My cat Jasper just had a dental and had 4 teeth pulled. Definitely do
it...if the vet thinks he is strong enough to do so, it should be done.
Allowing the gingivitis to fester can cause more diseases and you don't
want that to happen. Jasper is an old cat and we got him about a year
ago. His former owner let him eat a lot of people food and due to her
old age neglected his teeth in the past years before we got him. Even
though now he only has his front teeth (fangs!! lol) he is doing just
fine. Your cat will likely have to adapt to the change, but with your
love im sure he'll be fine. I was TERRIFIED to have the dental done
because I didnt want Jasper put under anesthesia. But I knew it was the
right thing to do and he is FINE!!!

Good luck,
Pam

Gingivitis can be associated with Bartonella infection. Is this an
outside cat? Was it ever exposed to fleas? Bartonella is carried by
the little buggers - I just did a quick Google and came up with:

"The clinical signs of Bartonella sp include: gingivitis, stomatitis,
oral ulcerations, submandibular lymphadenopathy, upper respiratory
infections, rhinitis, sinusitis, uveitis, chorioretinitis,
conjunctivitis, inflammatory bowel disease, fever of unknown origin,
hepatic peliosis, bacillary angiomatosis, valvular heart disease. The
most common manifestation is gingival and ocular disease. However, any
cat with chronic inflammatory disease should be tested for this
organism."
-    http://www.veterinaryspecialistsnetwork.com/vsn_case.htm

"The same relation was also observed for the incidence of gingivitis
among the 4 cat groups, suggesting that coinfection of B. henselae and
FIV may be associated with gingivitis and lymphadenopathy in cats."
-
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=8
908605&dopt=Abstract

"Feline calicivirus can cause oral lesions, and in some studies,
feline infectious peritonitis (FIP) and Bartonella henselae have been
implicated."

-    http://www.drsfostersmith.com/pic/article.cfm?dept_id=&aid=998

<snip>

My Shamrock had gingivitis at 2 yrs old. Vet cleaned his teeth
(none had to be extracted, though) but I have heard it's unusual to
see such tarter and red gums at 2 years old. Then again, this type
of thing is hereditary. It could also be coincidental that he has
allergy problems.

I'd get the bad teeth extracted and then ask about how to keep the
rest healthy. There are toothpastes and toothbrushes for cats. How
they adjust to letting you brush them is another matter.  LOL  
We're still working on that part.

If you're leery about it in general, or if you have concerns about
other aspects of your cat's health - combined with the anesthesia
needed for the extractions, you can ask the vet to go do an in-depth
explanation of the whys & wherefores & "what-if" scenarios for you.
Either in person, or via the phone. As an off-chance, I suppose you
might also check into the possibility of a vet who specializes in
dentistry in your area, asking for a referral by your vet.

I'd have them done. My cats haven't had gingivitis, but one of my cats
needed to have several teeth extracted - 5 at one point when she was
about 5 years old, & a few more teeth several years later. Some of the
"had to go" teeth were abscessed (infected), and others were on the
verge of abscessing.  Either way - *not* comfortable (to put it mildly)
to have in one's mouth. And not particularly good for one's overall
health.

Her recovery time for both sets of extractions was virtually nil; she
acted just fine by the time I picked her up from the vets' a few hours
after the extractions.  Besides a bunch of other teeth, she was
eventually missing all of her canines, but it didn't cause a problem.
She was an indoor cat (except for access to a screened porch), & she
could still eat - incl. dry food - with no problem.

My cats get their teeth checked during their check-ups; if there's
minor tartar build-up & the vet can chip it off manually, she does that
right then & there. If, OTOH, there's a need for a cleaning, one is
scheduled.  There's no set every 'x' years for cleanings, just when/if
they need it. My present cats have good teeth so far; the older one (13
yr.) may've had a dental cleaning years ago, but I can't remember...
The younger cat (6) hasn't needed one yet.

Cathy