Professional dental cleaning under anaesthesia is the only effective treatment for periodontal disease in dogs, and the welfare of anaesthetic procedures is well-managed with modern protocols in healthy patients.
The welfare of dogs undergoing dental procedures is optimised by thorough pre-anaesthetic assessment, multi-modal pain management including dental nerve blocks, and appropriate post-operative analgesia. The welfare argument for dental procedures under anaesthesia rather than anaesthesia-free cleaning is straightforward: subgingival disease causes chronic pain that cannot be diagnosed or treated without radiography and probing under anaesthesia. The transient anaesthetic welfare cost is far outweighed by the welfare benefit of diagnosing and treating progressive dental disease. Owners who decline anaesthetic dentistry out of fear of anaesthetic risk may inadvertently condemn their pets to prolonged dental pain from undertreated disease, a greater and more prolonged welfare harm.