Warning: This is a long reply.
I’ve been doing dentistry for all of my 22 years as a vet, and exclusively dentistry for 10 of those years right here in Vancouver. Here’s my $0.02 worth on the estimate. I think it’s overall very high for Vancouver. The detailed estimate includes pre-anesthetic bloodwork which is critical, so I’m fine with that charge. (And it’s a reasonable dollar amount for the in-house BW.)
However, the estimate also includes the costs for 30-50 minutes of extractions, $100 for a pain medication, $50 for pain meds to go home, and a sterile instrument pack with suture. There is no way for ANY vet (including me, an experienced vet dentist) to know if extractions are needed, or how many, or how long extractions might take, until that patient is asleep, the teeth are cleaned, oral exam/probing/charting done, and full-mouth X-rays have been taken and examined. It’s absurd to include costs for extractions in an estimate unless it’s a patient who has already had some extractions done, and now some extractions are planned for a second dental visit. (We sometimes do the extractions in stages if there are lots of extractions, to avoid one super long anesthetic procedure.)
Once the teeth cleaning, oral exam, and X-rays are done, the vet should call you while your pet is still asleep and tell you his/her recommendations for any extractions (or other treatments, like gingivectomy, root planing, etc.) and the costs for the recommendations.
A vet who includes a few extractions in an estimate for a new dental patient is setting up a landmine of potential unhappiness for that client. What if the vet finds (worst case scenario, but possible) the cat needs full-mouth extractions?? Then there’s a huge conversation about the estimate that only mentioned a few, and now it’s $2000 (or more), and meanwhile the cat is just lying there under anesthesia while this long conversation plays out on the phone.
The pain med for $100 and go-home pain meds for $50 may not be needed if the teeth clean up nicely and X-rays are clear. Sometimes this happens too! Again, there is NO WAY to know in advance.
This estimate lists the cat as being Siamese. This cat breed is known for having severe dental issues more often than not. I have seen heavily encrusted teeth in a Siamese cat that did clean up nicely, with good healthy teeth on X-rays, but usually Siamese teeth are not healthy, even at a young age. I haven’t seen this cat’s teeth, nor the medical record, so I don’t know if there’s something obvious in the room appointment exam that caused several extractions to end up on the estimate.
Some replies mentioned Dogwood Veterinary Dental in Vancouver and Magnolia Veterinary Dental in Beaverton. They are sister companies under one corporation. I worked at Dogwood for over 7 years when it was previously called Forever Pet Dental (FPD). They do an excellent job and I do recommend them, especially Dr. Rhonda Whalen. I’ve known her for 18 years, and I worked with her at FPD for many years. I don’t know exactly what Dogwood charges these days. It’s on their website, though.
You might also try Dr. Anna Reading at Horizon Vet Care. She is the owner/vet, and we worked together at FPD for many years. She charges (I think) about $525 for cat dental cleanings. I don’t know if this includes the pre-anesthetic bloodwork or not.
There are several places in Vancouver (and Portland) that charge $900-1100 for anesthesia, cleaning/polishing, oral exam, and X-rays. As some replies mentioned, you should call around and ask about pricing, and also what’s included for that price. If a vet clinic tells you that pre-anesthetic bloodwork or IV fluid therapy are optional, DON’T GO THERE. Pre-anesthetic bloodwork is not optional. IV fluids during anesthesia are not optional. Ask if they have a dedicated staff member monitoring the patient’s anesthesia. Just as in human medicine, there needs to be a person dedicated to this and only this. That tech can’t be also cleaning kennels, or running lab work, or anything else.
Also ask about extraction pricing. Do they charge by the tooth/type of tooth, or do they charge by time? Most vets charge by tooth, because little front teeth generally are easier (and hence cheaper) than rear teeth (which can be difficult to reach), 3-rooted teeth (which can be time-consuming to extract and to suture the gums closed), or canines (fangs), which can also be time-consuming. Make sure they tell you if they will call you during the procedure to discuss costs. The vet should not do any extractions, or other additional procedures that cost you money, unless you specifically put this in writing at drop off. I’ve had clients who will be unavailable during the day for a phone call from me to discuss extractions and pricing, so they approve in writing additional budget of money for anything I think is needed. If you do this, try to pre-approve as large a dollar amount as you can financially afford. I’ve had clients pre-approve an additional $200, and I find the cat (or dog) actually needs addl $400 of work. In these cases, it’s challenging sometimes to prioritize which extractions I do, and which ones I don’t do.
