Dog's Dental

[doxiemom11]

We are currently in AZ and our dog, a Japanese Chin has an abcessed molar. Took her to the vet here $166.00 for an office call with added charges for meds and blood profile on top of that for a total of $243.00. Surgery estimate to remove the tooth is $900. Over $1,000 to have 1 bad tooth removed. We are in sticker shock as a little over a year ago, we paid $250.00 in the midwest for the same service. We are near Phoenix so there are plenty of vets in the area. We did check with 3 others randomly and were getting the same type of quotes , so this is the a normal charge here. Why the huge difference? Anyway, if you are going to AZ, make sure your pet gets their dental before leaving home and any needed work is done before the trip. It's probably cheaper at home.

We are full-time so have had dentists in MI, IL, MS, TX, AL and none charged anywhere near this.

[westernrvparkow]

ItsyRV wrote:

doxiemom11 wrote:
Why the huge difference?

Phoenix is not some sleepy wild west town in the desert It's a sprawling major metropolitan area that is becoming a suburb of California's high tech and bio medical industries. Just drive along Main Street from Tempe to Mesa and you'll see all those antiquated RV parks giving way to new lofts and tech firms. Farmers's markets with craft foods are replacing flea markets. The metro area is redefining itself from snowbirds and retirement villages to exchange tech workers and town-homes. With that has come the end of Fido and Fluffy going to the neighborhood vet to now their designer pets and concierge veterinarian medicine. Vets in Phoenix are just charging what people are willing to and can now afford to pay.

Don't leave out the fact that the rent/real estate costs for that veterinary clinic is multiple times higher in a metro area then it is in a rural town. Those clinics need to hire employees and must compete with the other local businesses, so wages are much higher. It just costs much more for the metro vet to operate, so prices are going to be much higher.
The other thing nobody has taken into consideration is that no two procedures are exactly alike. There may be complicating factors involved that makes the OP dog's procedure much more expensive. The owner's preferences for treatment may be different. Even the breed of dog may have an impact on costs. A tiny dog may require specialized tools and a large breed may require more anesthesia for all that us lay people know.

[ItsyRV]

doxiemom11 wrote:
Why the huge difference?

Phoenix is not some sleepy wild west town in the desert It's a sprawling major metropolitan area that is becoming a suburb of California's high tech and bio medical industries. Just drive along Main Street from Tempe to Mesa and you'll see all those antiquated RV parks giving way to new lofts and tech firms. Farmers's markets with craft foods are replacing flea markets. The metro area is redefining itself from snowbirds and retirement villages to exchange tech workers and town-homes. With that has come the end of Fido and Fluffy going to the neighborhood vet to now their designer pets and concierge veterinarian medicine. Vets in Phoenix are just charging what people are willing to and can now afford to pay.

[doxiemom11]

As it turns out, she cannot have surgery immediately as her liver enzymes were a little high. We are using a particular antibiotic which tends to help the liver shed dead cells and an antioxidant compound to help the liver heal. Some of the abnormal reading may have been caused by the infection and inflammation in her body. She is on antibiotics and anti-inflammatory meds to keep the abscess under control until she has blood retest in a month. Whatever the cost, we will take care of her. Just noted what an expensive area this is. We have had vets in MI, IL, MS, AL, NM, TX and now AZ, and this is the most expensive area we have been in. She has had multiple dentals and the difference between a farm community and the wealthier suburbs is apparent.

[chindog]

westernrvparkowner wrote:

chindog wrote:
That's ridiculous. We usually pay about $185 for a dental plus about $15 for tooth extraction, and then pay for bloodwork in addition to that. But not $900. As full timers, we've found varying prices around the country, so we usually wait until we are in the SE before having dental work done.

The OP's dog has an abscessed tooth. To me, that is pretty close to an emergency that needs to be taken care of immediately for the dog's comfort and health. I don't think the dog would appreciate waiting until they can travel to the lowest cost provider in the country.

Didn't say they should. Just commenting on the stupid high fees. Heaven knows I've had to pay those kind of prices many times. Some parts of the country are like that, and you don't have much choice.

[westernrvparkow]

chindog wrote:
That's ridiculous. We usually pay about $185 for a dental plus about $15 for tooth extraction, and then pay for bloodwork in addition to that. But not $900. As full timers, we've found varying prices around the country, so we usually wait until we are in the SE before having dental work done.

The OP's dog has an abscessed tooth. To me, that is pretty close to an emergency that needs to be taken care of immediately for the dog's comfort and health. I don't think the dog would appreciate waiting until they can travel to the lowest cost provider in the country.

[chindog]

That's ridiculous. We usually pay about $185 for a dental plus about $15 for tooth extraction, and then pay for bloodwork in addition to that. But not $900. As full timers, we've found varying prices around the country, so we usually wait until we are in the SE before having dental work done.

[westernrvparkow]

Hondavalk wrote:
You should see my annual horse dental bills.

Obviously your horses were not gifts, since everyone knows you don't look a gift horse in the mouth. 🙂

[Hondavalk]

You should see my annual horse dental bills.

[ksg5000]

Dental work cost plenty in my area - especially on small dogs which are harder to work on.

[donn0128]

Might want to drive to Denver to PPP.

[DownTheAvenue]

Be sure you are comparing "apples to apples." Look at the itemized costs, not just the total cost. I bet the cheaper vet bill did not include some services! Of course, whether those services were necessary would be for another discussion.

[Crowe]

That's less than what our old vet charged. Unfortunately it's a "what the market will bear" type of system.

[colliehauler]

I know I spend a bit of money to get my two Collies teeth cleaned each year. They do a full health profile, x rays and a teeth cleaning. Add to that a couple of six packs of heart guard and antibiotics. Then add Cooper's medication (another $200). Not uncommon for me to drop over a thousand dollars in Kansas.

[Oldmaple]

Paid almost $1,000 dollars to have a tooth removed in our dog. It was a canine tooth, maybe their more expensive. We're in Michigan.