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!

[theDentist]

The amazing thing is that I was able to se easily: 1) substitute some "fools gold" for the real thing they brought, 2) submit a claim thru their insurance company, and 3) alert PETA to the adventure, telling them I will replace them with proper teeth if they can get the courts to go along and cover my expenses.

[Slings and Arrows]

Gamera is really neat!

He is full of turtle meat!

[VRing]

"I'll take my police dog with titanium teeth"

Is that real??

[CougarGA7]

Where's the Kitty Bling List?

[najida]

Oh my!
He looks like "The Predator"!

[Red Badger]

I wonder if the cat was a "Gelding".................

[theDentist]

Yes... when I finished. He scratched me, I defended myself.

[Stoat]

Oh my!
He looks like "The Predator"!

Trolls should fear them both    :-)

[RSmithOpt]

That'll make Sebastian's a$$ sing the blues.

[ZGuy]

Yep, that's real. Police dogs often have to have titanium implants put in when their teeth are injured in the line of duty.

[Red Badger]

A fool and his Geld are soon parted...........

[Red Badger]

I was really making a pun in two languages. "Geld" in German means money..........

[Lady Jag]

Sheesh, now even pets are hipper than I am . . .

[Stoat]

Much better detail than the original photo, thank you for posting!

If Dr. Steele was truly interested in strengthening the cat's teeth to ward off breakage, I'm wondering why he used gold when, apparently, titanium is the material of choice for a strengthening procedure, as evidenced by other posts in this thread.

Perhaps it was mainly his career that Dr. Steele was ettempting to strengthen?

I suppose this route is a whole lot easier and faster than doing original research on a new dental procedure and publishing it in a peer-reviewed dental or medical journal.

Dr. Steele is quoted as saying that the cat was upset with him and didn't speak to him for two days after the procedure, ostensibly because the cat didn't like the teeth.

Is the cat so vain that it looks at itself in the mirror and can visually recognize this change?

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

---

Aaahhh, ok I got it. I was wondering if I was just skimming today, but I thought it said he placed the caps OVER the teeth to keep them from breaking (hence the guy actually doing the cat a favor). But I will try to remember this in future postings with nmh.

Thanks

[beyond the sea]

I'll take my pet shark with regular teeth looking for Hillary's ample thigh.

[Lady Jag]

The Animal Dental Center (opens new browser) doesn't say what they use, just that they are "metal jacket" crowns and they are silver colored, not gold, to strengthen teeth. Titanium might be the pricier option.

You're right about Dr. Steele needing more business and using this as publicity. It wouldn't work with me, though; would you go to a dentist who seems to have too much time on his hands?

I wonder if those metal teeth sticking out in the air like that would make the cat's jaw ache. Metal's cold and cats are hot...

[Stoat]

Thank you so much for your great link and your research.

Re Dr. Steele, I would also be wary of such a person because he seems distracted not only with the pursuit of fame but it is being done in a direction that could arguably be referred to as being outside the scope of his practice. He is not a veterinarian, and this cheap photo-op of his raises ethical questions.
There are many brilliant and passionate dentists in the world who are committed to their practice, and I would be willing to bet that the very most highly degreed and regarded of them all will be quick to admit that they don't know everything that there is to know about dentistry in it's universal entirety. Humility is something that typically comes along with an expert's knowledge of any subject that has any degree of complexity.

So, as a patient, I wouldn't be interested in seeing a dentist who is not pursuiing new knowledge and trying to expand the realms of his science in the arena that he is educated i.e human dentistry, but instead has gone off on this tangentially-related path to pop-culture fame on the back of animals, who don't have the right of refusal to a questionable procedure as performed by a questionably-dedicated practitioner.

And I agree, I have no doubt that it feels unnatural to the animal and may even be painful

[Lady Jag]

If my dentist's cat needed such work, I know he wouldn't do it. He's too busy and charges too much. And his "hobby" is his family. Many dentists make jewelry as a hobby, common because they already do a lot of metal work. That's better than drilling cats and dogs in your free time.

[nmh]

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

Perhaps you are not familiar with the teeth a cat has. Teeth are missing.

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

As for sweet Martin, it's well known that he's a tad touched. I'm not surprised he has no knowledge of felines. It's unfortunate the he feels the need to advertise his ignorance, by choice.

[martin_fierro]

Nice try, you lush.

[nmh]

Could be!

That poor animal ... .

[nmh]

"Nice try, you lush."

If you'd kick your "habit" and FOCUS on the topic, you'd notice it has NO teeth on top. Guess people have to spell it out for folks like YOU ... .

[martin_fierro]

[nmh]

Juvenile humor too!

Wow!

I'm so impressed.

[Xenalyte]

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.

I am seized with a longing to know what the Dread Boston Salty would look like with a grill.

[Xenalyte]

Is the cat so vain that it looks at itself in the mirror and can visually recognize this change?

My mother used to have a cocker spaniel who was about as sharp as a bag of wet hair.

The first time she got him the "cocker cut," which is essentially buzz-cutting the back and about halfway down each side, and leaving a fringe below, he hid under her bed and would NOT come out when visitors came over. That lasted four days.

[martin_fierro]

I like to keep it nice and simple for you.

[Xenalyte]

When a cat has its mouth closed, you can't see its upper teeth. Truth be told, you can't see any teeth if the cat is properly constructed.

Sebastian here has an underbite, so his lower jaw projects past his upper jaw, which is why you CAN see his lower teeth.

[nmh]

Fangs hang down from the top row.