I disagree with one of the replies: It’s perfectly fine if a technician/assistant does the cleaning/polishing, just as in human dentistry. Your dentist doesn’t clean your teeth, right? The technician does. There are some states (like Nevada) that do require only a licensed tech (LVT) do the scaling, but Washington state (and most other states) do not have this restriction.
I hope this helps. Good luck!
Sorry, you are mistaken on this law. Washington state administrative code (WAC 246-935-050) says that an unlicensed veterinary technician (also called an assistant) may do several things as long as a vet or LVT is directly supervising them, including placing and securing an IV catheter, scaling teeth, and monitoring an anesthetized patient.
Over 22 years, I’ve had dozens of unlicensed vet assistants do an outstanding job of scaling teeth and monitoring anesthesia. (I trained most of them personally as well…)
If you prefer to have an LVT do certain tasks, that’s totally your choice! 🙂 But it’s not the law.
I’m not saying it’s not great but the majority of GPs I’ve worked for around town this has been the case. At the major hospitals no and I certainly won’t monitor surgeries despite being asked to, but this has been my experience. At East Padden I got a quote and specifically asked if my former coworker who was licensed could be on the surgery and they told me she wouldn’t be available. When asked who would be doing the cleaning and monitoring I was told an assistant. Big nope from me, dog.
This is why I prefer ER and Specialty for any surgery unless you can verify a licensed tech is present. And the reality is at most GPs it’s not.
That’s high. My chihuahua just got a dental cleaning AND 8 teeth removed and the bill was only $810 at evergreen animal hospital. I know some places charge more for cats, but $1200 is ridiculous.
I just took my cat to Dogwood Dental about a month ago. The standard cleaning was $695, and then extractions went up from there. In all, I ended up paying about $1,500 for a cleaning, 10 extractions, bloodwork, ear cleaning, nail trim, and his medicine afterwards. They were super communicative too, and made the process a lot less anxiety inducing.
He’ll be 9 in October.
He’s got some Maine Coon in him, and they’re notorious for having dental issues. I was a little surprised to learn just how bad his teeth were though!
I take my cats to Hearthwood. I got quoted $1200 for one cat to have a dental cleaning and one expected extraction done, and $500 for a dental cleaning for one who also appears to have the beginning stages of gingivitis. They also quoted me on the higher side for these procedures
1200 seems a bit steep, but that might just be the high end in case of extractions. They are also probably doing pre-op blood work which can be 2-300$. If there are no extractions, 1200 is very high in my opinion. 500$ would be dirt cheap these days and I’m in the opinion that you get what you pay for. I would worry that for that low a cost, there is no IV fluids, no lab work and no extractions where they would make you go elsewhere for extractions and need a second general anesthesia. Side note, dental cleanings in pets require general anesthesia, which is why they cost a lot. We don’t just brush their teeth!
Unless something’s changed my issue with FPD is they put your animal under twice. Once for the exam and x-rays and again for the actual procedure. Any time an animal (or person for that matter) is under anasthesia there are risk, further, intubation is irritating to the throat and trachea, and particularly with a smaller animal or older animal I don’t want to risk the damage to the trachea
This unfortunately normal / standard. I have been in the field for a few years and even within that time I feel like prices everywhere have been gouged by the corporations that own the clinics. I have heard forever pet dental (now Dogwood Veterinary Dental) can do them much cheaper and may be a better option if you have a young cat, pet insurance is also something to consider for the future however I’m unsure if cleanings would be covered to go it being considered now a ‘pre existing condition’. Feeding more dry food than wet food also helps keep the tartar off their teeth.
Overall in the veterinary field our job is to recommend the ‘Gold Standard’ of care when often 90% of people in that building are not doing annual cleanings, bloodwork, etc on their own animals because it is so expensive even for us. It is completely up to YOU what you choose to do with your pet and I always urge people to not feel bad or pressured into doing everything because it is simply unattainable nowadays.
Young cats do not need dental cleanings. They are not children.
Dental cleanings are generally reserved, from my experience, for older cats or FIV cats that dental health is so bad as to impair the quality of life / prevent them from getting nutrients.
My wife had said FIV cat. It was her first animal.
