Veterinary dental procedures under general anaesthesia allow complete oral examination and treatment that dramatically improves animal welfare despite the anaesthetic risks.
Anaesthetic risk is a genuine consideration but rarely exceeds the welfare benefit of treating dental disease that causes chronic daily pain. Owners who decline recommended dental procedures to avoid anaesthetic risk often do not recognise the ongoing suffering from untreated disease. Pre-anaesthetic assessment identifies animals at elevated risk where additional precautions are appropriate. The welfare benefit of a pain-free mouth lasting years far exceeds the brief anaesthetic risk for most healthy adult animals.