Dental Care
Did you know that tartar accumulates and hardens in as few as 3 days? Brushing is the best way to keep tartar from forming (it can’t remove the stuff that’s already there, but it will prevent new stuff from sticking around!)
If brushing is best, why do we always recommend coming in for a dental procedure? Why are dental cleanings so expensive?
During all of our appointments here, we will grade the teeth on a scale of 0-4:
You can start brushing your pet's teeth at any time. But once tartar has adhered to the teeth, it's too hard to simply brush off. We recommend coming in first to have the tartar scaled off - that way, you start with a fresh surface at home, preventing tartar instead of dealing with the old stuff.
Dental cleanings are performed under anesthesia by one of our veterinary technicians. Before putting your pet under, we perform some basic blood work to make sure your pet's organs can handle and process the anesthesia gas. Seniors get an extra panel of blood work and special drugs made specifically for them. Throughout the procedure, the patient is monitored by one of our assistants- if there are any unusual changes in heart rate or blood pressure, the doctor is alerted immediately.
We also sometimes need to take dental x-rays. This gives the doctor an idea of what's going on with the roots of the teeth. Sometimes we need to take some teeth out- broken teeth, dead teeth, resorptive lesions, etc....
So, dentals can be expensive, but they benefit your pet's health! The sooner you take care of early warning signs (loose teeth or broken teeth or tartar or signs of pain), the less expensive your fees will be, and the happier your pet will be!!
If brushing is best, why do we always recommend coming in for a dental procedure? Why are dental cleanings so expensive?
During all of our appointments here, we will grade the teeth on a scale of 0-4:
- Grade 0: Perfect, beautiful teeth! Very little tartar accumulation.
- Grade 1: Little bit of tartar is accumulating on the molars or K9s.
- Grade 2: Periodontal disease, tartar accumulating on both the molars and K9s.
- Grade 3: Periodontal disease, lots of tartar, gums are red and diseased, sore mouth, loose teeth, bad breath
- Grade 4: Chronic periodontal disease down to the bone, severe gingivitis, terrible breath, bacteria may be spread throughout the entire body
You can start brushing your pet's teeth at any time. But once tartar has adhered to the teeth, it's too hard to simply brush off. We recommend coming in first to have the tartar scaled off - that way, you start with a fresh surface at home, preventing tartar instead of dealing with the old stuff.
Dental cleanings are performed under anesthesia by one of our veterinary technicians. Before putting your pet under, we perform some basic blood work to make sure your pet's organs can handle and process the anesthesia gas. Seniors get an extra panel of blood work and special drugs made specifically for them. Throughout the procedure, the patient is monitored by one of our assistants- if there are any unusual changes in heart rate or blood pressure, the doctor is alerted immediately.
We also sometimes need to take dental x-rays. This gives the doctor an idea of what's going on with the roots of the teeth. Sometimes we need to take some teeth out- broken teeth, dead teeth, resorptive lesions, etc....
So, dentals can be expensive, but they benefit your pet's health! The sooner you take care of early warning signs (loose teeth or broken teeth or tartar or signs of pain), the less expensive your fees will be, and the happier your pet will be!!
Above you can see a video on how to brush your pets' teeth. It is the same procedure in cats. While Lola was a great patient during this, you may need to start with a piece of gauze before you try the toothbrush.
We also have several products which can help you keep your pets' teeth clean. We have rinse and chews and even diets that you can use if you cannot brush your pets teeth. Please do not hesitate to ask us if you have any questions. We would be more than happy to show you (for free) how to brush the teeth.
You may notice that we are very free with the treats during your annual check up visit....
The treats we give out are called t/d! This is actually a prescription diet made by Hill's Science Diet. Each nugget is specially designed so that when a pet chews, the teeth will sink into the nugget, instead of crumbling it into pieces. The fibrous nugget then scrapes along the teeth and acts like a toothbrush to scrap away the tartar!!
We also have several products which can help you keep your pets' teeth clean. We have rinse and chews and even diets that you can use if you cannot brush your pets teeth. Please do not hesitate to ask us if you have any questions. We would be more than happy to show you (for free) how to brush the teeth.
You may notice that we are very free with the treats during your annual check up visit....
The treats we give out are called t/d! This is actually a prescription diet made by Hill's Science Diet. Each nugget is specially designed so that when a pet chews, the teeth will sink into the nugget, instead of crumbling it into pieces. The fibrous nugget then scrapes along the teeth and acts like a toothbrush to scrap away the tartar!!
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