Dental care is vital to the overall health of any pet. Dental disease can lead to health issues with the heart, liver, and kidneys, and can affect the entire body through the bloodstream. In fact, 80 percent of dogs and 70 percent of cats over three years of age suffer from some form of dental disease, making it the most common pet health issue among our pet population.
In spite of these disturbing facts, many pet owners are not aware of the importance of dental care to their pet’s health. There are a lot of different ways to improve your pet’s dental hygiene, including home brushing, dental chews, and regular inspection.
The most effective way to protect your pet from dental disease is through professional cleanings. We perform thorough cleanings here at Pet Health Plus, including the area beneath the gums that you can’t see or access at home.
Sometimes, keeping your pet's chompers healthy can feel like a big job. Luckily, our practice provides advanced veterinary dentistry services in addition to basic dental care.
This includes routine care such as cleaning, along with treating more complicated conditions. Because our pets don’t brush their teeth every night before bed as we do, tartar can firmly adhere to their teeth.
In order to remove this tartar, we perform dental scaling, our most basic dental procedure. During the scaling process, we use sonic and ultrasonic power scalers as well as handheld instruments to remove this tartar from the surface of the teeth both above and below the gum line.
Tooth extraction is another very common procedure. Our goal is for your pet to retain as many teeth as possible. However, sometimes an extraction is the only option to relieve pain or ensure that periodontal disease does not advance. If not extracted, a diseased tooth can compromise the surrounding tissue and neighboring teeth. If caught early, there are more treatment options available for periodontal disease.
Our practice requires anesthesia for dental procedures. Because of this, we first perform a full physical exam and sometimes run blood tests. Inside the mouth, we utilize anesthetic gel and local anesthetic injections to reduce pain. We closely monitor your pet the entire time.
We keep an eye on the oxygen saturation and carbon dioxide levels in your pet's blood along with blood pressure, heart rate, and temperature. In order to help maintain the health of your pet’s mouth and teeth, you should bring your pet in for a dental check-up once a year. During these routine exams, our practice includes a general dental exam as well as teeth and gum cleaning if needed.
Catching dental problems in the early stages can greatly help your pet in the long run. Contact us right away if your pet experiences any of the following:
- Chronic bad breath
- Your pet shies away when you try to touch their mouth area
- Excessive drooling
- Dropping food when eating
- Bleeding in your pet’s mouth
- Loss of appetite or weight loss
- Yellowish-brown crust of tartar around the gum line
- Missing, loose, or broken teeth
If your pet has brown/yellow teeth, bad breath, or is having difficulty eating, these could all be signs of dental disease. Please call us at (740) 369-1922 today to learn more and schedule your pet’s dental cleaning.