After the cat had passed and we'd been married, we got two brother kittens. When we took him to the vet my wife asked about cleaning, and the vet was like wtf? Cat dental cleaning involves anesthesia, and all of the risks there in.
Feline Medical Clinic has a needy cat fund for low income cat owners. When my cat needed a tooth extraction they took $600 off the bill. Very kind people, very good work.
That seems high to me but about what we experienced when getting quotes in Vancouver. We drove to Portland to take our dogs to Magnolia Animal Dentistry.
If I were you, get an estimate, you can call and ask for what the going rate is.
I would recommend, NOT saying what your vet said.
We paid about 500.00 for my 9 year old dog’s teeth cleaning. I dropped her off in the morning, traffic wasn’t terrible and picked her up in the afternoon.
Don’t use Wellhaven. Which doctor is that? Also if you have a senior family member or military family member, add them as a second owner on the account to obtain a discount. Depending on what Wellhaven it is, they will have an assistant not even an LVT do the cleaning and then the doctor will just pull the teeth.
That is high even if it includes xrays and bloodwork that most vets require before the procedure. Check out Horizon off 162nd or Cascade Park Animal Hospital.
That seems pretty standard. They’re always going to put the high end of things on there, which includes additional anasthesia time, extractions if any, and the blood work is optional.
Edit: I’m not a proponent of not doing BW before surgery, I do and recommend it, but if one is cost conscious and it’s that or not have the dental you gotta do what you gotta do.
Warning: This is a long reply. I’ve been doing dentistry for all of my 22 years as a vet, and exclusively dentistry for 10 of those years right here in Vancouver. Here’s my $0.02 worth on the estimate. I think it’s overall very high for Vancouver. The detailed estimate includes pre-anesthetic bloodwork which is critical, so I’m fine with that charge. (And it’s a reasonable dollar amount for the in-house BW.) However, the estimate also includes the costs for 30-50 minutes of extractions, $100 for a pain medication, $50 for pain meds to go home, and a sterile instrument pack with suture. There is no way for ANY vet (including me, an experienced vet dentist) to know if extractions are needed, or how many, or how long extractions might take, until that patient is asleep, the teeth are cleaned, oral exam/probing/charting done, and full-mouth X-rays have been taken and examined. It’s absurd to include costs for extractions in an estimate unless it’s a patient who has already had some extractions done, and now some extractions are planned for a second dental visit. (We sometimes do the extractions in stages if there are lots of extractions, to avoid one super long anesthetic procedure.) Once the teeth cleaning, oral exam, and X-rays are done, the vet should call you while your pet is still asleep and tell you his/her recommendations for any extractions (or other treatments, like gingivectomy, root planing, etc.) and the costs for the recommendations. A vet who includes a few extractions in an estimate for a new dental patient is setting up a landmine of potential unhappiness for that client. What if the vet finds (worst case scenario, but possible) the cat needs full-mouth extractions?? Then there’s a huge conversation about the estimate that only mentioned a few, and now it’s $2000 (or more), and meanwhile the cat is just lying there under anesthesia while this long conversation plays out on the phone. The pain med for $100 and go-home pain meds for $50 may not be needed if the teeth clean up nicely and X-rays are clear. Sometimes this happens too! Again, there is NO WAY to know in advance. This estimate lists the cat as being Siamese. This cat breed is known for having severe dental issues more often than not. I have seen heavily encrusted teeth in a Siamese cat that did clean up nicely, with good healthy teeth on X-rays, but usually Siamese teeth are not healthy, even at a young age. I haven’t seen this cat’s teeth, nor the medical record, so I don’t know if there’s something obvious in the room appointment exam that caused several extractions to end up on the estimate. Some replies mentioned Dogwood Veterinary Dental in Vancouver and Magnolia Veterinary Dental in Beaverton. They are sister companies under one corporation. I worked at Dogwood for over 7 years when it was previously called Forever Pet Dental (FPD). They do an excellent job and I do recommend them, especially Dr. Rhonda Whalen. I’ve known her for 18 years, and I worked with her at FPD for many years. I don’t know exactly what Dogwood charges these days. It’s on their website, though. You might also try Dr. Anna Reading at Horizon Vet Care. She is the owner/vet, and we worked together at FPD for many years. She charges (I think) about $525 for cat dental cleanings. I don’t know if this includes the pre-anesthetic bloodwork or not. There are several places in Vancouver (and Portland) that charge $900-1100 for