Our dentistry services include full ultrasonic scaling of teeth, treatment for periodontal disease, Oravet barrier sealant, and extractions and/or radiographs as needed. After treatment we discuss preventative maintenance techniques to help reduce the advancement of dental disease in your pet.
Dental disease is painful! Luckily, it is preventable. 80% of pets over the age of three have dental disease. Providing dental care at home reduces the risk of dental disease. Heart, kidney, lung and liver problems can develop when bacteria from an infected mouth enters the bloodstream.
Signs of dental disease can range from bad breath, excessive tartar, red or bleeding gums, and difficulty eating. When your pet shows these signs, it is important to get a full dental cleaning under anesthesia. By addressing dental disease early, we can prevent tooth loss, pain, and other illnesses.
Do not give your dog bones or very hard toys. Broken teeth are common in dogs that chew hard toys/bones, and are a painful source of infection that require either an extraction or a root canal.
Things you can do at home
The more you are able to do at home to keep your pet’s teeth clean, the less frequently your pet will need to come in for dental cleaning at our clinic. Some of the different treatments you can do at home are:
- Tooth brushing. This is always the best way to prevent dental disease since it allows you to clean under the gum line. Start tooth brushing early so that your pet will become accustomed to the sensation and allow it as they become older. This should be done daily, as it only takes 24 hours for plaque on your pet’s tooth to turn into tartar, which can not be brushed off. Human toothpaste has too much fluoride for pets. Pets swallow the toothpaste, and too much fluoride ingested can become toxic. We recommend C.E.T. pet toothpaste. Most pets love the taste!
- Oral rinses or water additives. These work by killing the bacteria in the mouth that cause the plaque. These are simple things that can be done even in animals that won’t let you mess with their mouth.
- Specialized food. Dental diets such as DD by Royal Canin, and T/D by Science Diet, are specifically designed to mechanically scrape the tartar from the tooth when they chew. Dental Diet made by Royal Canin also binds calcium in the mouth, preventing it from being used to form tartar, and then releases the calcium in the gut where it can be used nutritionally. These are complete, well balance diets suitable for most dogs and cats. They can also be used as treats, though they are more effective if they are the entire diet.
- Plaque prevention. Oravet plaque prevention gel can be applied weekly. It’s a waxy coating on the tooth that prevents plaque from adhering to the tooth. This is a good option for people who don’t have time to provide care every day, but are able to do weekly dental care. Dental Wipes are treated clothes that can be used to wipe teeth and prevent plaque and tartar.
Please pick as many of the above options as you feel would be appropriate for your pet and do these routinely to keep your pet healthy and happy.