 Prevention of dental disease requires
regular evaluation of your pet's teeth by you and your veterinarian. As
you brush your pet's teeth, you should observe for the presence of:
- Tartar accumulation on the teeth
- Redness of the gums
- Bleeding from the gums
- Bad odors from the mouth
If you notice any of these symptoms, bring your pet in
to have the veterinarian evaluate the problem. Pets should have their
teeth evaluated at least once yearly and preferably twice yearly. During
the examination, the doctor and/or technicians will check for the
problems listed above as well as any damaged teeth, tumors or other
abnormalities in the mouth.
The doctor will evaluate your pet's eligibility for
anesthesia and determine if we can safely address your pet's dental
problems. In general, pets over the age of 5 will have blood tests run
to check for underlying problems that might make anesthesia risky.
Older pets (7 and above) may need additional tests based on their
physical exam and age.
The Dental
Cleaning Procedure:
Preparation:
Once we have determined that your pet is O.K. for anesthesia, we
will administer a pre-anesthetic sedative. This will relax your pet and
make induction of anesthesia easier. At the same time, an antibiotic
injection will be administered to help combat the spread of bacteria
from the mouth into the blood stream.
If your pet is 7 years or older, or if there is some
other reason for it, an intravenous catheter will be placed in the vein
and we will deliver fluids to help maintain the blood pressure and
protect the kidneys from the effects of anesthesia
Induction of Anesthesia:
Once your pet is relaxed, we will place them under anesthesia using a
short acting induction agent. This injection will allow us to place an
endotracheal tube in the trachea to maintain an open airway for your
pet. We hook the isoflurane anesthesia machine up to this
tube and deliver the anesthetic gas through it.
Next, we attach a number of electronic monitoring
devices to your pet to help us keep track of their vital signs. These
include Pulse Oximeter to monitor blood oxygen saturation, Blood
pressure, respiratory, and electrocardiogram monitors. With the aid of
these instruments, we can keep a constant watch on your pet and adjust
our anesthetic gas rapidly in case of any problems.
Dental Radiographs:
 When
we have your pet at a stable anesthetic plane, we take radiographs
(x-rays) of all the teeth in the mouth. This typically takes 6 different
views to allow us to fully evaluate the teeth. They are developed by an
assistant while the technician moves on to the next stage.
Ultrasonic Cleaning/Scaling:
 Next,
we begin the cleaning process. First, we use an ultrasonic scaler to
remove the hardened plaque from the teeth above and below the gumline.
Then we use hand instruments to deep clean the roots.
Dental Probing and Charting:
Next, we use a dental probe to check every
surface of each tooth. We are looking for deep pockets between the tooth
and gum, fractured teeth, and other abnormalities.
We compare the probing findings with our radiograph findings and develop
a treatment plan for your pet. If we find advanced periodontal disease
with bone loss and infection we might recommend extraction of the tooth.
Mild cases may be helped with the infusion of Heska Perioceutic Gel
which will help clear up the infection and reduce the size of the pocket
between the tooth and gum.
Fractured teeth may be helped with root canal therapy
or extraction.
We record all of our findings in the pet's medical
record for future reference.
Once we have a treatment plan developed, we call the
owner to discuss our findings and gain authorization for treatment.
Dental Polishing and Fluoride Treatment:
 Finally,
we polish the teeth with a high speed polisher. We finish our procedure
by applying a fluoride treatment to the teeth and gums which will help
fight the plaque bacteria for up to 3 months.
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