Dental Health is Key to a Longer, Healthier Life for Your Pet!

Like most pet owners, you probably don't give much thought to your pets dental health until his or her breath becomes unbearable.  Take a minute to think about this - How would your teeth look if you didn't brush your teeth for 1, 2, or even 5 years?  How would you feel if you had advanced periodontal disease or multiple abcesses above the gumline?  Unlike people, pets are designed to hide their aches and pains.  Oral disease may manifest itself with bad breath or a lowered energy level.  Advanced oral disease may put stresses on the heart and liver from the bacteria in the mouth.

Dental procedures can be expensive.  The pets must be put under anesthesia to perform even routine cleanings.  If the pet is older, routine pre-anesthetic bloodwork will be necessary.  During the procedure, we must constantly monitor vital signs.  If extractions are required, the procedure may take much longer than a routine cleaning and polishing.  For this reason, we can only provide a range for the cost of treatment and even then the cost could be more depending on the severity of the oral disease.

At Central, we perform a high-quality oral assessment and treatment.  During the visit, we will:

1.  Put the pet under general anesthesia.  We used the most advanced monitoring available to make sure your pet is kept safe during the procedure.

2.  Take full-mouth dental x-rays.  Since 60% of oral disease occurs below the gumline, x-rays are essential to a complete dental exam.

3.  Perform a complete dental exam.  A thorough dental chart is used to record the dental health of your pet and any procedures performed during the cleaning.

4.  Ultrasonic and hand scaling removes plaque and tartar above and below the gumline.

5.  Polishing smoothes the surface of the teeth after scaling.  Flushing removes the dislodged tartar, plaque and bacteria from the mouth.

6.  OraVet is applied to the teeth.  OraVet is a barrier sealant that creates a "plaque barrier" on the teeth.  This helps reduce plaque build-up and extends the effectiveness of the cleaning.

7.  If necessary, extractions are performed.  It is not unusual to perform multiple extractions on older animals that have not had regular cleanings during their lifetime.

8.  If extractions are performed, it is essential to take post-extraction x-rays.  One of the primary errors made in veterinary dental procedures is leaving root fragments after extractions.  Dental x-rays help to eliminate this painful and dangerous error.  Once the x-rays confirm that the extraction was successful, the extraction may be left open or, if necessary, sutured shut.

If you have any questions regarding your pet's health, please call us at 901/274-1444 for more information.  You may also use the Pet Health Database on this site to read more about dental health for your cat and/or dog.  Please click on the links below for more information.