What Happens if your Pet Needs Professional Dental Care?

During their annual physical examination, we check their oral health at the same time. We look for signs of periodontal disease. These include bad breath (halitosis), brown or yellow teeth (calculus aka tartar) and red or swollen gums (gingivitis). Calculus contains millions of bacteria and can cause endocarditis or damage to the valves inside the heart, kidney infections, bladder infections, etc. These bacteria cause inflammation and infection of the gums, gum recession, and bone destruction around the roots on the teeth. Gingivitis and bone loss resulting in loose teeth. Loose teeth are painful. Period.

Dental infections are also painful but most animals won’t show any signs of pain.

Signs of pain for dogs include: Growling, whining, fixed stare, glazed appearance, hunched over, protects wounds, licks surgical site, restless, trembling, increased aggression or fearfulness, decreased appetite, increased urination, inappropriate urination, loss of sheen in hair coat.

For cats: Growling, purring, furrowed brow, squinted eyes, protects wounds, licks surgical site, comfort seeking, hiding, aggressive, decreased appetite, failure to use litterbox, failure to groom.

WARNING: Human pain relievers are toxic to animals. Do not give: Ibuprophen, Aspirin, Tylenol, etc. Animal pain relievers are available by prescription if you notice signs of severe pain but we must see the animal first.

To begin with, we start with blood work. Blood work tells how bad the infection can be and how well their internal organs are working. This tells us which anesthetic protocol would be the best and safest choice. We prefer to run blood work within a week or the day of cleaning. It also helps us choose the right antibiotics. We prefer to start dental patients on antibiotics about three days prior to cleaning and continue for 4 to 10 days after cleaning.

On the day of cleaning, we request that you hold your pet off food the night before. A little water is fine so long as they don’t drink a large bowl in the morning. When you drop off your pet we will confirm this with you. Please arrive between 8-9 in the morning.

When we are ready to get started we prefer to place an IV or intravenous catheter. We use the vein for hydration and for immediate access to a vein should a problem arise. Let us know if you would prefer to have a catheter placed or not. Then we usually give them a sedative to help them relax and not be so scared. We begin with a gas anesthetic using a mask to get them deep enough to place an endotracheal tube. An endotracheal tube also protects their airway and prevents debris from entering the lungs.

During the procedure, your pet will be connected to an anesthesia machine that provides your pet with inhalant gas anesthesia and oxygen via the endotracheal tube. We also connect your pet to monitors that continuously read your pet’s temperature, heart rate, electrical activity in the heart (ECG or EKG) and oxygen levels.

Each tooth is individually cleaned and evaluated. Any tooth that is loose or shows signs of deep infection is carefully removed. Once the calculus is completely removed above and below the gum line, each tooth is polished, applied fluoride, and coated with a sealant that prevents the dislodged bacteria from going through the gum tissue and into the bloodstream

Once the cleaning is done we turn off the gas anesthetic but keep the oxygen going until your pet is blinking. The endotracheal tube is removed and the monitoring equipment is disconnected. Most of our dental patients are sent home at the end of the day. If your pet had many teeth removed they may feel nauseated overnight. We keep these patients overnight and send them home the next morning after 10 am.