Anesthesia-Free Dental Cleaning: Does It Work?

It’s natural to have concerns about general anesthesia, whether for ourselves or for our beloved dogs.

After all, no matter how young and healthy the patient, there is always some associated risk. For this reason, anesthesia-free dental cleaning for dogs has become more and more popular. As well as the lower cost of cleaning Fido’s or Fluffy’s teeth without anesthesia is another attractive feature.

Sounds good

Anesthesia-free dental cleaning for your dog sounds rather tempting, doesn’t it?

Before you jump on this bandwagon, consider whether or not this option truly serves your dog’s best health interest.

I’m a big believer in regularly brushing your pet’s teeth at home.

Is it beneficial?

Thoroughly removing dental tartar on an awake animal, however, is a whole ‘nother ball game!

Even with highly skilled hands and a super-cooperative animal, it is impossible to successfully and painlessly remove tartar from underneath the gum lines and along the inner surfaces of the teeth (the surfaces in closest proximity to the tongue).

And, if the end result of cleaning is anything other than polished, super smooth, dental surfaces, tartar will quickly re-accumulate.

Anesthesia-free dental cleaning definitely gives the outer surfaces of the teeth a cleaner look. However, while this may be pleasing to your eye, there is no significant benefit to your dog’s health. For all of these reasons, I strongly encourage that you opt for dental cleaning with the aid of general anesthesia.

Some caveats

Now, there are some caveats that accompany my recommendation.

For some animals, the risks associated with general anesthesia clearly outweigh the benefits—for example, a dog or cat with advanced heart disease or kidney failure. Even for the healthiest animals, general anesthesia should be accompanied by careful monitoring of the patient’s status at all times. You can find a list of important questions to ask your veterinarian about general anesthesia in Speaking for Spot within the chapter called “Important Questions to Ask Your Vet…and How to Ask Them.”

The American Veterinary Dental College also advises against anesthesia-free dental cleaning. Here is an excerpt from their position statement:

Owners of dogs naturally are concerned about anesthesia. However, performing nonprofessional dental scaling on an unanesthetized dog is inappropriate for the following reasons:

Risk of injury

Dental tartar firmly adheres to the surface of the teeth. Scaling to remove tartar is accomplished using ultrasonic and sonic power scalers, plus hand instruments that must have a sharp working edge to be used effectively.

Even slight head movement by the patient could result in injury to the patient’s oral tissues, and the operator may be bitten when the patient reacts.

Little health benefit

Professional dental scaling includes scaling the surfaces of the teeth both above and below the gingival margin (gum line), followed by dental polishing. The most critical part of a dental scaling procedure is scaling the tooth surfaces within the gingival pocket (the subgingival space between the gum and the root), where periodontal disease is active.

Because the patient cooperates, dental scaling of human teeth performed by a professional trained in the procedures can be completed successfully without anesthesia.

However, access to the subgingival area of every tooth is impossible in an unanesthetized canine or feline patient. Removal of dental tartar on the visible surfaces of the teeth has little effect on a pet’s health and provides a false sense of accomplishment. The effect is purely cosmetic.

Little health benefit

Professional dental scaling includes scaling the surfaces of the teeth both above and below the gingival margin (gum line), followed by dental polishing.

The most critical part of a dental scaling procedure is scaling the tooth surfaces within the gingival pocket (the subgingival space between the gum and the root), where periodontal disease is active. Because the patient cooperates, dental scaling of human teeth performed by a professional trained in the procedures can be completed successfully without anesthesia.

Lack of anesthesia benefit

Inhalation anesthesia using a cuffed endotracheal tube provides three important advantages- the cooperation of the patient with a procedure it does not understand, elimination of pain resulting from examination and treatment of affected dental tissues during the procedure, and protection of the airway and lungs from accidental aspiration.

Lack of diagnostic benefit

A complete oral examination, an important part of a professional dental scaling procedure, is not possible in an unanesthetized patient. This is because the surfaces of the teeth facing the tongue cannot be examined, and areas of disease and discomfort are likely to be missed.”