Cat dental issues?

My 9-year old cat is refusing to eat sometimes and hides under the bed. He is not very friendly and to make matters worse, I found a tooth on the carpet today. He has bad breath. During the years he has bitten me white I try to clean his teeth with chicken flavored tartar control cat toothpaste, and he dislikes any tartar control cat treats. Today, I’ve called around to different vets to evaluate his dental issues but they’ve given me a range of prices $300-$850 for different “standard” services: blood work, x-rays, iv fluids/catheter, anesthesia, thermal warming, sealant, ekg, fecal test, pain meds, antibiotics. What does my cat really need for treatment of dental issues?
Obviously, the question is not “if” he gets the care, he “has” to get the care right away. I’m concerned about the least possible amount of discomfort and the best care to help his condition. I’m not familiar with what is “extra” and what is required.

Your cat definitely needs to have his teeth professionally evaluated, cleaned, and possibly some extracted.
Poor oral health can lead to other problems in the body like kidney failure and heart valve infections, so the sooner the better. All vets are different in what they will require/recommend for your cat. Some vets require more than others, but in some cases more isn’t always better. I can tell you what we do at our hospital to help you out though.

Before the dental is scheduled we do:
1.) Exam/dental quote $36
2.) Blood work $35-105 (depending on the vets findings at exam)-required for pets 5+ yrs old
3.) Start antibiotics $15-20 (if gums are in bad shape)

Day of dental:
1.) Repeat blood work IF values not normal at 1st visit $45-60
2.) Hospitalization for day FREE (included with cleaning)
3.) Antibiotic injection $15
4.) Anesthesia: injection and isoflurane gas FREE (included with cleaning)
5.) Anesthesia monitoring with pulse oximeter & warming blanket, FREE (included with cleaning)
6.) IV catheter & IV fluids $80 (placement & lines included)-if blood work warrants or procedure is expected to be lengthy.
7.) Dental cleaning (scaling, sub-gingival scaling, polishing) $130-180
8.) Extractions $15-70 each (depending on level of difficulty)
9.) Pain injection $30 (if extractions done)
10.) Continue antibiotics $15-20
11.) Pain medication $10-20 (if extractions done)

We do not have capabilities for dental x rays at our hospital, so if we feel they are necessary, we refer to a dental specialist. We’d rather lose the $ than not do x rays if we think they are needed.

I think I may have dry socket and want to know what I can expect?

I noticed a dull pain coming from my bottom left side of my mouth today, where I had a wisdom tooth pulled on Wednesday. I checked it out to see what it could be, because the three other areas where my wisdom teeth were pulled did not have any pain. I noticed that it looked like you could see my jaw bone, where as on the other side of my jaw it looked like a scab kind of. I did some research and it seems I have dry socket. I have noticed bad breath and a foul taste in my mouth as well, which is NOT normal. . . at least not for me. What can I expect in the treatment department for dry socket?
and how much will it cost to treat?

Dry socket is very, very painful. It’s one of the most painful things there is. I’ve had one, and I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy. And I wish a lot of nasty stuff on my worst enemies.

My oral surgeon treated it at no cost, as it was a complication of his surgery.