Why Dental Care is Essential for Your Pet’s Health

It’s about so much more than fresh breath.

Pet Dental Health—Why Worry?

How often do you brush your teeth? Or go to the dentist?

Now, when was the last time your pet had routine dentistry performed?

Dogs and cats simply can’t brush their own teeth and they are not often amenable to their humans doing it for them. That’s why annual dental cleanings are a critical part of routine wellness care. Oral health impacts the heart, kidneys, and even the brain! Our pets’ quality of life is directly affected by their teeth and gums.

It’s about more than clean teeth!

The importance of pet dental care is more than cosmetic. Yes, they will leave their dental cleaning with sparkling pearly whites, but so much more happens during a cleaning! That’s why we call our dental procedures a complete oral health assessment and treatment.

During your pet’s dental cleaning at Vital Vet, they’ll have:

• All of their teeth cleaned with an ultrasonic scaler and polished
• Complete intra-oral X-rays (because teeth are icebergs! We have to see the roots beneath the gumline to fully assess a tooth’s health.)
• Full mouth dental charting – checking for gum health, abnormal structures in the oral cavity, and a treatment plan for each individual tooth!
• Dental nerve blocks for painful procedures
• A Class IV medical laser treatment to expedite healing
• A sealant applied to the gumline to help deter plaque and tartar build up for up to 6 months

The results are fresher breath, a healthier mouth, and a plan to help keep their teeth healthy.

Plus, with routine dentistry, pets are more likely to keep all of their teeth into their senior years (which could make for much cuter Instagram pics!).

Don’t wait until there’s a problem.

Dental disease is often overlooked and treatment put off. Bad breath has been normalized in our pets (it isn’t!) and many people assume if their pet is still eating, there must not be a problem. The truth is, our pets will often eat no matter what kind of dental pain they’re facing. They don’t know that eating pain-free is an option, they just know they have to eat to survive.

Often, swelling, odor, or a lost tooth will alert owners something is wrong with their pet’s dental health. But dental disease starts way before we see those symptoms!

Early dentistry allows us to prevent painful processes like lost teeth and abscesses by routinely removing the plaque and tartar that cause them. It is easier on our pets (and your wallet!) to catch emerging problems early rather than pursue extensive dental damage control later.

Plus, periodontal disease – bacterial infection of the gums and supportive tissue – “has been linked to liver and heart disease.” Bacteria enters the bloodstream through irritated gum tissue and causes problems throughout the body. Which means their dental health is impacting their duration of life as much as their quality of life.

What are the signs your pet needs a dental cleaning?

Most of the time, dental disease is silent. You aren’t likely to notice symptoms until disease has significantly progressed and major problems arise – that’s why annual dental cleanings are so important.

Signs your pet may need urgent attention for extensive dental disease include:

• Bad breath
  • The bacteria that cause the bad breath in your pet’s mouth is actually eating away their teeth and gums. It’s not just gross, but also causing damage. Early dentistry is the difference between saving teeth and extracting them.
• Drooling
  • Not just when there’s something yummy to be had. If your pet starts dripping saliva more than normal or at random intervals, it could be due to something abnormal (and uncomfortable!) in the mouth the body is reacting to.
• Dropping food
  • Food falling from the mouth can be a sign of discomfort or difficulty while eating.
• Swelling
  • Focal areas of swelling in the face, particularly on the muzzle or under the eyes, can be a sign of significant infection.
• Silent signs of pain
  • Our pets rarely vocalize when painful, and they’re not going to stop eating. Instead, some common symptoms of oral pain include facial rubbing, avoiding physical attention, flinching when pet, or even snapping when you approach their face.

At-Home Dental Care

There are so many things you can do at home to support your pet’s oral health!

• Daily tooth brushing
  • Use a finger toothbrush or sturdy pet toothbrush and brush along the gumline.
  • Use a toothpaste specifically made for pets (human toothpaste is toxic!)
  • If you can, start when your pet is young so they get used to the brushing routine. But even old dogs can learn new tricks!
• Use dental treats and other care items approved by the Veterinary Oral Health Council (VOHC) that have been clinically proven to slow the accumulation of plaque and tartar.

Why do dental cleanings require anesthesia?

Most pets don’t allow for a thorough visual exam of their mouths awake, can you imagine performing a full dental cleaning that way? Yikes! Anesthesia is required to ensure that your pet stays still, avoiding injury with dental instruments, and to allow for a thorough exam, X-rays, scaling, and polishing.

All anesthesia carries some risk, however we take extensive steps to keep our patients safe. At their dental consultation, we perform a thorough physical exam and pre-anesthetic bloodwork to make sure your pet is healthy for a procedure. We tailor our anesthetic plans specifically to each patient and have team members dedicated to monitoring their status under anesthesia with ECG, blood pressure, body temperature, heart rate, respiratory rate, end-tidal CO2, and SPO2.

The requirement of anesthesia is another reason we highly recommend early, routine dentistry. When dental disease progresses to the point where many extractions are needed, patients will sometimes need multiple anesthetic procedures to accomplish all of their needed treatments.

Have questions about anesthesia? Call us. We are happy to talk you through our processes step-by-step. You can even come tour our dental suite!

Do exotic pets need dentistry?

Absolutely!

Ferrets benefit hugely from annual dental cleanings – they get plaque and tartar too! Bearded dragons, snakes, and leopard geckos can often suffer from oral inflammation. And while hamsters, rabbits, and guinea pigs don’t require much in terms of plaque control (their teeth are constantly growing and wearing down!) they do need annual oral exams to ensure their teeth are growing appropriately.

Let’s get your pet on track for healthy smile. Book a dental consultation online today, or call us at 757-956-1110.