$200 dental cleaning?

I was holding my tongue on this discussion of cost, because my own costs were
much higher. I thought it was because my cat had 3 extractions. But then I read
the post below, which includes the same number of extractions. My cat's dental
work (including pre-screening blood work and extra anesthesia) ended up costing
about $700. The blood work was about $125, each extraction about $65. I'm
outside Philadelphia. Ai-yi-yi-yi. (It's a new vet for me, specializing only in
cats. I didn't shop around, because they seemed to know what they were doing,
unlike my previous vet, but maybe I should have.)



That seems a little high unless the cat is older and needs pre-anesthesia
testing, or if there are extractions. Our last bill (about a month ago) was
around $240 but she had three teeth extracted. This required a longer than
normal time under anesthesia.

However, I don't think $200 for a cleaning is exorbitant, just a little on
the
high side. You may find someone else to do it a little cheaper, but since you
never know what you're going to find while cleaning the teeth--there may be
decay or other problems hidden by the tartar--I think you should be prepared
that it may well end up costing at least $200 anyway.

in article , Dtanyol at
OSPAM wrote on 8/23/03 6:44 PM:

I was holding my tongue on this discussion of cost, because my own costs were
much higher. I thought it was because my cat had 3 extractions. But then I
read
the post below, which includes the same number of extractions. My cat's dental
work (including pre-screening blood work and extra anesthesia) ended up
costing
about $700. The blood work was about $125, each extraction about $65. I'm
outside Philadelphia. Ai-yi-yi-yi. (It's a new vet for me, specializing only
in
cats. I didn't shop around, because they seemed to know what they were doing,
unlike my previous vet, but maybe I should have.)


For ONE cat??????? Wow.

Karen

in article , Dtanyol at
OSPAM wrote on 8/23/03 6:44 PM:

I was holding my tongue on this discussion of cost, because my own costs were
much higher. I thought it was because my cat had 3 extractions. But then I
read
the post below, which includes the same number of extractions. My cat's dental
work (including pre-screening blood work and extra anesthesia) ended up
costing
about $700. The blood work was about $125, each extraction about $65. I'm
outside Philadelphia. Ai-yi-yi-yi. (It's a new vet for me, specializing only
in
cats. I didn't shop around, because they seemed to know what they were doing,
unlike my previous vet, but maybe I should have.)


For ONE cat??????? Wow.

Karen

"Dtanyol" wrote in message
...
I didn't know that it would be lower. Extractions, anesthesia, extra
anesthesia, some pain killer??, cleaning the teeth, polishing, and a few
other
things. They also removed the roots of the extracted teeth...should that
not
have been a separate charge?

I don't *know*, but I doubt it. When an extraction's done, the root's
supposed to come out, too - obviously. If it breaks off, they may have to
work a bit longer to get out as much of the remaining root(s) as possible,
though little pieces may remain - which may eventually just work their way
out to the surface (painlessly). IOW - it would seem to me that an
extraction's an extraction, whether the tooth pulls out neatly in pieces, or
breaks in the process. But maybe the procedure's classified as simple Vs.
difficult & billed accordingly.

Cathy

--
"Staccato signals of constant information..."
("The Boy in the Bubble") Paul Simon




For ONE cat??????? Wow.

Karen

"Dtanyol" wrote in message
...
I didn't know that it would be lower. Extractions, anesthesia, extra
anesthesia, some pain killer??, cleaning the teeth, polishing, and a few
other
things. They also removed the roots of the extracted teeth...should that
not
have been a separate charge?

I don't *know*, but I doubt it. When an extraction's done, the root's
supposed to come out, too - obviously. If it breaks off, they may have to
work a bit longer to get out as much of the remaining root(s) as possible,
though little pieces may remain - which may eventually just work their way
out to the surface (painlessly). IOW - it would seem to me that an
extraction's an extraction, whether the tooth pulls out neatly in pieces, or
breaks in the process. But maybe the procedure's classified as simple Vs.
difficult & billed accordingly.

Cathy

--
"Staccato signals of constant information..."
("The Boy in the Bubble") Paul Simon




For ONE cat??????? Wow.

Karen

Cathy wrote:
it would seem to me that an extraction's
an extraction, whether the tooth pulls out
neatly in pieces, or breaks in the process.
But maybe the procedure's classified as
simple Vs. difficult & billed accordingly.

A lot depends on *which* tooth is extracted. Some teeth come out quite
easily. Canines, OTOH, are deep rooted and more difficult to remove.
There can be some surgery involved in some extractions, especially when
a tooth breaks. Techs generally do most of the cleaning, but if surgery
is required this must be done by the vet.

My cat Cassie was in for a dental last week and had 3 teeth removed. She
is older and had to have a full blood panel done before the dental. I
also chose to have a catheter during surgery. The total cost, including
bloodwork, extractions, and the extra anesthesia required because the
procedure took longer and dental surgery was involved as both lower
canines were extracted, came to about $450. Looking at a break down of
the bill I did not find this to be unreasonable. Not that I enjoyed
paying it, mind you ;-)

Megan



"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do
nothing."

