Pet Dental Care
Pet Dental Care: Keeping your pet’s mouth clean is one of the very best things that you can do to protect your pet’s teeth. Not only does it protect their mouth from painful periodontal disease and tooth loss, but it also keeps the rest of their organs from premature wear and tear and deterioration.
Stages of Pet Dental Disease
Stage 1
Time for a dental cleaning!
Stage 2
Cleaning is imperative before infection spreads throughout the body!
Stage 3
Oral bacteria are already shedding to organs. Dental cleaning as soon as possible to prevent permanent damage to organs and tooth loss – Periodontal Treatment may still be helpful.
Stage 4
Bone loss. Systemic infection. Teeth will have to be extracted to relieve pain and stop infection.
The bacteria that live in dogs’ mouths loves to spread through infected bleeding gums, heart valves, kidneys, and livers. As pets age, their organs age, too, and they don’t need the extra burden of oral bacteria to contend with. Pet dental care is important for all pets- especially older pets!
Dental Treatments at Cimarron
General anesthesia is required to thoroughly clean any pet’s teeth. Anyone who tells you differently is merely chipping the tip of the proverbial iceberg and not doing a thorough service for your pet.
Many people are concerned about anesthetizing their pets because of past bad experiences, the small size of the pet, or the age of the pet. We believe that, for most pets, the dangers of oral infection, and the months and years of life lost due to unchecked periodontal disease, are far greater than the dangers of anesthesia at our hospital. Learn how we protect our anesthesia patients by calling us today!
Pre-dental testing
- IV catheter and fluids
- Dedicated Certified Veterinary Technician to monitor anesthesia
- Full Electronic monitoring
- Dental Radiographs
- Ultrasonic Scaling, Subgingival Scaling, and Polishing
- Plaque Barrier Sealant
- Continued Home Dental Care recommendations (great place to add the VOHC brochure)
- IF needed: Periodontal Treatment and Extractions
Post Op Pain Management
Ultrasonic Scaling and Polishing / Gingival antiseptic flushing
These are the procedures done in every dental treatment just as your own dentist does for you. Ultrasonic scaling removes microscopic tartar and debris on the teeth and under the gums, where periodontal disease starts. Following the scaling, teeth are polished to smooth out the ridges that will capture debris and cause premature tartar buildup. Antiseptic flushing of the gums cleanses the mouth and decreases bacterial reinfection.
Dental Radiographs
50- 75% of pet dental disease occurs under the gum line. Dental radiographs let us know if we should take a tooth out that is painful, whether a tooth that has some gingival recession is otherwise healthy and can stay, or whether a fractured tooth might still be a candidate for root canal treatment and preservation! When your pet gets dental radiographs, you are assured that the money you are spending on their dental treatment is actually treating the disease. They will be happier and healthier!
Watch a Full Pet Dental Treatment at Cimarron Animal Hospital
Meet George – our patient with whom we did dental treatment, from top to bottom. George had a unique case because he has a neck injury that we had to be especially careful about. Most pets don’t get a neck brace unless they need one. The rest is the same.
Oravet Application – Plaque Barrier Sealant
Oravet is an invisible sealant that protects teeth against early plaque build-up. It wears off in about a week, but is simple to reapply weekly at home to keep the teeth protected over time. This is a great treatment for pets who build up tartar especially heavily or quickly.
Periodontal Treatment and Antibiotic Therapy
Teeth with periodontal disease can sometimes be saved by special cleaning procedures called root planing and curettage. The application of long-acting antibiotics in periodontal pockets will also help some diseased teeth “heal”, reducing the number of teeth that have to be extracted (not all hospitals offer this treatment).
Staged Dental Treatments break up the Expense
At Cimarron Animal Hospital, we can stage your pet’s dental treatment if you are not financially ready to cover the whole expense at the time of his dental cleaning (after all, that’s expensive enough– with anesthesia and all…). We will first clean the teeth and do a tooth-by-tooth examination with dental x-rays. Then, we will call you to let you know what else needs to be done in terms of treating existing periodontal or endodontic disease such as tooth infections, abscesses, or resorptions. If you are ready to have everything dne at once, while we have your pet anesthetized already, we will proceed with the recommended treatments. If not, then we can delay the rest of the treatment (extractions, for instance) for a later date. The Doctor will let you know, based on how severe the disease is, how long it would be OK to delay. If you have the recommended treatments done within that time period, we give you asubstantial credit toward the second anesthesia– as if the treatment had been done the same day! Meanwhile, the Doctor may recommend pulse therapy antibiotics or pain medication to keep your pet comfortable until the dental treatment can be completed.
Home Dental Care
Keeping your pet’s mouth healthier with pet dental care at home means fewer hospital stays for professional dental treatments. And, when your pet does need Dental Treatments (as we all do, even when we brush and floss daily), the treatments will be less invasive and less expensive.
- Brushing / antiseptic rinses on teeth daily (Bring your pet in for an easy “How-To”!)
- Feeding tartar control foods
- Tartar Control chew treats (chewing exercise is one of the keys to dental hygiene for pets)
- Tartar control water additives