Dental Cleaning

A prophylactic dental cleaning which includes anesthetizing the animal followed by scaling and polishing the teeth with an ultrasonic cleaner. Each tooth is carefully probed to determine if there are any pockets around the tooth root. These pockets indicate tooth root disease (or periodontal disease) which may require further evaluation. When disease of the root is detected, dental x-rays help us determine if the tooth requires extraction (removal).

At our hospital we can minimize many of the risks associated with anesthesia by identifying any existing health problems that your animal may have. Prior to an anesthetic episode we will perform a complete physical exam and a pre-anesthetic blood test that will aid in determining your pets' current health status. When we take these precautions, the benefits of the dental cleaning and exam far outweigh the risks associated with general anesthesia. A professional dental cleaning will help your at-home dental campaign get off to the right start, whether it's brushing their teeth, providing raw hide chews for the dogs, or tartar minimizing diets for the cats.

Recent advances in nutritional and dental research have brought about products that work to minimize the accumulation of plaque. Pet toothpaste, chews and tartar control diets help to decrease the buildup of these harmful bacteria. The best way to assure that your pet maintains a healthy mouth is to check its breath and teeth. Dogs do not normally have bad breath. Disease causing bacteria under the gum line in cats and dogs produce compounds that can give your pet bad breath (halitosis).