Mandibular Canine Extraction for Cat - GP Vet or Dental Vet?

[Doctor-S]

NOT asking for medical advice.

I'm asking about "general veterinary practice" vs. "specialty veterinary practice."

If an adult cat ever needed a mandibular canine extraction in the future (e.g., due to resorption/no stomatitis), is this type of procedure typically performed by a small animal GP veterinarian who also provides small animal dental care, or by a veterinary dental specialist?

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[genny]

Either one can do it. Some GPs are more comfortable with dentistry than others, since different schools may have different opportunities for learning the necessary skills. And there are CE opportunities for learning skills that weren’t covered enough in school. So if the small animal veterinarian who does dentistry feels comfortable doing a mandibular canine extraction, I wouldn’t hesitate to have them do the procedure. It’s something that we do at my clinic routinely.

 

[Doctor-S]

Either one can do it. Some GPs are more comfortable with dentistry than others, since different schools may have different opportunities for learning the necessary skills. And there are CE opportunities for learning skills that weren’t covered enough in school. So if the small animal veterinarian who does dentistry feels comfortable doing a mandibular canine extraction, I wouldn’t hesitate to have them do the procedure. It’s something that we do at my clinic routinely.

@genny thank you very much for this info!

 

[that redhead]

We did canine extractions, or any extractions, routinely and quite well. Things you want to be sure of: your clinic has a dental x-ray machine and a sensible pain management plan.

 

[ch3yruh]

Hi! I work at a speciality animal dentistry office right now. Based off what ive gathered there, whether your GP or specialty doctor performs the procedure, mandibular cat k9s can be tough to extract. Anyone who is not familar or careful with it can easily break the jaw.
If you plan to go to your GP, make sure that their doctor is the one actually performing the extractions! I've heard horror stories of techs performing extractions and even broke the jaw of a huge dog when extracting a mandibular canine- which seems crazy to do on a big dog!

 

[ch3yruh]

And to add, if youre tight on budget, specialty clinics can be thousands more expensive than going to your GP... just something else to keep in mind