What You Need to Know Before Your Pets Upcoming

 

Dental Procedure

 

Dental care helps keep a pet's mouth free of pain and infection, and our dental technicians stress the importance of daily brushing, proper diet and disease prevention. Our dental team treats diseases of teeth and gums, extracts problem teeth, and leaves your pet's mouth clean and polished.

Because general anesthesia is necessary while cleaning your pet's teeth, the process begins with a physical examination. Your pet's general health must be evaluated before anesthesia is administered to ensure that he/she is not put at risk. Your pet's teeth are then examined and graded on a scale of 1-4 to indicate the severity of dental disease present. 

After the physical exam, pre-anesthetic bloodwork is drawn in order to screen for underlying problems with your pets liver or kidneys that could potentially put your pet at risk. An electrocardiogram, or EKG, is also performed. This measures the electrical conductivity of the heart which enables your veterinarian to decide whether your pet's heart is healthy enough to undergo anesthesia.

Before we begin the procedure, we administer pre-medications for relaxation and pain.  We then place an intravenous catheter to allow access for IV fluids to keep your pet hydrated during the procedure. Once your pet is anesthetized, we administer oxygen and your pet is monitored closely using a variety of monitoring equipment.

While anesthetized, your pet will undergo a complete oral examination. Your pet's teeth are probed to check for any pockets that are developing around the gum line that could indicate the tooth is diseased. The dental technician also charts all of your pets teeth so we have a record of your pet's dental health, including missing or extracted teeth as well as any abnormalities noted. The dental technician will then manually remove the larger pieces of calculi that are present.

Your pet's teeth are then ultrasonically scaled to remove tartar and plaque above and below the gum line. This is important because bacteria below the gum line is the main cause of periodontal disease and can eventually result in the loss of those teeth. Your pet's teeth will then be polished with a mildly abrasive paste containing fluoride in order to remove harsh surfaces that could accumulate bacteria or plaque. 

Lastly, after all of the teeth are scaled and polished, we apply a gel along the gum line to help slow down the build up of tartar after the dental cleaning. If the health of any tooth is in question, a dental radiograph may be taken to evaluate the tooth roots and underlying bone structure. A decision may be made to extract the tooth or attempt to save the tooth and often the degree of dental home care you can provide is a major factor in deciding the fate of a tooth.

Before

After