Dog having surgery- should I have dental cleaning too?

[DevaMajka]

Shiloh, our 9yo mixed breed dog is having a lumpectomy today. The lump must have appeared quickly (we took her to the vet the day we noticed it, last friday) and it's getting worse quickly. sigh. I hope it's no big deal. We had a dog die of cancer a couple years ago. Hers started with a lump too

Anyway, the vet offered dental cleaning for an extra $100. Should I do it? I declined, but I'm debating calling back to tell them to do it. I would totally do it if money weren't so tight. The lumpectomy is $300 (includes biopsy, and a couple lumps that he said are benign, etc). I won't have her sedated just to do dental cleaning, so it's kinda now or never. (hopefully she doesn't need any more work that involved sedation!)

How important is it? My grandma said she's never done it, and she's had some OLD animals!!

[Ola_]

How are her teeth? If she has tartar buildup I would do it as dental health affects many other things in the body.

[lonegirl]

An extra hundred is an amazing deal, here anyways. You are looking at from 400-1000. My guess is they are just charging for the extra anesthetic time. I would go for it. A good cleaning gives a fresh mouth to start good dental hygeine with.

[MrsMike]

Go for it if you can swing the $$$. Dental cleanings have many health benefits. So much of the animal's overall health can be tied to the health of the mouth. And $100 is an amazing deal.

[DevaMajka]

Dangit! I waited too late to call to have them do it. Bummer
They charge $140 to do it regularly (if the dog isn't already going to be sedated), so it might be easier for us to swing that in a few months anyway. Even though it's an extra $40 to wait, an extra $100 right now would make things pretty tough.

On the bright side, she recovered very well from the anesthesia. I was worried, because she's kind of old. She's having trouble getting up stairs and in the car. We usually pick her up to help (even though she's big!) but he removed lumps in 3 different places on her underside, so there's really no place to hold on to her to carry her! Poor pup (though it is sort of funny to watch her with the cone on her head. lol)

btw, anyone know how long to leave the cone on her head? I forgot to ask.

[Ola_]

Originally Posted by DevaMajka

btw, anyone know how long to leave the cone on her head? I forgot to ask.

It depends entirely on the dog. Some don't bother their stitches, others will chew at them at every opportunity (I have one of each, lol). You can try leaving it off when you're hanging out at home and have time to watch her the whole time. Then you can judge based on her reaction, if she bothers her wounds then I'd definitely keep the collar on when you're not watching her. I usually leave the cone when I'm supervising closely just so they can get a break.