Very old dog with dental issues

Question
I have a 35lb 17 year old dog. He has very bad teeth. He only has four left besides ones in the very front.   The last four have severe plaque on them and he has terrible breath. He only eats dry Purina senior dog food and has been on it for the past 5 years. I have had his teeth cleaned twice in the past two years. Each time he went under he had a difficult time coming out of the atheistic.  It takes him at least a day and a half to get back to normal. My main question is, is it worth the risk to put him under if it would lengthen his life? Besides the dental problem he doesn't have any other problems besides minor arthritis. Thank you.

Answer
There are so many types of sedation and gas anesthesia now days that having a dog put under is much safer than it used to be. Maybe they can do a light sedation on him so it doesn't take him as long to come out of it. You should have some minor pre-op blood work done as well to assess his liver and kidney conditions.

Ask your vet about your choices in this matter. It will certainly make him feel better to have these teeth taken care of the the bacteria that they are seeding into his system is going to make him feel very dull.

I totally understand your concerns and they are very valid. So explore this with your vet and if they are stubborn about it, see someone else.

They should be concerned as well.