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Dental Care
Pets need dental care too! We go to our dentists every 6 months or so for a check-up; our dentists encourage us to brush our teeth twice daily and floss every evening; but what about our pets? What can we do to protect their teeth, and in turn their overall health?
At Ashbridge's Bay Animal Hospital, we encourage you to have your pet's teeth checked every year and to follow some simple steps at home to help ensure your pet's teeth are clean and free of tartar and plaque. Ignoring the condition can lead to periodontal disease, tooth loss and other serious health problems, such as liver, heart and kidney failure.
Brushing is the best way to remove plaque before it turns into hard tartar that requires a full scaling and polishing. Brushing should be done at least 5-6 times a week. If you can't brush your pet's teeth, consider placing your pet on a diet targetted towards maintaining good oral hygeine. Veterinary diet companies carry many diets which are proven to help with the overall condition of your pet's teeth and gums. When you come in for your appointment be sure to ask the doctor how your pet's teeth look and what you can do to prevent dental problems in the future. Let us help you manage your pet's dental health! If you would like to start your pet on a tooth brushing schedule, we will show you how to do it properly, complimentary, during a physical examination appointment.
Dental Prophylaxis
Dental Prophylaxis is a procedure performed under general anaesthesia. Depending on your pet's age and health status, blood tests may have to be run to identify existing medical problems and to ensure anaesthesia will not be a risk to your pet. To find out more about blood testing, please click here. Routine dental cleaning is a multi-step procedure which involves dental scaling, polishing, flushing and fluoride coating. If extractions are necessary, pain medication and instructions (such as feeding soft food for a few days) are given to the owner upon pick-up. Again, depending on a pet's individual needs, they may be required to stay in our hospital overnight for recovery.
Does this look familiar? A Dental Prophy Machine is almost exactly like the one at your dentist's office. The only difference is the speed of the polisher (handle in the middle) and the Ultrasonic Scaler (handle on the right).
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