I wonder if you can call the SPCA and explain your issue. Maybe they have vets who help out with rescues at a more reasonable fee.

My dog will need dental. He just had a complete physical and blood work and all is fine. The only thing the vet couldn’t do was an oral as a Fred needs to be muzzled.

Fred is a rescue so we are not quite sure of his age. I know it will become thousands of dollars fir this visit so I am holding off.

In your case though something is broken.

I hope you can find some assistance.

Do you have a vet school close to you? They might be less expensive.

This was a few years ago, I forget whether it was $300 or $500 for an extraction for a poodle, done by the vet.

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. I will have to check to see if there is a vet school in the area. I called the Dentistry for Animals number and just got an answering machine. They should have listed their hours on the message.

As explained to me when I had an ethical vet much of the cost will depend on the size of the animal. Both larger and smaller ones cost more than mid sized ones although he tried to average the costs for them. Larger ones need more anesthesia. Smaller ones because of their size take a longer time to operated because of the small area that is being operated on. I would like to suggest that you see what other vets in your area cost along with asking if the vet sees other problems with the mouth beyond just the teeth. The tumor may have started regrowing and the cost of doing additional removal may be included in that charge. Tumors of the mouth often do regrow unless you animal is very lucky.

Shop around. $2000 is ridiculous. Just get on the phone and call around.

FYI, vet schools are not necessarily less expensive. (Remember, I've been showing and breeding and training dogs for many years). We paid a lot of Penn's vet school, but it was for real specialty work that we couldn't get elsewhere. The nearest vet school to you is up at UC Davis. Good people but far to go for a procedure that's pretty routine.

I'm not sure how ridiculous that price tag really is. I was quoted $800 by my vet for just an exam and cleaning. Any extractions - which they expect - would raise that cost to about double that. Any complications which might not be obvious until they can get in and check out his teeth thoroughly would also add to that expense.

If you can wait a couple of weeks, February is Pet Dentistry Month and many vets will have discounted pricing for dental work scheduled during that time.

A relative in Portland, Or has a Havanese with (genetically) bad teeth--she's had many pulled and is not even 10 years old yet. I believe he told me it was basically $100/tooth.

$2000 sounds outrageous.

Wow, too much! Emily, my old dog had to have a few teeth removed a couple years ago (can't remember exactly when) but it was around $500. Don't remember exactly. Pretty sure they cleaned her other teeth too.

I agree with others, $2,000 is too much for one tooth. Unless you really want to stick with your current vet clinic, I'd call around.

Veterinary dentists are not very numerous but I think there is one in your Santa Cruz area. You could maybe have a consultation or at least get a quote. I know some general vets do limited types of dentistry but someone with specialty training would do a better job.

De-lurking here (once I picked my jaw up off the floor) since our 8-y/o standard poodle had a dental cleaning with 3 extractions (one major, one minor, and one 'major extensive'), just 9 months ago, in Virginia. The dog has been fine with no problems or complications since. The entire bill (cleaning, drugs, an extra test or 2, and all 3 extractions) was $530. So $2000 sounds like way too much, unless there's something unique about your dog's jaw.

On the other hand, our daughter's vet just a few miles away in Maryland wanted $800 just for a dental cleaning for her Viszla.

I called around, even Dentistry for Animals, and that is the going rate for around here. I had one that was $200 less but charged $150 consultation fee. I don't know why it is so expensive here.

sounds like a typo, Never should be that much. We are all humans. call to confirm.

Yes do call around and talk to area vets. I did that several times for procedures on my cats and saved a lot of $$...or at least got to understand why one vet was $$ than another. But I was able to make an informed choice that way.

I paid $700 for one tooth (Socal).

You might ask your vet for an itemized breakdown of the estimated expense to see exactly what that includes. Maybe they are “padding” the estimate with everything they can think of, like maybe two overnights, bloodwork, any and all medications, etc. to provide an estimate which would have no surprises for the dog’s owner.

that sounds ridiculously high to me. a few months ago, one of my great danes developed a tooth root abscess, at 13 years old. olivia has been on heart meds for 4 years and sees a cardiologist every 6 months. the cardio vet insisted i take her to a board certified vet dentist so off we went to st. louis.

he evaluated olivia, spoke at length to the cardiologist and proceeded. not only one tooth needed to go but he found another that was broken and removed it, too.

i had not planned on spending the night but he decided that given her heart issues and the fact i lived 2.5 hours away, he wanted her to spend the night in the adjoining e.r. to be monitored overnight. i stayed in a nearby motel.

i figured i'd have to go back to work to afford all of this but was rather pleasantly surprised at the final bill. including the initial exam, a complete geriatric blood panel, the procedure (with all of the accompanying precautions), a 3 hour recovery, and because i didn't bring her heart meds with me, it was necessary for the vet to scramble to get a couple of Rx filled so she wouldn't miss a dose, then the overnight stay, my cost came to $1,700. i was beyond pleased!

Prices for a lot of things are high in coastal California.