I have a 13 year old who has a tooth with a couple of fairly large holes in it. The tooth is now starting to smell and she does drool now and again and reluctantly I think I have no choice but to have it taken out. I am very nervous about putting her under a GA at her age ...... Has anyone had this done using just local or sedative?
Also aftercare...... Any tips or things to avoid?

Thanks all:)

My Jozi who I lost at Easter had a large abscessed tooth removed at over 14 1/2 and lived another 9 months.

It was that, or have her Put to sleep, she bounced back without issue.

Thankyou Brainless,

Do they have to use a full GA or can they use just a sedative or local..... She is very placid but then I guess she would not be under for long so may be I'm worrying for nothing.

Definitely GA but the modern reversible ones are tolerated very well.

Thankyou again,

I've been putting it off for a while.... The holes are quite big now and with the smell I'm worried about pain for her and also her swallowing the bacteria so I guess I am going to have to bite the bullet and get it out.

Your vet, who won't want to lose a patient on the table, should do all the pre-anaesthetic testing needed.   It sounds as if it's beyond time to have a dental done so she goes into her final years pain free.   And it may be possible with a calm patient, to just sedate her, depending on what work is needed.

Aftercare - should just mean you have to soak her food for a while after the surgery - depending on what's done.   You vet should cover all that at the time you pick her up afterwards.

My 13 year old had a dental and a tooth removed a few months back and he was fine. I think you should be brave and go ahead with it for her sake. x

Our 17 year old Toy Poodle had dental work 10 days ago - She had a GA (after pre med testing) and slept for almost 24 hours after which was a little worrying - but she's back to her bouncy self now :)....we put it off for too long due to her age...But it was definitely the right decision :)

Thankyou everyone,

I took her in today and have her booked for an extraction and scale and clean next Thursday. Slightly concerned that they mentioned taking more teeth out if needed...... Obviously I want them to if they are rotting but bit worried they will take out anything less than perfect and have her under GA for longer. They also want to do a full scale and polish..... Do you think that's overboard or necessary? Not worried about the cost ...... It's the length of time under I'm worried about.

Just a thought but I had an old cat a few years ago who had a dodgy tooth - I could tell it was painful because she cried when i stroked her face. On further investigation it was pretty wobbly so I scrubbed my hands and got a clean tissue and gave it a little tug and out it came. She didnt bat an eyelid. Kept a close eye on it and it healed up nicely. Clearly if it's firm it's not even worth trying but just saying............

Thankyou treacle.... Unfortunately it is very firm. I am very uneasy about the way the young vet got carried away with talking about cleaning and taking out any teeth that showed signs of gum disease.... She mentioned she could be under for two hours!!

I really just want the rotten tooth out and her woken up Asaph but they told me it is against the law for them to not take out any bad teeth... But who decides how bad is bad... Her teeth look very good to me apart from this one. I may have to go in tomorrow and be very firm that I just want the one tooth out and the whole procedure kept to a minimum.... I feel they are turning this into something a lot more extensive than it needs to be and I don't want my 13 year old girl going through too much

If you are worried that they might do more work than you wish, when you are given the consent form to sign you can always write on it that you authorise only the one extraction, and want to be notified of any others they think need removing.  I did this earlier this year when my 9-year-old had to have a loose and fractured tooth removed; the vet phoned me while the dog was on the operating table to say that the adjacent tooth had a rotten root, and I gave him verbal authorisation to remove it.

If it's any consolation I booked a 13 year old Bearded Collie in for a dental as I knew she was obviously in discomfort.  Two loose teeth were casing loads of drool.  I nearly died when I picked her up 14 extractions!!!!!  So ok, she had very soft food for a good while, but when I saw how much happier she was I felt awful that her mouth must have been so sore.  Yes she was sleepy for a day or two, but I would 100% advise you to go ahead.

Our Jozi had a full scale and Polish under GA, which was nice, and healthier, for her to have lovely clean pearly whites for most of her last year

Thankyou everyone...... I think I will stress and also so write on the consent form that I want the one tooth only removed unless contacted. I was going to put off the scale and polish but if it doesn't take long it maybe it's best to get it done to prevent further problems.... Not sure how much longer she would need to be out for for that?

Actually, Jean, you mentioning drool has just given me a lightbulb moment! I have noticed the last couple of weeks after I have fiddled with this tooth and tried to clean it etc she has had a cough for about half a day afterwards. Not Kennel cough and the vets said her lungs / heart are fine but as its after me playing with this tooth I'm now wondering if she could be salivating more where it's playing up and she's swallowing the drool making her cough? I did wonder if it was bacteria from the tooth causing throat/ tonsil inflammation but the vet said not but I can't see why not?

my late mothers care dog chokos cocker spaniel had lot issues with bad teeth  she was rescued from puppy farm
we had to get chokos speyed as emerangy due to heavy hamoraging during her seson.the amont of litters she had had damaged her bomb and led to very heavy blood during seson
the vet did spay and did her teeth at same time she had five teeth out
chokos was 10yr at time she lived for another 5yrs she died of broken heart due to my mother been hospital bond for year
it was heartbreaking

I would just remind them of her age, and say that only teeth causing a major problem should be removed, and all work should be done with a view to minimising the time she is under. There might well be more than one tooth that really needs to come out, and if she's otherwise healthy it's a good idea to get it all sorted at the same time. I am sure they will monitor her very carefully.

If you have a more 'trusted' vet who knows you and your dog at the practice you could find out what day they do ops and book your oldie in with them. That's what I would do (excluding emergencies of course) and make sure you get all the pre-op tests done.

> I think I will stress and also so write on the consent form that I want the one tooth only removed unless contacted.

With respect, if you are going for a GA I would recommend that all teeth that need removing are taken out at the time.  I truthfully see no need for such an extreme decision.  Honestly, your dog will be just fine.  With todays anaesthetics I have had many an old timer put under with no problems at all.

As someone has mentioned - I always ask when my favourite vet is operating (I think I know his rota better than the receptionists!)  When my old girl had her 14 out and I looked shocked, my vet said Jean she would be back in in a  few months if I hadn't taken them.

Really - bite the bullet.