

My cats were just to their vet for shots.  She noticed that while one cat has healthy clean teeth, the other cat has noticeable calculi forming on her teeth.  She is about 9 years old.  They both eat the same food (dry) and sometimes fresh cooked meat tidbits.  They are not given treats.  Why does one cat have calculi while the other one does not?
Is there a method I can use to clean up her teeth myself?  Thank you for your comment.           Kathy