Teeth cleaning

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Pebble101

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My parents ten year old Labrador needs his teeth cleaning. The vet told them it's around £600 and I think that is before any extractions (if necessary). This seems to be very expensive.

Have any of you had this done and if so, how much did it cost. They live on the Kent/Surrey border. I will tell them to phone around, although they like their vet and don't really want to change.

Also do any of you get a prescription from your vets? They have Metacam for their other dog at £60 for a big bottle. Same size on the internet can be bought for £18 so I told them to ask for a prescription.
 
Up here in rural Shropshire a basic dental for a labrador sized dog would be more like £300 - can you ask the vet for a breakdown of the costs?

They can charge for providing a prescription and the dog will still need regular checks between prescriptions - just over £10 and £20 respectively here.
 
I've just had an estimate from my vets for £374, this included 2x teeth extractions, scale & polish, anaesthetic, an antibiotic & painkiller injection and some metacam and antibiotics to go back with. Also includes 2 post op checks.
 
with the age of the dog is there blood tests to be done to check major organs before the general anaesthetic? that could well increase the price, they might also have factored in intravenous fluids in their eastimate which would also increase the overall price in case of issues with kidneys etc - might be worth your mum and dad having a breakdown of the costs before going shopping around so that they have a sensible comparison rather than everything not being included and they end up with a bigger bill from someone else - just a thought
 
Id ask for a breakdown of costs as that seems a little pricey for a dental even on a large lab...however it does depend on weight..if he is over 35 or 40 kg then he may be hitting giant dog prices for the anaesthetic,if he is getting xrays or preop bloods and Iv fluids or a modified sedation due to underlying issues then that could be why its more pricey than expected. Id expect 300 to 400 for a lab size dog to be the norm with the cost of bloods and fluids as well it could be another 100 however.Oral Xrays also may be included..at that price id hope they were!

Metacam will have a markup of up to a third in most vets,and we generally cannot bulk buy to the same extent as the online pharmacies due to size restrictions..so 18 would be close to cost price for a normal run of the mill vets I would say,that said 60 pounds is a bit steep....but at the end of the days this is how do you think vets make money....medications and treatments have to cover wages and the cost keeping the practice open.
 
Thank you everyone for your input.

The dog is otherwise very healthy, no underlying issues and an ideal weight (vets words).

I know vets have to cover costs but my parents are pensioners and it is a huge amount of money to them.

I do understand about the vets not being able to buy in bulk, we have the same in our company where we are an approved dealer for a large manufacturer but you can buy their products cheaper in Argos than we can buy them ourselves!
 
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