I lost a bunch of my teeth ... mainly because I hadn't cared for them well enough. Take care of yours, please. If you have a dental school anywhere near, go there. The local one, 20 miles away in our university did a lot of work for me, including full top plate and partial bottom (three of mine left) and it wasn't too expensive. Their evaluation changed after they'd done some major work on some that they later pulled and they gave me a credit. Then I made a contribution to the school - deductible. When they were extracting a bunch of my top ones and my student (east Indian, gentle lady) quoted these prices: extraction $32.00 first tooth in a quadrant, $16.00 each of 4 subsequent, as she was making up the account, when I said, $96.00, no one paid much attention (receptionist there, as well). When she added it all up and came to that figure, they looked at me and asked how I'd figured that so quickly. I said that base figure was $32.00,and 4 at $16.00 each was the same as two more at $32.00, that 3 x 30 is 90 and 3 x 2 is 6 - total, 96. If no dental school available, shop around - I think it possible that you can find a better deal than the quote that knocked the plaque off of your teeth (almost). Good wishes for satisfactory dental care - at a decent price. ole joyful

You need to have a more positive outlook, trust your Vet completely, and be sure that none of your tension goes to your dog. If people or animals have excessive bacteria in their gums, or if they need the protection, antibiotics in advance will help keep them safe from the bacteria getting into their bodies and doing damage. We had both of our dogs done last fall, and it is a great thing to do for them. There are even Vet dentists anymore - that seems to be a new specialty. That bacteria if left alone, can work its way under the gums into bad places. When the teeth are cleaned, they go way up under the gums, and clean whatever needs it. Frankly I was worried about our 10 year old dog, but I trusted our Vet. After this is done, you ought to brush his teeth each night. The toothpaste we use tastes like chicken, so they are anxious to have their teeth brushed. Relax. You are doing a very good thing for your dog. Sammy

Marita, I think cats are just like people, some of them will live to old age without many health problems, and others have health issues relatively early. Re. the growth, the vet will probably remove it and send it in for a biopsy. Hopefully it will be something benign and won't require further treatment. I don't think this is related to the radioactive iodine treatment, one of our cats had that a couple years ago, and at the time, the vet explained to us that any problems it might cause would not show up during the cat's lifetime.

Here's another perspective to consider - from a former dental hygienist. I worked for a periodontist (gum specialist) right after I graduated from college. I found out I wasn't very skilled at removing subgingival calculus (tartar below the gumline) when I got out of school but I received excellent advanced training and experience working for the periodontist. What was most amazing was that many of the patients we saw had been having their teeth cleaned every six months their entire adult life but unfortunately they weren't being cleaned properly and many of these patients had advanced periodontal disease with bone loss as a result. Some cases were so advanced they lost one or more of their teeth. I moved and left that job and began working in a general dental practice. Unfortunately I found the same thing happening in the office where I worked. Other hygienists, who had not had the benefit of the additional experience I'd received in the perio office, were leaving calculus behind in difficult cases and patients were developing periodontal disease and bone loss. I'm sure I was the brutal hygienist removing the long neglected calculus that the other gentle hygienist left behind. I did however educate the patients about the situation (diplomatically because you don't want to give people a reason to sue the dentist for negligence) and let them know why the cleaning was "different" from what they had. Most were appreciative - some didn't like it and I'm sure requested the gentle hygienist. If I were you I would ask the dentist for more information about the health of your mouth and if there's a logical explanation for the situation. I would specifically ask if they did a full mouth probing and charting of periodontal pockets - if any. Find out if you have any periodontal pockets, bone loss, etc. Ask if you had a significant amount of subgingival calculus. Ask to see your records - HIPAA entitles you to have a copy. If there are no extenuating circumstances like this then it is quite possible the hygienist is a hack. However in my experience the more common type of incompetence is that the person just doesn't know how to do the job properly and thoroughly. Now that I'm out of the business and can't see people's work first hand I get my teeth cleaned at a perio office - just don't trust that the other folks really know what they're doing based on my previous experience. Or they may know but are on such a production schedule that they don't have time to do a thorough job. A lot of people would probably consider my current hygienist brutal. I'm willing to tolerate that to know that the job is being done right.