I called the acupuncture vet (I'm still on the waitlist) today to get information on who they send their patients to for dentals. The person I'd originally talked to had said those places are ok with doing dentals on pets that weren't current on vaccinations. I wasn't sure if this vet had to see Pookie or give a referral, so I wanted to find out.
Yes, she would have to give a referral, and since Pookie isn't currently a patient, by law she can't do that. I could call these places and ask if they'd take him. I'm assuming he needs a dental, since he lost a tooth. When I'd chatted with the person on the original call and mentioned his lip issue, she wondered if it was due to his teeth. So that adds to my assumption.
I did ask the lady today if there was something the acupuncture vet recommended to clean his teeth. This is the product she had: Maxi-Guard oral gel. Here are the ingredients:
Maxi Guard Oral Gel an oral cleansing gel that cleanses and freshens with or without brushing. Active Ingredient(s): Deionized water, zinc gluconate, ascorbic acid (vitamin C), methylcellulose, taurine, methylparaben, propylparaben, F.D.&C. blue no. 1. May also contain zinc sulfate
*sigh* I don't think I'm comfortable with anything that has methylcellulose, unless it's something different than what I think it is. Thoughts?
On a side note: if he does need a dental, I find it interesting that he spent the first 5+ years of his life on a dry/canned diet and never needed one, but may need one when he's not getting ANY dry, and gets a combination canned/raw (including chicken tenders, hearts and cut up gizzards [to prevent horking]) diet now. Go figure.