Dentistry

Why Dental Care Is Important

Plaque and tartar build-up on your pet's teeth can lead to gingivitis. Reddened, bleeding gums, difficulty chewing and bad breath are all signs of gingivitis. Gingivitis can cause periodontal disease, a bacterial infection that, if left untreated, can potentially damage your pet's kidneys, heart and other organs. Regular dental cleanings remove plaque and tartar and prevent gingivitis and periodontal disease.

What Happens During A Cleaning

Your pet's dental cleaning is very similar to the same procedure you undergo each year at your dentist's office, HOWEVER, your pet cannot open wide and say “ahhhh”. For that reason, your pet requires general anesthesia to keep your pet safe and still during the cleaning. Prior to anesthesia, we perform a thorough physical exam and a series of blood tests to ensure that your pet is healthy enough for this procedure. These tests also help us develop an anesthetic protocol that is specific for your pet. While under anesthesia for a dental procedure, your pet receives IV fluids and all the same monitoring that is involved with our general surgery patients (see surgical care).

Once anesthesia is administered, the cleaning begins. We use modern and safe ultrasonic equipment to clean each tooth thoroughly, both above and below the gum line. We probe under the gum line for periodontal pockets. We take full-mouth digital dental radiographs to view the 2/3 of dental anatomy that is not visible above the gum line. Studies have shown that without dental radiographs, significant pathology is missed in up to 75% of pets! With your consent, additional dental procedures may need to be performed including applying Doxirobe to periodontal pockets, creating a gingival flap to clean deeper around the tooth root(s) or tooth extraction(s). When advanced dental procedures are needed, we always use local dental nerve blocks so that your pet will wake up pain free for hours after the procedure. After the cleaning, our specially trained dental technicians polish your pet's teeth to create a smooth, lustrous surface that is more resistant to plaque build-up. A fluoride treatment is then applied to help strengthen the enamel and reduce tooth sensitivity. Finally, we recommend application of Oravet sealant. This creates a barrier on your dog’s teeth, similar to wax on a vehicle, that reduces the ability of bacteria to adhere to the tooth surface and therefore reduces future tartar buildup.

Dental Care At Home

Following the cleaning, your pet is provided with a toothbrush and toothpaste sample that you can use at home! Our staff can show you how to brush your pet's teeth at home. This is the best way to prevent plaque and tartar build-up, promote good oral hygiene and, most of all, bond with your pet. To be useful, you should brush your pet’s teeth at least daily to every-other-day. C.E.T. is a special enzymatic toothpaste developed to kill the bacteria that develop on the gums and teeth of dogs and cats and remove plaque. It is available in several tasty flavors.  Do not use human toothpaste, which can cause stomach upset if swallowed, is foamy and has an unpleasant taste to our pets. In addition to toothbrushing, Oravet sealant can be applied to your pet’s teeth after professional cleaning.  It helps repel the plaque, but needs to be reapplied once weekly at home.

To start a toothbrushing program with your pet, here are a few hints:

1)  Begin slowly by putting your finger (with or without a gauze pad) in his/her mouth between the gums and cheeks for a few seconds and increase the time a little each session for about 3 days.  Always make brushing a positive experience and reward your pet after each session with lots of praise.

2)  Next, add a little CET toothpaste on your finger and continue your finger manipulation for another couple of days.  Let your pet taste the toothpaste.

3)  Introduce a finger-brush, a CET soft bristle brush, or an Oral-B pediatric brush slowly at first, a few seconds at a time, then add CET toothpaste and attempt a brushing. It is not necessary to brush the inside of your pet’s teeth, just the cheek surface. By slowly building up to this new activity and establishing trust, your pet should allow you to brush his/her teeth. In fact, many dogs and cats look forward to this as an expected part of their day with you. A toothbrushing session should only take 1-2 minutes of your time daily to every other day. Ideally, you should introduce toothbrushing to your pet as a young puppy or kitten as part of their daily routine to familiarize him/her with the process.  

If you have tried all of the above steps without success, alternatives for those pets difficult to train to tolerate brushing include dental chews and dental diets. A fun, easy product is the CET Chew-eze rawhide for dogs, which delivers the CET bacteria killing enzyme to the gums as your dog chews on the rawhide. Use one every 1-3 days depending on your dog's tartar. However, as with all chews and toys, it is important that you supervise your dog to be sure he/she chews well and does not swallow large pieces of a dental chew which could result in an intestinal blockage.

We also recommend Greenies for dogs and Feline Greenies for cats When used regularly, these easily digestible, flavored dental treats are clinically proven to help clean teeth and freshen your pet’s breath. Additionally, Greenies has earned the Veterinary Oral Health Council (VOHC) Seal of Approval!

A revolutionary addition to dental care in dogs is Hill’s T/D Prescription Diet.  This is a complete and balanced diet made by the makers of Science Diet created in a form so the tooth penetrates deep into the nugget before it breaks. This allows an abrasive action up to the gumline to keep plaque to a minimum. T/D is also helpful when given as treats daily but will not be as effective as when fed as the primary diet. For your convenience, CET rawhides and T/D diet are available for purchase at Plum Creek Veterinary Hospital.                                          

 **BRUSHING AND/OR THE USE OF ORAVET SEALANT, CET RAWHIDE CHEWS, GREENIES, AND T/D DIET WILL HELP PREVENT INFECTION AND EXTRACTIONS OF TEETH IN THE FUTURE** 

For more information, we encourage you to visit the Hill’s Pet Dental Health Campaign We look forward to giving your pet a clean, happy and healthy mouth.  If you have any questions about the dental needs of your pet, please do not hesitate to ask one of the team members at Plum Creek Veterinary Hospital.