CBX Pet Care coordinates professional dental cleanings for dogs and cats in Tijuana at $150–$250, compared to $500–$1,500 in San Diego. Full anesthesia, digital dental X-rays included, and extractions available at $30–$80 per tooth. Same-day service — drop off in National City or Chula Vista in the morning, pick up the same afternoon.
Dental disease is the most commonly diagnosed health problem in adult dogs and cats. By age three, most dogs and the majority of cats have at least early-stage periodontal disease. Left untreated, it progresses — and the damage goes beyond the mouth.
Bacteria from infected gum tissue and decaying teeth do not stay in the mouth. Studies in veterinary medicine have linked chronic periodontal disease in dogs to increased risk of kidney, liver, and heart disease. The infection is systemic, not localized. What looks like a dental problem is often also a whole-body health problem.
The obstacle for most San Diego pet owners is not awareness — it is cost. A professional dental cleaning under anesthesia at a San Diego general practice runs $500 to $1,500. With digital X-rays and extractions, that number climbs higher. For people managing multiple pets, or pets that need annual cleanings, the expense accumulates quickly.
CBX Pet Care coordinates the same quality dental procedure at our vetted partner clinics in Tijuana for $150 to $250 — including digital dental X-rays, which most San Diego clinics bill as an add-on. Extractions, when needed, are $30 to $80 per tooth. The procedure, the anesthesia protocol, and the equipment are the same. The overhead is not.
The term “dental cleaning” understates what a proper veterinary dental procedure is. Unlike human dental cleanings, your pet’s cleaning must be performed under general anesthesia. There is no reliable way to clean below the gumline, take accurate intraoral X-rays, or probe periodontal pockets in a conscious, moving animal. Any “anesthesia-free dental cleaning” is a surface polish — it removes visible tartar but does nothing about the subgingival disease that actually causes health problems.
At CBX partner clinics, a complete dental cleaning includes:
The entire procedure takes approximately 1–3 hours depending on your pet’s level of dental disease. A young dog with minimal calculus and healthy gums takes less time than a 10-year-old cat whose teeth have never been professionally cleaned.
Roughly 70% of each tooth is below the gumline. You cannot assess root health, bone levels, or root resorption with a visual exam alone. Studies in veterinary dental journals have found that in practices routinely using full-mouth dental X-rays, between 27% and 53% of all teeth recommended for extraction would have been missed with visual exam only — and between 25% and 43% of teeth initially recommended for extraction were found to be healthy on X-ray and retained.
Digital dental X-rays are included in the CBX dental cleaning price. You are not paying extra to find out what is actually happening in your pet’s mouth. That information is part of the standard procedure.
Get Your Free Dental Cleaning Estimate
| Service | CBX Pet Care | San Diego | You Save |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dog dental cleaning (includes anesthesia + digital X-rays) | $150–$250 | $500–$1,500 | 60–85% |
| Cat dental cleaning (includes anesthesia + digital X-rays) | $130–$200 | $400–$1,000 | 60–80% |
| Tooth extraction (simple) | $30–$50 | $100–$200 | 65–75% |
| Tooth extraction (surgical / multi-rooted) | $50–$80 | $150–$300 | 60–75% |
| Multi-pet dental (two pets, same appointment) | Ask coordinator | $1,000–$3,000 | 60–80% |
Dental cleaning appointments follow the same-day CBX model. You drop off at either our National City Walmart (off I-805) or Chula Vista Walmart (off I-5) between 7:00 and 9:00 AM, and pick up the same afternoon.
Your pet must be fasted from midnight the night before — no food, water until approximately 2 AM or as directed by your coordinator. This is standard pre-anesthesia protocol. An animal with food in their stomach is at increased risk for aspiration during anesthesia.
On arrival at the clinic, the veterinarian examines your pet and reviews pre-anesthetic bloodwork. If your pet has any significant health issues identified at this stage, you are called before anesthesia begins to discuss how to proceed.
Once anesthesia is induced, your coordinator calls you — the check-in call. The veterinarian reports what the oral exam is showing and what the X-rays reveal, and if extractions are needed beyond what was estimated, they discuss that with you and get your approval before proceeding. Nothing is added without your knowledge and consent.
After the cleaning, your pet recovers from anesthesia until alert and stable. The checkout call covers what was done, how many teeth were extracted if any, aftercare instructions for the next 24–48 hours, and whether follow-up care is needed. Your pet is back at the meeting point by early to mid-afternoon.
Cats have a particularly high incidence of tooth resorption — a painful condition where the tooth structure breaks down from the inside out, often at the gumline. It affects an estimated 28–67% of adult cats and is frequently invisible to visual examination. Digital X-rays are essential for diagnosing tooth resorption, which is one of the primary reasons we include them as standard.
Cats also have no border crossing requirements in either direction — no microchip, no CDC form, no rabies certificate needed. Cross-border dental care for cats is logistically the simplest case CBX Pet Care handles. If your cat has been putting off dental work because of cost, the barrier is removed here.
Cats with resorptive lesions typically need extractions of affected teeth. This sounds alarming, but cats manage excellently without teeth — many owners report their cats eat more comfortably after extraction than they did with painful retained teeth.
Multi-pet dental appointments are available. Two or more dogs, or a dog and a cat from the same household, can be scheduled for the same appointment day with coordination in advance. One transport, one clinic visit, one day off — versus two separate appointments, two separate expenses.
Multi-pet scheduling requires advance coordination to ensure appropriate clinical time is blocked for each animal. Contact us when requesting your estimate and mention you have more than one pet needing dental care.
Age itself is not a contraindication for anesthesia — underlying disease is. Pre-anesthetic bloodwork screens for kidney, liver, and other conditions that increase anesthesia risk. Our partner clinics use modern anesthetic agents (isoflurane/sevoflurane) with multi-parameter monitoring that allows the team to respond quickly to any changes. Older pets also have the most dental disease and benefit most from cleaning. Discuss your specific pet’s health history with our coordinator, and share any recent lab work from your San Diego vet.
Additional extractions are only performed with your approval, obtained during the check-in call after X-rays are reviewed. The veterinarian calls you, explains what the X-rays show, and gets your go-ahead before extracting any tooth beyond the original estimate. You always have the option to decline additional extractions and schedule them for a follow-up appointment instead.
The standard recommendation is annually for most adult dogs and cats, though some animals accumulate tartar faster and may benefit from every 6 months. Dogs with brachycephalic (flat-face) conformation — bulldogs, pugs, Shih Tzus, French bulldogs — tend to have more dental crowding and disease than average and often need more frequent cleaning. Your pet’s dental history and X-ray findings guide the right interval. The checkout call includes a recommendation specific to your pet.
Anesthesia-free dental cleaning removes visible tartar but does not address subgingival disease — the disease below the gumline that causes actual health problems. It also cannot involve intraoral X-rays, which identify the majority of dental pathology. The American Veterinary Dental College and the American Animal Hospital Association do not endorse anesthesia-free dentistry. For cosmetic purposes only in a healthy animal with minimal disease, it may have a place. As actual dental care, it is insufficient.
For a cleaning with no extractions: soft food is typically not required, though some pets are more comfortable with it for 24 hours. Normal activity can resume the same day or next morning. For extractions: soft food only for 7–10 days while extraction sites heal. Pain medication (usually an NSAID) is prescribed for a few days. Recheck with your San Diego vet or CBX at 10–14 days if extractions were significant. Specific aftercare is detailed in the checkout call and written discharge instructions.
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Your Pet’s Dental Health Matters — At a Price You Can Actually Afford
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Last updated: April 2026
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