Neglect of your pet’s oral hygiene and dental care can result in plaque accumulation and unhealthy populations of bacteria in your pet’s mouth.
This can lead to:

• bad breath
• tartar and plaque buildup
• red gums
• sore, painful gums and teeth
• excessive salivation
• poor digestion and abnormal eating habits
• lack of energy
• possible damage to internal organs

Pet Dentistry is a major component of preventative medicine in pets. Knowing the signs of tooth decay not only helps your pet’s smile, but also enhances their long term health and well being. Even if obvious signs are not present, your pet’s health can be affected by unhealthy teeth and gums.

Proper Dental Care is essential for the health of your pet.

If dental disease is left untreated, bacteria can enter your pet’s bloodstream and reach your pet’s vital organs. A bacterial infection can then cause damage to internal organs like the heart, kidney and liver. There are stages of gingivitis (gum disease). When you visit us for a dental exam, we will identify and inform you of the stage of your pet’s gingivitis; if any.

These pictures demonstrate progressive stages of gingivitis. Your pet may have less severe plaque and tartar accumulation and redness of gums, but the results of a dental cleaning will be similar relative to their stage.

There are two critical components of your pet’s veterinary dental care:

Oral Examinations and Dental Cleanings.

Oral Examinations

Your vet will examine your pet’s mouth for signs of dental disease. An exam includes looking for developmental anomalies such as misaligned or retained teeth. It also involves looking for the accumulation of plaque and tartar, periodontal disease and oral tumors. Your vet may recommend that X-rays be taken to help detect and identify abnormalities.

Dental Cleanings

• Pre-anesthetic blood screen:
  Blood tests are done to ensure that your pet is healthy before administering anesthetic. Although complications resulting from modern anesthetic are rare, we need to be sure your pet is in good health. This blood screen also sets a baseline for your pet’s health to be included in his or her file. If your pet becomes sick in the future as a result of illness or pre-existing conditions we run more blood work and compare the results to the pre-anesthetic blood screen. It also informs us of any effect to the organs that previous poor dental hygiene has caused.
• Full scaling and polishing:
  We scale teeth to remove all tartar below the gum line because in dentistry it’s not just what you can see that can harm your pet, but also what you can’t see.
• Fluoride application:
  Fluoride strengthens the enamel of the teeth.
• Procedure precautions:
  Prior to the procedure; along with a pre-anesthetic blood screen, we perform x-rays onsite. During the procedure we monitor all vitals using modern instruments that monitor the pulse and ECG, blood oxygen and carbon dioxide levels, and blood pressure. IV fluids are administered as required.
• Nail trim:
  We provide a nail trim as a courtesy while they are sleeping which is very beneficial since many pets fuss when having their nails trimmed
• Hospitalization:
  We are a veterinary hospital with boarding facilities. Our boarding / kenneling services are included for patients undergoing dental procedures.
• Our assurance to you:
  Directly after the procedure, as soon as your pet is in the recovery room- we will call you with an update. A recheck appointment is included with your pet’s dental care, so that we can ensure all is fine.