Cat Dental Care

[interface2x]

Recently my cat Becket, about whom I posted this thread, broke the tip off of one of his upper canine teeth (the fang). It didn't seem to bother him and I only really noticed a couple of days ago. I needed to take him and his sister into the vet for a check-up anyway so I had them check it out this morning.

Apparently the pulp is slightly exposed and it likely is causing a little bit of pain. As strange as it sounds even to someone who's owned cats most of his life, I think I need to take him in for a root canal. He's only two years old so at this point I don't feel comfortable just having the tooth extracted - way too young for only having one fang.

Has anyone else had this done? How much did it cost?

[needscoffee]

What's the cat going to be using that fang for? Fangs aren't used for chewing or grinding. Unless he's ripping flesh off of prey, I can't imagine he'd miss it at all. Ask your vet for advice.

(The cat next door to me has no teeth whatsoever, and does fine. Some sort of jaw/palate abnormality which necessitated complete teeth removal.) Wet food only.

[Spoons]

The same thing happened to our Stripe. He was about two or three when he broke an upper fang. When we consulted out vet, she said that while a root canal could be done, removing the tooth would probably be better in the long run. That way, there would definitely be no complications, now or in the future.

So that's what we did--had Stripe's tooth removed. It looks a little odd when he yawns, but it otherwise, you'd never notice. A missing tooth hasn't affected him at all--he has a healthy appetite and loves crunchy cat treats.

I don't remember the exact cost, though I do recall it was expensive compared to a human tooth extraction. Your vet should be able to give you an estimate, though; as well as to inform you of all that is involved (general anaesthetic, follow-up care, prescription antibiotics, etc.).

[Chefguy]

Originally Posted by Spoons

The same thing happened to our Stripe. He was about two or three when he broke an upper fang. When we consulted out vet, she said that while a root canal could be done, removing the tooth would probably be better in the long run. That way, there would definitely be no complications, now or in the future.

So that's what we did--had Stripe's tooth removed. It looks a little odd when he yawns, but it otherwise, you'd never notice. A missing tooth hasn't affected him at all--he has a healthy appetite and loves crunchy cat treats.

I don't remember the exact cost, though I do recall it was expensive compared to a human tooth extraction. Your vet should be able to give you an estimate, though; as well as to inform you of all that is involved (general anaesthetic, follow-up care, prescription antibiotics, etc.).

Yes, be prepared for sticker shock. Gum disease in cats and dogs accounts for a lot of problems, particularly later in life. It's best to have regular cleanings, but it sure does get expensive. Also, our vet told us that cats really don't chew all that much. Most of their food (even kibble) goes down in one piece. Having seen plenty of our cat's vomit, I can attest to this.

[Eats_Crayons]

Littlecat hat an upper fang removed due to a big nasty cavity. She doesn't miss it a bit as far as we can tell, and we don't see a difference unless she is yowling. A fang is expensive to remove, however. I think the part you see represents only about half or one third of the entire tooth. It goes way up into the bone.

[KarlGrenze]

Did you ask more to your veterinarian about it? What did she/he suggest? What would be the cost difference between a root canal and extraction? Does she/he (or someone in the practice) feel comfortable doing a root canal, and has all the equipment?

Anesthesia, which is about the most expensive item they'll charge you for, may be about equal for both, depending on how much time the procedure takes. It is more expensive because unlike humans, who can (grudgingly) keep their mouths open as instructed during dental work, animals are unable to do that. So they're given general anesthesia (with all that it entails) during the whole procedure.

I cannot fully say one is definitely much better than the other one, but I can say that either one is better than not treating at all.

[interface2x]

Originally Posted by KarlGrenze

Did you ask more to your veterinarian about it? What did she/he suggest? What would be the cost difference between a root canal and extraction? Does she/he (or someone in the practice) feel comfortable doing a root canal, and has all the equipment?

She basically just told me the two options and then gave me information for three different animal dentist offices, so I didn't get much information out of her. She described what each of the procedures consisted of and then said it was up to me.

[needscoffee]

I just went through pricing various vets to have my dog's teeth cleaned and scraped (under anaesthesia). The rates (same for cats) were anywhere from $79 at a low-cost clinic to $600 at our usual vet. Extractions were I think something like $29 - $49 per tooth above that. I'd been putting it off because I had no idea the range in pricing out there, but now I have a low-cost vet for when they need teeth cleanings.

One dog that was brought in that day had to have 19 teeth extracted. The funny thing is, the woman who brought him in works for my oral surgeon.

[mikews99]

I have a cat for whom I had both of her upper canines removed when she was young. It was really a no brainer since one was broken in half and both were infected (she was a rescue kitty). Her biggest problem the first year was catching her upper lip on the lower canine and sometimes cutting it. She eventually adapted though and hasn't had any negative repercussions from removal.

[msmith537]

Replacing a cat's tooth is probably a lot more expensive than the more common option of "full cat replacement".

[AntiCoyote]

What if the root canal fails and the tooth has to be pulled anyway? I could see where it might be problematic not to have a fang for a wild cat, but a house cat? Just pull it. Off topic, but has anyone had a kitten who has their real teeth growing in before their milk teeth fall out.?

For a few weeks it looks like they have shark teeth, and it looks so cool.