Anaesthesia-free dental cleaning in dogs is inadequate for proper assessment and treatment, with properly managed veterinary anaesthesia being safe and welfare-positive.
Anaesthesia-free dental procedures are increasingly marketed to concerned pet owners but represent poor welfare practice disguised as a safer alternative. The stress of physical restraint for an awake dental procedure is significant, and the procedure itself addresses only cosmetic tartar without treating the dental disease causing pain. Properly managed general anaesthesia for dental procedures is safe in healthy dogs and enables the thorough assessment and treatment that genuinely improves dental welfare. The anaesthetic risk narrative exploited by anaesthesia-free services is largely unfounded in healthy patients.