teeth scaling?

[hamish&mandy]

Hi all,
I'm taking my chi to the vet tomorrow to have pre-bloodwork done and a lookover before we schedule her teeth scaling. I am freaking out. I've never had dental work done on a dog before, and am nervous.
How much does a scaling cost? (I don't care, just preparing myself)
Can I pick her up the same day as the scaling? I know they put her under for the procedure.
Will she be in pain? She's got some hardcore tartar but none of her teeth look like they are going bad.
ANY info you guys have would be great. :-)

[Brown]

Any time your dog is anaesthetised is worrying, but as long as the teeth aren't too bad, she will only be under for a short time and you should be able to pick her within a few hours. I had my old girl's teeth cleaned 2 years ago (at age 14, first cleaning in her life - the tartar was pretty bad, but no decay) and she was only under for 30 minutes (obviously I was petrified given her age, but she was just fine).
I also had my Korean foster dog Suzie's teeth cleaned at Mari in Seoul last August. Her teeth and gums were quite bad and she had a couple of front teeth removed, but she was well enough to come home under three hours later (meaning she was probably anaesthetised for an hour or less). Cost was 250,000 (with rescue discount), including CBC and blood chemistry.
Hope all goes well tomorrow.

[hamish&mandy]

Oh thank you! That's so helpful! Hopie (they think) is about 5 and obviously has never had her teeth cleaned before. She is very healthy, I guess I'll find out more at her consultation tomorrow. I really can't thank you enough for responding. She's just my baby.

[Karen]

My 7 year old schnauzer, Sage, was under for 33 minutes for a scaling + 10 extractions. Abbey, my 5 year old schnauzer, was under for about 35 minutes for scaling (lots of tartar, no extractions) but with another surgery done at the same time she was under for a total of about 55 minutes.

Both were picked up late afternoon of the same day. Both had been given a pain killer by injection which covered the first 24 hours after surgery, so they were dopey / sleepy when we got them home. Sage was prescribed painkillers as well, but only took 1 of 2 pills because she reacted badly. After digestive upset passed, Sage did not seem to be in any discomfort from the tooth extractions.

The vet told me that just for scaling, Abbey's mouth would not feel painful, just more sensitive, same as whenever we visit the dentist for a basic cleaning. Abbey did not seem to be in any discomfort whatsoever and had her appetite back by the evening of the same day. She was not sent home with any additional pain medication. We treated her to soft food simply because Sage was getting it, but we didn't need to.

Hope that helps. I totally understand your worry. I hated sending my two girls in on the same day, but both of them recovered pretty swiftly.

Best of luck, Hopie! You'll feel great once your teeth are all sparkly again!

[hamish&mandy]

Thank you everyone for the support! Hopie is home again high as a kite with a mouth like a gopher. ;-) Our vet even took pictures of the procedure (equally cool and freaky) so we're trying to see if he will email them to us so we can post them for future teeth-scaling pet parents. Hopie is doing great. I did find out that if your vet does fluid therapy that your dog will pee all over you the minute you give her a hug. ;-)

[Karen]

I'm so glad Hopie is doing well! No extractions, it sounds like? Yay!

[hamish&mandy]

Nope, no extractions! I was amazed.
One thing I learned from the vet was that in Korea many Koreans want the "cheaper" anathesia so they have the vet only give an injection to knock the dog out for scalings. (It costs 30,000 Won.) However, the injection can give the dog a very strong "hangover". If you get the gas (which costs 60,000 Won, at least where I went) it is safer for the dog, and doesn't have the strong side effects. We opted for the gas and while Hopie was a little high when we got her home she knew where she was and about 30 minutes later was very playful.