Dentist Puts Gold Teeth on Pet Cat

SFGate ^ | August 16, 2006

[Stoat]

<p>This cool cat has traded in his catnip for some bling. Sebastian, a one-year-old Persian with long black hair, sports gold crowns on his two bottom canines, which grew sticking out from his lips in an underbite similar to a bulldog's.</p

[Stoat]

Original story:

The Herald Bulletin - Alex dentist strengthens cat’s teeth with gold crowns

Alex dentist strengthens cat’s teeth with gold crowns


By LYNELLE A. MILLER

Gold teeth have become a popular fashion trend among hip-hop stars and rap moguls in Hollywood. Dr. David Steele may have just given this fad a whole new twist when he gilded his feline’s choppers.

Sebastian is a year-old Persian with a long-haired, shiny black coat. Upon first glance, he looks like any other cat. Bending down to show some affection, though, you can’t help but notice the two gold teeth protruding from his lower jaw.

“His lower teeth grew in sticking out, which is not normal,” said Steele, an Alexandria dentist. “They are supposed to grow in just like our teeth.”

Deciding they might be knocked off or become a problem, Steele devised a plan. “I wanted to strengthen them with gold crowns,” he said.

Admitting he had done this procedure on a cat before, Steele crowned the feline’s teeth approximately two weeks ago.

“About a month ago, he was tranquilized to get his coat trimmed so I took impressions of his teeth. I then sent those to my labs who do my crowns. They called back and asked me what I was up to,” he said as he laughed.

After receiving the gold crowns from the labs several weeks later, Steele took Sebastian back to the Alexandria Animal Hospital where Dr. Larry Owen, veterinarian, tranquilized him once again.

“We gave him some sedation so (Steele) could do the work,” said Owen. “He has done this once before to one of his dogs, too. I was amazed. That’s David, though, he’s a funny guy. He did not hurt the cat in any way and this could be done for a pet with a dental problem. It’s possible his teeth could have broken off because they are exposed. Mostly, though, it was a fun thing to do. (Steele is) always up to something or trying something new.”

Before the procedure, even though Sebastian is a family pet, Steele said the cat was drawn to him the most. “He’s normally around me all the time. After I put the crowns on, he didn’t ‘speak’ to me for two days,” said Steele. “He was not happy.”

Steele said the procedure only took him 10 to 15 minutes to finish and said he is happy with the results, but said there was a significant cost attached to the procedure.

“It cost the same as it would for a human being which is about $900 a tooth,” he said. “I would probably do this for someone else, but they would have to bend my arm pretty hard. It would cost a little more because it’s harder to work on animals.”

In the past, Steele said he has also performed a root canal and crown on a cat after it was hit by a car and has also put a gold crown on his Boston terrier. “It’s possible to work on animals the same way we do humans,” he said. “I did it to strengthen (Sebastian’s) teeth, but it had an excellent cosmetic result. The cat gets a lot of attention now. Everyone is tickled to death when they see him.”

[farlander]

That's *still* one ugly cat.

[Lx]

Kitty sporting a Grill!!!!
I've got a White-Silver Persian that has this problem, I think I'll go for the diamond studded grill.

[nmh]

That's awful.

Repairing the teeth is one thing but with this trendy crap and not replacing NEEDED teeth is cruel.

[Red Badger]

PING!!!!!!!

[Andy from Beaverton]

I had a red tabby Persian with a crocked jaw. One of his lower teeth would stick out like that. His tongue would catch on it, not good, but funny looking. He ended up losing the tooth and it didn't interfere with is eating. He wasn't exactly hunting down prey. My previous black Persian looked almost identical to this one in the photo... minus the lower teeth.

[Republican Red]

My husband had a cat that lived to be eighteen. When it was about 10 the cat got in a fight with a raccoon and lost part of its face. My husband got the cat plastic surgery to rebuild it's face.

I enter the picture when the cat is about 16. The vet says the cat has a kidney ailment and needs to be air lifted from our home in Georgia to N. Carolina. The vet is adamant that the cat will die without the dialysis.

We refused because the cat was pretty old anyway. The cat lived two more years. His death was due to the fact that I ran it over backing out of the driveway.

[Slings and Arrows]

Oh no! Not another kitten rapper!

[ironmaidenPR2717]

Let's see....gold is what? $700+ an ounce? Here kitty kitty.

[Cyman]

I think that this dentist will run afoul of his licensing board. From reading his story it appears that he is not a veterinarian but a dentist. That is a no no

[ZGuy]

I'll take my police dog with titanium teeth over your kitty with gold teeth.

[Stoat]

That's *still* one ugly cat.

But it might be of some benefit when doing battle against trolls and liberal mice    :-)

[Stoat]

Kitty sporting a Grill!!!!
I've got a White-Silver Persian that has this problem, I think I'll go for the diamond studded grill.

Yours will be the most sought-after cat-napper victim in feline history   :-)

[KarlInOhio]

I searched Google for an appropriate picture and found the MSNBC version of this article. The headline was "Sebastian the cat gets a gold grill. The owner, a dentist, gives Persian blinged out teeth to strengthen them"

Now I'll have to get platinum teeth for my cat.

[Stoat]

That's awful.

Repairing the teeth is one thing but with this trendy crap and not replacing NEEDED teeth is cruel.

Methinks Dr. Steele may not be getting enough attention at home and is seeking it vicariously.

[sandbar]

>>>Repairing the teeth is one thing but with this trendy crap and not replacing NEEDED teeth is cruel.>>>

Did I miss that part of the article? What teeth needed replacing?

[martin_fierro]

>>>Repairing the teeth is one thing but with this trendy crap and not replacing NEEDED teeth is cruel.>>>
Did I miss that part of the article? What teeth needed replacing?

nmh rarely lets *actually reading* the article get in the way of clueless sanctimony.

[Criminal Number 18F]

Cat -- the other white meat.

d.o.l.

Criminal Number 18F

[Syberyenta]

I'm sorry for the loss of your cat.

But I'm REALLY sorry I burst out laughing at work when I read your post.

[Names Ash Housewares]

He looks like Gamera!