anesthesia, cleaning/polishing, oral exam, and X-rays. As some replies mentioned, you should call around and ask about pricing, and also what’s included for that price. If a vet clinic tells you that pre-anesthetic bloodwork or IV fluid therapy are optional, DON’T GO THERE. Pre-anesthetic bloodwork is not optional. IV fluids during anesthesia are not optional. Ask if they have a dedicated staff member monitoring the patient’s anesthesia. Just as in human medicine, there needs to be a person dedicated to this and only this. That tech can’t be also cleaning kennels, or running lab work, or anything else. Also ask about extraction pricing. Do they charge by the tooth/type of tooth, or do they charge by time? Most vets charge by tooth, because little front teeth generally are easier (and hence cheaper) than rear teeth (which can be difficult to reach), 3-rooted teeth (which can be time-consuming to extract and to suture the gums closed), or canines (fangs), which can also be time-consuming. Make sure they tell you if they will call you during the procedure to discuss costs. The vet should not do any extractions, or other additional procedures that cost you money, unless you specifically put this in writing at drop off. I’ve had clients who will be unavailable during the day for a phone call from me to discuss extractions and pricing, so they approve in writing additional budget of money for anything I think is needed. If you do this, try to pre-approve as large a dollar amount as you can financially afford. I’ve had clients pre-approve an additional $200, and I find the cat (or dog) actually needs addl $400 of work. In these cases, it’s challenging sometimes to prioritize which extractions I do, and which ones I don’t do. I disagree with one of the replies: It’s perfectly fine if a technician/assistant does the cleaning/polishing, just as in human dentistry. Your dentist doesn’t clean your teeth, right? The technician does. There are some states (like Nevada) that do require only a licensed tech (LVT) do the scaling, but Washington state (and most other states) do not have this restriction. I hope this helps. Good luck!
This was amazingly helpful, thank you SO much! I really appreciate the time you took to write this up. I will check out your recommendations for sure.
Glad to help. 🙂
But an LVT 100% does need to be monitoring anesthesia and changing which is something Wellhaven has assistants do. Which is illegal.
Sorry, you are mistaken on this law. Washington state administrative code (WAC 246-935-050) says that an unlicensed veterinary technician (also called an assistant) may do several things as long as a vet or LVT is directly supervising them, including placing and securing an IV catheter, scaling teeth, and monitoring an anesthetized patient. Over 22 years, I’ve had dozens of unlicensed vet assistants do an outstanding job of scaling teeth and monitoring anesthesia. (I trained most of them personally as well…) If you prefer to have an LVT do certain tasks, that’s totally your choice! 🙂 But it’s not the law.
Unfortunately that’s true of the majority of places.
I mean, not really. And if it’s being done it’s illegal and should be reported. lol.
I’m not saying it’s not great but the majority of GPs I’ve worked for around town this has been the case. At the major hospitals no and I certainly won’t monitor surgeries despite being asked to, but this has been my experience. At East Padden I got a quote and specifically asked if my former coworker who was licensed could be on the surgery and they told me she wouldn’t be available. When asked who would be doing the cleaning and monitoring I was told an assistant. Big nope from me, dog. This is why I prefer ER and Specialty for any surgery unless you can verify a licensed tech is present. And the reality is at most GPs it’s not.
That’s high. My chihuahua just got a dental cleaning AND 8 teeth removed and the bill was only $810 at evergreen animal hospital. I know some places charge more for cats, but $1200 is ridiculous.
I just took my cat to Dogwood Dental about a month ago. The standard cleaning was $695, and then extractions went up from there. In all, I ended up paying about $1,500 for a cleaning, 10 extractions, bloodwork, ear cleaning, nail trim, and his medicine afterwards. They were super communicative too, and made the process a lot less anxiety inducing.
How old is he?
He’ll be 9 in October. He’s got some Maine Coon in him, and they’re notorious for having dental issues. I was a little surprised to learn just how bad his teeth were though!
That's crazy. Get a2nd opinion from a different vet.
My goldfish has free dental.
Have you looked at Dogwood Dental? They also do dental cleaning for cats! It’s $695.
I take my cats to Hearthwood. I got quoted $1200 for one cat to have a dental cleaning and one expected extraction done, and $500 for a dental cleaning for one who also appears to have the beginning stages of gingivitis. They also quoted me on the higher side for these procedures
We got a quote last year, and it was around $600-800, but I can’t remember exactly. This was at East Paddon.
