WHY DENTAL CARE IS CRUCIAL TO YOUR PET’S HEALTH
I’m sure you have been at the veterinarian at one point and heard the words: “…your pet could use a dental”, as they look inside your pet’s mouth and show you what they see. Telltale signs are brown, stained and tarter-encrusted teeth. Tarter is bacteria-laden which can cause gum disease, tooth decay and tooth loss. You may notice your pet has bad breath which can be an indicator that there is something going on that should be checked.
The consequences of periodontal disease can be tooth loss, infection, abscessed teeth, and possibly ill effects on the heart and kidneys as the bacteria enter the bloodstream. Many people believe that as long as their pets eat dry, crunchy food or treats, and get some kind of dental chewy every now and then, their teeth should be fine. This is not necessarily so. And while some pets will tolerate you brushing their teeth, to be effective it must be started early in their lives or after a dental cleaning and kept to a strict daily routine for the rest of their lives.
Small breeds (Yorkies, Chihuahua’s, etc.) and cats are often more susceptible to dental disease resulting in tooth loss and gum disease. Part of this is due to the fact that they have smaller mouths and bone structure to support the same amount of teeth as larger breeds…oftentimes the adult teeth will be crowded leaving loose pockets in the gum around the teeth. Food and debris pack in under the loose gum line and eventually the teeth will decay, loosen and either fall out or need to be pulled during a dental procedure while under anesthesia. One very common thing we see are baby teeth that remain alongside the adult teeth – creating those same pockets mentioned above – decay waiting to happen. At Crossroads, we recommend that these teeth be removed while your pet is spayed or neutered at 6 months…by that age, the adult teeth will be in and the baby teeth can painlessly be removed. Retained baby teeth can also be removed on older pets, but will required anesthesia.
NON-ANESTHETIC TEETH CLEANING
Crossroads has incorporated a unique procedure in our practice, in our effort to fight dental disease in dogs and cats. It is a ‘preventative’ measure that allows your pet’s teeth to be cleaned without anesthesia. It can be done on dogs or cats, and they tolerate it quite well. This procedure is done in our office by highly trained technicians, and has a proven track record of over 10 years.
If there are loose teeth, gum disease, cracked or broken teeth, your pet may need to have an actual dental procedure while under anesthesia prior to starting this maintenance program. Once those issues are taken care of, you can begin the preventative non-anesthetic cleanings on a maintenance plan. Not only are there great savings built in, but you are going a long way to ensure your pet’s overall health and comfort.
If this procedure sounds too good to be true, just speak with our staff – most of us have had our dogs and cats teeth cleaned in this manner, and it’s awesome. Our clinic cat, Dingy, was one of the first ones to have it done in our clinic, and she was wonderful during and after the procedure. Call our office today at 770-591-5474 and find out what this can do for your pet(s). We’d like to keep those beautiful teeth as healthy and white as they started out.
