According to the American Veterinary Dental Society, 80% of dogs and 70% of cats have oral disease by the age of 3 years old! Believe it or not, dental health problems are the most frequently diagnosed health problem in pets.
We first need an examination of your pet’s mouth and teeth. Common signs of oral disease include tartar buildup, red and swollen gums (gingivitis), or bad breath. These signs are obvious when you look into your pets mouth at home, or at the annual checkup.
It is surprising that most pets show little or no outward signs of dental disease, despite having sore gums, painful fractured teeth or cavities. If outside signs are noted, they may include changes in eating or chewing habits, pawing at the face and generalized lethargy.
Your pet’s dental health needs to be evaluated at least once a year at the time of your pet’s physical examination. Bacteria, tartar and food debris accumulate around the teeth and, if left unchecked, leads to destruction of the soft tissue (gums – gingivitis) and bone(periodontitis) surrounding the teeth.
Gingivitis – inflammation of the gums, associated with dental plaque and tartar, is usually reversible.
Periodontitis – the result of untreated tooth and gum problems, is irreversible periodontal disease which, if not treated, leads to painful infection and subsequent, unnecessary loss of teeth.
There are other reasons why you should pay close attention to your pet’s dental health. Dental disease can affect other organs in the body because of the spread of oral bacteria through the bloodstream.
What do you mean there are bacteria in the mouth?
Did you know that you cannot give a blood donation within 3 days of having your teeth cleaned? And did you know that a person with a heart murmur will be put on antibiotics before dental work is done? This is because of the bacteria in the mouth which are released into the bloodstream. Dental disease, with infected gums and teeth, leads to bacterial infections which enter the blood stream and can cause serious kidney infections, liver disease, lung disease, and especially heart valve disease.
Oral disease can also indicate that another disease process is occurring elsewhere in a pet’s body. A thorough physical exam combined with appropriate laboratory work can determine if this is the case.
What kind of tools are used to clean my pet’s mouth?
An electric ultrasound dental scaler and high speed polisher is used. Don’t be surprised to find that these are exactly the same as you would see in your own dentist’s office.
Basic oral examination, teeth cleaning and polishing are performed under general anesthetic. Humans are the only known animals to sit in a dentist’s chair and put up with these procedures. Pets are too smart for this!
This is a very common and routine procedure. For more advanced problems and when extractions are required, specialized training allows our surgeon to perform intricate oral surgery.
During a routine cleaning of the teeth, we can see the crown of the teeth, probe the gums for pockets, but most importantly, we utilize our digital dental x-ray to see the roots of the teeth, and the bone supporting the roots. We check for bone loss (periodonditis), infections, or any other abnormalities that would be impossible to see from just a look in the mouth. The radiographs are an indispensible tool for oral care. You simply cannot assess the roots of the teeth without dental x-rays.
General anesthetic is always required to perform a complete oral examination, to scale and polish the insides, outsides and between all teeth. Anesthetic is individualized to each patient, and is exceedingly safe, with recent advances, far safer than ever a few years ago.
Local anesthetic (freezing) as well as potent pain control medications are used to block painful sensations and help to keep your pet comfortable during and after the procedure.
But I don’t want my pet to lose any teeth!
Neither do we! That is why we recommend and demonstrate preventative measures you can begin at home such as brushing your pet’s teeth – starting as puppies and kittens.
We strongly encourage regular dental scaling before your pet’s condition advances to become a more complicated, more painful, and much more expensive procedure. Once a tooth is destroyed, it is far better to remove it, rather than to leave a source of pain and infection.
Animals in the wild don’t go to the dentist. Why is this necessary for my pet?
In the wild, dogs and cats must carry on, regardless of pain, because, no matter what, they must eat or they will die. In the wild, dogs and cats would never live to the high teens or early twenties as our pets commonly do. Your pet’s health care is up to you. We can discuss with you what is best for your pet’s health, and you discuss with your family what you wish to do for your pet. Your pet requires you to make the decisions, as they cannot act for themselves.
Please see our Pet Health Section for a video description of what happens during a complete dental procedure.
