What checks happen before the anaesthetic?
Age alone does not rule an older dog out of a needed dental, but it does raise the value of preparation. Ask what pre-anaesthetic assessment your dog will have: a physical examination, blood work to check organ function, and any further checks her history suggests, such as heart assessment if a murmur or known condition is part of her picture. Ask when those results will be known and whether anything found could change the plan, delay the procedure, or shift it to a different setting.
Ask how her individual conditions feed into the anaesthetic plan. A dog with early kidney change, a heart murmur, or reduced mobility is not automatically a no; she is a dog whose fluids, monitoring, positioning, and recovery need to be thought through in advance, and you are entitled to hear that thinking in plain language.
Monitoring and staffing during the procedure
Ask who monitors your dog while the dental work happens and what they watch: heart rate and rhythm, breathing, blood pressure, temperature, and depth of anaesthesia are the core set in a well-run procedure. Older dogs lose heat more readily and recover more slowly, so ask how warmth is maintained and how recovery is supervised until she is awake, swallowing, and steady. Ask whether one person is dedicated to monitoring rather than assisting and monitoring at once, because that distinction matters most in longer dentals.
Ask how long the procedure is expected to last and what could extend it. Dental work often reveals problems below the gumline that were not visible while she was awake, so agree in advance how decisions about extractions or further work will be made: will the clinic call you mid-procedure, or have you authorised a defined range of treatment beforehand?
Pain, recovery, and the first night at home
Ask what pain relief she will receive during and after the dental, how you will know if she is uncomfortable at home, and what you should do if she will not eat, seems nauseous, or is unusually quiet that evening. Ask about feeding after extractions: softer food, smaller meals, and avoiding chews or hard toys are common instructions, but get her version in writing rather than relying on general advice.
Ask which after-effects are expected and which are not. Mild grogginess, a soft cough from the breathing tube, and a quieter appetite for a short period can be normal; laboured breathing, repeated vomiting, bleeding from the mouth, collapse, or pain that does not settle are not, and you should know which number to call, including out of hours, before you take her home.
Weighing the risk of acting against the risk of waiting
Ask your veterinarian to frame the decision honestly: what is the anaesthetic risk for this dog, with her results, in their hands — and what is the risk of leaving dental disease untreated? Sore, infected teeth affect eating, comfort, and general health every day, so doing nothing also carries a cost for an older dog. Ask whether anything can be improved before the procedure, such as timing it after a health issue stabilises, and whether staging the work into shorter sessions is an option in her case.
Take the answers home in writing, including fasting instructions and arrival time, so the morning of the procedure is calm and correct. Filing the pre-anaesthetic results, procedure notes, and recovery instructions in KinsLe via Pet Passport keeps this dental's full story available the next time her teeth or an anaesthetic are discussed.