Dentistry
dental care for dogs and cats
A healthy mouth smells better.
Does it smell pretty awful when your dog or cat breathes in your face? That's a clue there may be something pretty awful going on in his mouth.
A healthy mouth feels better.
Even if you are very perceptive, you probably won't notice your pet's toothache unless one side of the mouth hurts more than the other, making him or her chew only on one side. Because dental problems develop gradually, it is easy to miss the other signs, like reluctance to eat or lack of activity, until things are pretty bad.
Pets with healthy mouths live longer.
Pets with healthy teeth and gums enjoy their lives more. They are happier and play more. They get more exercise. Twenty years ago, we expected large breed dogs to live nine or ten years. Today, with luck, it’s reasonable to expect eleven to thirteen years. Without dental attention, most dogs have infected smelly mouths by the time they are six or seven. Twenty four hours a day, that infection sheds bacteria into the bloodstream. Is that fatal? Of course not. The body is good at dealing with this kind of thing, but it stresses the immune system. As time goes on the bacterial load worsens and with age the immune system becomes progressively less competent. By eight or nine we have a old failing dog with kidney disease, liver problems or heart disease and a mouth that can be salvaged only by removing most of the teeth. That doesn’t have to happen.
Dental Cleanings
These are the steps involved in cleaning pets' teeth:
Examination by veterinarian
We want to be sure there are no health problems that could interfere with anesthesia or create needless risk, and the exam gives us an opportunity to answer any questions you may have. We also want to get any other health problems resolved before administering general anesthesia, and if the mouth is badly infected, may want to start antibiotics a day or two before dental work is scheduled.
All pets should have pre anesthesia laboratory work performed to check kidney and liver function and look for other hidden problems. If we find changes in organ function or blood cells, we will recommend intravenous fluid support before and during anesthesia and/or change the medications we use for your pet during the procedure.
Oral Exam
After your pet is under general anesthesia, the veterinarian is able to do a thourough exam of the mouth and teeth. If any abnormalities are noted, full mouth dental radiographs are taken to allow us to see the health of the tooth roots and jaw. We probe for any pockets and check the oral cavity for any abnormalities.
Removal of heavy tartar deposits
Using an ultrasonic scaler, we remove the visible external tartar deposits—that hard brownish material that forms along the gum line.
The most important part of having your teeth cleaned is that unpleasant scraping part. Hidden tartar deposits under the gum line push healthy tissue away from the root, giving bacteria a place to live and grow. Removing the tartar helps gums stay healthy
Polishing
Teeth cleaning leaves a lot of microscopic scratches and roughness which provide places for tartar to form. Polishing the teeth smoothes this surface, making it more resistant to build up of bacteria. All this time, you probably thought it was so you'd have a bright shiny smile.
Periodontitis
For advanced cases of gum disease (periodontitis) veterinarians have a new antibiotic dental gel. After thoroughly cleaning the affected areas, we squirt this gooey antibiotic gel into diseased gum spaces using a little micro-sized caulking gun. Once in place, the gel hardens up and sticks there. Over the next two weeks, as the gel dissolves, it emits an antibiotic that kills bacteria and provides the loose infected gum tissue with an opportunity to reattach. Although not yet available for people, this gel has been very effective for pets.