Dentistry

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When your pet comes in for a dental cleaning and oral examination, he or she will be escorted to our kennel area and have their blood drawn for pre-anesthetic bloodwork if elected. Once we have those results we can determine the safest anesthetic protocol for your pet. A sedative is given and an IV catheter placed to allow intravenous access for medication or fluids as needed during their procedure. You pet will then be put under anesthesia and a endotracheal tube placed to protect his or her airway during dental cleaning. As always we put your pet's safety first. (see surgical FAQ's for more information on anesthetic safety).

Once your pet is anesthetized we can scale the tartar off of his or her teeth with an ultrasonic scaler and fully examine the gingiva (gums), all surface of the teeth and better assess their dental health. For some pets this is all that is needed and they are recovered from anesthesia and sent home for you to continue their dental healthcare. Your pet will have a discharge appointment with one of our technicians to review his or her dental health and recommendations for home care.


One of our canine patients before dental cleaning.	Same dog after dental cleaning

We often take pictures of your pet's mouth before and after the cleaning. These are added to your pet's medical record and we also send home a copy with you. These pictures give you a clear view of your pet's mouth, which can be hard to see when they are awake. Brushing your pet's teeth every day prevents tartar and bacteria from building up and causing dental disease. To help you with this we have a variety of toothbrushes and several flavors of toothpaste so you can find what works best for your pet.

Some pets with more advanced dental disease or fractured teeth will require further care. We may apply a antibiotic infused gel to periodontal pockets to help preserve the health of affected teeth and in some cases your pet will need oral surgery to remove an infected tooth. We have a digital dental xray unit to allow us to assess the health of tooth roots and help us determine the most efficient way to extract a tooth when needed.