Having a dental, what does it mean?

If we have diagnosed your pet with dental disease, we will most likely recommend a dental clean. This is a VERY common procedure and is essential in treating dental disease. If your pet is having a dental procedure, there are a few things you need to know.

A general anaesthetic is required - Unfortunately, we can't ask our pets to say 'aaaaaaaaah' while we have a look around, therefore to ensure we are able to clean all of the teeth and do it safely for your pet and for us, a general anaesthetic is required. Your pet must be anaesthetised so we can properly examine the entire mouth. This includes the inner surfaces of all of the teeth, right up the back of the mouth where you can not see when your pet is awake.

We use very similar equipment to human dentists - In some cases it is in fact exactly the same equipment as that used in human dentistry! A scaling device is used to remove any plaque that is stuck to the teeth and the teeth are individually polished. We may recommend x-rays so we can assess the bony structures around the tooth. This provides your pet with gold standard dental care.

Extractions may be necessary - It is possible that bacteria may have already damaged the structures of the tooth, exposing roots and nerves. This is painful so it is best we remove any diseased teeth, if there is no way of saving them. A fractured tooth may also require extraction. Antibiotics, pain relief and a diet of raw cubed meat will be required if your pet does in fact require extractions.

At home dental care is required! - We strongly recommend you participate in at home dental care for your pet. Daily teeth brushing can go a long way to avoiding veterinary dental work, as can prescription dental diets. Every mouthful animals take in the wild requires ripping, tearing and crunching, we need to emulate this in their domestic diets. We are happy to demonstrate tooth brushing techniques for your pet and recommend a pet friendly toothpaste!