Pet Dental Care

Keeping your pet’s mouth healthy should be a team effort consisting of regular dental hygiene at home and a yearly check up by your veterinarian to determine if there is a need for a more extensive exam or dental cleaning. If there is a need for a dental cleaning, this procedure is performed under general anesthesia to properly remove tartar and polish your pet’s teeth.

What happens when your pet needs a dental cleaning.

Because your pet will be put under anesthesia we require your pet to have a comprehensive blood work. This can be done the day of cleaning or sometime the week prior. Plaque and tartar also carry millions of bacteria so we also recommend starting antibiotics 3 days prior, 7 days for serious infections.

The day of your pets cleaning you'll bring your pet in on an empty stomach between 8-9 am. We'll give your pet a mild sedative and pain reliever to relax your pet. A gas anesthetic and oxygen will be used to maintain anesthesia. Your pet will be monitored electronically and by a technician trained to catch problems before they become serious. Your pet will also be kept warm and dry during anesthesia.

We start with taking photographs of the teeth and noting the amount of tartar and gingivitis with each tooth. Then we probe below the gum line to check for infection and other problems.

Once the tartar is removed we polish each tooth and apply a sealant to prevent any more bacteria from going through the gum line.

Any tooth that is loose or infected is extracted. An antibiotic injection is given during recovery.

Your pet will be monitored until they've returned to a normal temperature and are holding their head up.

Most pets will go home at the end of the day unless a complicated extraction or many teeth are extracted. Antibiotics are continued after for 4 or more days after the procedure.

Most pets once recovered feel better than they have in years. Some clients have said their pet acted like they were years younger.