Dental health is often overlooked by pet owners. It is not often that a pet owner thinks to check their pet’s teeth. Unfortunately, dental disease can lead to many health problems, including kidney, liver and heart disease. This advanced stage of dental disease is called periodontitis.
At DVS, we take a preemptive approach to pet dental health to help decrease the number of dogs and cats affected by gum disease. We recommend bringing your pet in for a medical exam at least once a year, even if they are not due for vaccines. This annual medical exam will help us address early signs of dental disease as well as the late stages of dental disease, so we can address them promptly. Every time we examine your pet, we will check your pet’s oral health. We may also recommend brushing your pet’s teeth daily so help prevent a build up of tartar, which in turn can lead to advanced oral disease.
About our pet dental services:
Our hospital is equipped with a stand-alone dental station, which allows us to treat dental disease as well as prophylactics to prevent dental disease. We perform all dental procedures under general anesthesia. This is for the safety of your pet. All patients receiving a dental procedure are required to have pre-anesthetic blood work completed prior to the procedure. We also place an intravenous catheter, so that your pet receives IV fluids which can hasten recovery as well as keep your pet hydrated. We monitor your pet before, during and after his/her procedure. Our technician is an experienced veterinary dental hygienist who has been performing dental procedures for over 20 years.
We also use veterinary specific, warming blankets which are special mat's attached to a machine that circulates warm air through them, all the while, maintaining your pet's body temperature. It is very important to make sure our patients maintain a normal temperature when they are under anesthesia. Maintaining a normal body temperature assists with recovery and overall success of the procedure.
Your pet will receive the following during their dental procedure stay:
- Pre-anesthetic exam the morning of the procedure
- Pre-anesthetic blood work (May be done up to 7 days prior)
- General anesthesia
- Full mouth digital X-Rays
- Charting all teeth to note any pockets, loose teeth or other gum disease
- Ultrasonic teeth scaling with a high powered, ultra sonic scaler as seen in human dental offices
- The use of hand held curettes and subgingival scalers
- Extractions when warranted
- Polishing
Does your pet need a dental cleaning?
By examining your pet’s mouth at each visit, helps us determine whether your pet requires continued homecare or a dental procedure under general anesthesia. We “Flip the lips” of each pet we see, which simply means that we lift your pet’s lips so we can see each tooth and determine whether or not your pet has dental problems.
The following are some common signs that your pet may have gum disease.
- Foul breath
- Tartar or calculus buildup
- Excessive drooling from one or both sides of the mouth
- Bleeding gums
- Loose teeth
- Pawing at one or both sides of the mouth
- Trouble eating or eating only on one side of the mouth
- Rubbing their face on the carpet or furniture
- Not wanting to eat
Call us today at 480-508-5515 to schedule your pet’s dental health.