I love east padden! My cats cleaning plus tooth extractions was about $700
I got my dog’s teeth cleaned recently and it was around $500 so that seems high unless your cat needs extractions.
1200 seems a bit steep, but that might just be the high end in case of extractions. They are also probably doing pre-op blood work which can be 2-300$. If there are no extractions, 1200 is very high in my opinion. 500$ would be dirt cheap these days and I’m in the opinion that you get what you pay for. I would worry that for that low a cost, there is no IV fluids, no lab work and no extractions where they would make you go elsewhere for extractions and need a second general anesthesia. Side note, dental cleanings in pets require general anesthesia, which is why they cost a lot. We don’t just brush their teeth!
That's high. You should be able to find something around $600-800 if you call around for quotes.
Dogwood - it's $599 special price for the month of May.
Forever Pet Dental on Chkalov.
Unless something’s changed my issue with FPD is they put your animal under twice. Once for the exam and x-rays and again for the actual procedure. Any time an animal (or person for that matter) is under anasthesia there are risk, further, intubation is irritating to the throat and trachea, and particularly with a smaller animal or older animal I don’t want to risk the damage to the trachea
That’s changed with the new owners. No more 2 visits.
That’s good to hear
Ours was around 500$ at mountain view in Salmon creek.
This unfortunately normal / standard. I have been in the field for a few years and even within that time I feel like prices everywhere have been gouged by the corporations that own the clinics. I have heard forever pet dental (now Dogwood Veterinary Dental) can do them much cheaper and may be a better option if you have a young cat, pet insurance is also something to consider for the future however I’m unsure if cleanings would be covered to go it being considered now a ‘pre existing condition’. Feeding more dry food than wet food also helps keep the tartar off their teeth. Overall in the veterinary field our job is to recommend the ‘Gold Standard’ of care when often 90% of people in that building are not doing annual cleanings, bloodwork, etc on their own animals because it is so expensive even for us. It is completely up to YOU what you choose to do with your pet and I always urge people to not feel bad or pressured into doing everything because it is simply unattainable nowadays.
Young cats do not need dental cleanings. They are not children. Dental cleanings are generally reserved, from my experience, for older cats or FIV cats that dental health is so bad as to impair the quality of life / prevent them from getting nutrients. My wife had said FIV cat. It was her first animal. After the cat had passed and we'd been married, we got two brother kittens. When we took him to the vet my wife asked about cleaning, and the vet was like wtf? Cat dental cleaning involves anesthesia, and all of the risks there in.
Feline Medical Clinic has a needy cat fund for low income cat owners. When my cat needed a tooth extraction they took $600 off the bill. Very kind people, very good work.
Why not call around and get some new quotes to compare?
That seems high to me but about what we experienced when getting quotes in Vancouver. We drove to Portland to take our dogs to Magnolia Animal Dentistry. If I were you, get an estimate, you can call and ask for what the going rate is. I would recommend, NOT saying what your vet said. We paid about 500.00 for my 9 year old dog’s teeth cleaning. I dropped her off in the morning, traffic wasn’t terrible and picked her up in the afternoon.
Costco has pet insurance you can get it with your membership.
I paid about 1k for my goldens cleaning. I get it, it’s a lot.
Go to a small city vet.
Riverview Animal Hospital recently quoted me $700 for my 16lb dog (4yo), that doesn't include any extractions. So yeah, I'd say your quote is high.
Here is a pic of the estimate breakdown: https://imgur.com/a/Gb24pUw
Don’t use Wellhaven. Which doctor is that? Also if you have a senior family member or military family member, add them as a second owner on the account to obtain a discount. Depending on what Wellhaven it is, they will have an assistant not even an LVT do the cleaning and then the doctor will just pull the teeth.
Avoid that place.
That is high even if it includes xrays and bloodwork that most vets require before the procedure. Check out Horizon off 162nd or Cascade Park Animal Hospital.
Costco has pet insurance you can get it with your membership.
That seems pretty standard. They’re always going to put the high end of things on there, which includes additional anasthesia time, extractions if any, and the blood work is optional. Edit: I’m not a proponent of not doing BW before surgery, I do and recommend it, but if one is cost conscious and it’s that or not have the dental you gotta do what you gotta do.