-Edmund Burke

Learn The TRUTH About Declawing
http://www.stopdeclaw.com

Zuzu's Cats Photo Album:
http://www.PictureTrail.com/zuzu22

"Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one
elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and
splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then
providence moves too. A whole stream of events issues from the decision,
raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings and
material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his
way."

- W.H. Murray

Cathy wrote:
it would seem to me that an extraction's
an extraction, whether the tooth pulls out
neatly in pieces, or breaks in the process.
But maybe the procedure's classified as
simple Vs. difficult & billed accordingly.

A lot depends on *which* tooth is extracted. Some teeth come out quite
easily. Canines, OTOH, are deep rooted and more difficult to remove.
There can be some surgery involved in some extractions, especially when
a tooth breaks. Techs generally do most of the cleaning, but if surgery
is required this must be done by the vet.

My cat Cassie was in for a dental last week and had 3 teeth removed. She
is older and had to have a full blood panel done before the dental. I
also chose to have a catheter during surgery. The total cost, including
bloodwork, extractions, and the extra anesthesia required because the
procedure took longer and dental surgery was involved as both lower
canines were extracted, came to about $450. Looking at a break down of
the bill I did not find this to be unreasonable. Not that I enjoyed
paying it, mind you ;-)

Megan



"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do
nothing."

-Edmund Burke

Learn The TRUTH About Declawing
http://www.stopdeclaw.com

Zuzu's Cats Photo Album:
http://www.PictureTrail.com/zuzu22

"Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one
elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and
splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then
providence moves too. A whole stream of events issues from the decision,
raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings and
material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his
way."

- W.H. Murray

in article , Dtanyol at
OSPAM wrote on 8/24/03 9:46 PM:

I didn't know that it would be lower. Extractions, anesthesia, extra
anesthesia, some pain killer??, cleaning the teeth, polishing, and a few other
things. They also removed the roots of the extracted teeth...should that not
have been a separate charge?




For ONE cat??????? Wow.

Karen



Well, my Grant had 5 teeth extracted under anesthesia, and stayed at the
hospital 2 days. I know my vet is a lot less expensive than a lot, but my
vet had only just been learning that procedure and purchased special
equipment that summer. She charged me $250.00. I guess the most I would
expect is 350 from other vets.

Karen

in article , Dtanyol at
OSPAM wrote on 8/24/03 9:46 PM:

I didn't know that it would be lower. Extractions, anesthesia, extra
anesthesia, some pain killer??, cleaning the teeth, polishing, and a few other
things. They also removed the roots of the extracted teeth...should that not
have been a separate charge?




For ONE cat??????? Wow.

Karen



Well, my Grant had 5 teeth extracted under anesthesia, and stayed at the
hospital 2 days. I know my vet is a lot less expensive than a lot, but my
vet had only just been learning that procedure and purchased special
equipment that summer. She charged me $250.00. I guess the most I would
expect is 350 from other vets.

Karen

OSPAM (Dtanyol) wrote:

I was holding my tongue on this discussion of cost, because my own costs were
much higher. I thought it was because my cat had 3 extractions. But then I
read
the post below, which includes the same number of extractions. My cat's
dental
work (including pre-screening blood work and extra anesthesia) ended up
costing
about $700. The blood work was about $125, each extraction about $65. I'm
outside Philadelphia. Ai-yi-yi-yi. (It's a new vet for me, specializing only
in
cats. I didn't shop around, because they seemed to know what they were doing,
unlike my previous vet, but maybe I should have.)

Well, that does sound high. I'm in Chicago, so I would think the vet costs
would be comparable to other major urban areas. I don't think my invoice was
broken down to a cost per extraction, but there was a charge for an additional
15 minutes of anesthesia, plus a charge for IV fluids during the surgery. The
reason I was given for the surgery taking longer than expected was that the vet
did not discover the two rear molars were bad until after cleaning the teeth.

We also paid for a chest x-ray ($65) post-surgery but I didn't include that in
the charge I listed for the dental work, because that was due to our cat's
unusual reaction to the anesthesia. I don't think an x-ray would normally be
done for a six year old cat.

It's hard to say whether you should call around next time your cat needs dental
work. IMO I'd rather go to a vet I know and trust than shop around.



That seems a little high unless the cat is older and needs pre-anesthesia
testing, or if there are extractions. Our last bill (about a month ago) was
around $240 but she had three teeth extracted. This required a longer than
normal time under anesthesia.

However, I don't think $200 for a cleaning is exorbitant, just a little on
the
high side. You may find someone else to do it a little cheaper, but since
you
never know what you're going to find while cleaning the teeth--there may be
decay or other problems hidden by the tartar--I think you should be prepared
that it may well end up costing at least $200 anyway.