This is not Labrador related, BUT, my sister took her terrier to the vet to have his teeth cleaned, knowing that they may need to pull one that looked infected to her. Well they asked if she wanted to be called and she said it wasn't necessary, she assumed if it needed to be pulled they would pull it. Long story short, they pulled 17 teeth in one session without calling her! I know what they say about assume, but I also think 17 would have warranted a phone call.
Is it me or does anyone else think this is excessive. Poor Dog! My sister is in tears, beside herself. She's pulling all her animals records when she goes to get him. She's used this practice for years and until now, never an issue.
I'm just looking for some input on what's normal when it comes to pulling teeth.
I think there was a failure to communicate, and the owner of the dog is partly to blame in that she indicated that a call was not necessary, even while knowing that the dog had some infection. Where there is one rotten tooth in a little dog, there are usually more, as the gums go bad. There are many unanswered questions here. What is the age and breed or mix of the terrier? What teeth were pulled? Were they almost falling out, as they are in some little old dogs, and as the question from the vet about the phone call seems to indicate to me? My guess from the story would be that the teeth lost were the incisors and the premolars, with maybe a molar or two, and that the vet felt that the tartar was holding them in, and that the gums were compromised. Some little dogs have shallow roots on crowded teeth, especially in the little front incisors. The dentition is very different than in Labradors, in my experience. The extractions of loose and infected teeth to prevent more pain may have saved the little dog from heart disease or worsening of it. The canines were probably saved, if possible, as terriers usually have BIG canines, unless they are toy terriers, such as Yorkies.
I am sorry that she is upset and understandably distressed. The dog should be just fine after the gums heal. Hopefully the dog is on antibiotics and soft food right now.
Me, in an older dog with an abscessed tooth and lots of tartar, I'd expect bigger problems and be grateful that the vet tried to prevent future painful infections for the dog. Now if the charges per tooth were outrageous, I'd be upset about THAT if they were very loose. Even so, I wouldn't want to do root canals in an old dog!
I work in an animal hospital that does a lot of dental work and we actually don't allow people to opt out of the phone call OKing extractions for just this reason. In fact we ask that they provide a number they can absolutely be reached reached at, and we will not extract teeth without their consent even if the owner was aware there would be extractions.
It sounds like a miscommunication... with both parties to blame.Having said that, veterinarians really don't extract healthy teeth. It is a huge pain to get a healthy tooth out. It is also not uncommon for older small breed dogs who have had little to no dental care in their lifetime to need multiple extractions when the procedure is finally done. So my guess is the little guy is better off without the diseased teeth. 17 can sound like a big number but often times that involves many incisors that are hanging by a thread. Hope this helps.
