20/06/2025
Do you have concerns about anaesthetising an older animal for dentistry? Or perhaps an animal with multiple medical issues? Dental treatments are frequently required for older patients, and other medical conditions may need to be taken into account.
*This recent article https://doi.org/10.1002/vetr.3604 reports the peri-anaesthetic mortality rate across veterinary centres including specialist, general and university practices, in multiple countries. Note that this study includes emergency and thoracic surgery, both of which substantially increase anaesthetic risk. The vast majority of patients undergoing elective dental procedures fall into the ASA low risk categories I and II, shown by the study to further decrease anaesthestic risk.
No surgical procedure is completely risk free. But living with painful dental disease when there is a safe alternative, is riskier to your pet's health.
