There will likely come a time in your dog or cat’s life when a dental cleaning is necessary. Even dogs with the most diligent gaurdian who provides at home dental care will ultimately require a dental cleaning. As with humans, a professional scaling and polishing of a dog or cat's teeth is an important part of maintaining dental health. Small breed dogs and most cats will likely require semiannual to annual dental cleanings due to dental anatomy (overcrowding of teeth or facial structure). Therefore, in addition to knowledge of home dental care, familiarity with the process of a dental cleaning for your dog or cat is important.
The first step is to set an appointment with your veterinarian for evaluation of your pet’s dental health. All dogs and cats should be seen at least once a year for a wellness visit, especially if they are young and healthy. The wellness visit will include evaluation of your pet’s teeth to determine the stage of dental disease and overall health.
There are four stages of dental disease:
- Stage I: gingivitis – inflamed and swollen gums with mild plaque covering teeth,
- Stage II: early periodontitis – moderate inflamed and swollen gums with bad breath,
- Stage III: moderate periodontitis – infection and calculus are destroying the gum with not only bad breath but a sore mouth
- Stage IV: advanced periodontitis – chronic bacteria destroying gum and likely spreading throughout the body.
Keep in mind your veterinarian can only give you an estimate of the stage of dental disease because the extent of dental disease is not always obvious on examination of the mouth. Unlike humans, animals will need general anesthesia for a dental cleaning which is necessary because dogs and cats will not tolerate the probing and scaling that is involved in cleaning their teeth while awake. So your veterinarian will likely recommend blood work to further evaluate internal organ function ( kidney, liver, etc.) before anesthesia.
Once your pet is deemed healthy enough for anesthesia, a dental cleaning should be scheduled. Usually your pet will present to the veterinary office first thing in the morning. Your dog or cat will also need to fast for 8 to 12 hours before the dental cleaning. Since your dog or cat will have anesthesia, it is important for them to stay several hours afterwards for observation.
During the dental cleaning, your pet’s mouth will be probed to further determine the extent of dental disease that the awake pet would otherwise not tolerate. Probing the teeth may indicate dental disease that requires a tooth extraction(s) or further treatment such as antibiotic treatment; dental x-rays may be recommended to further evaluate the root of the tooth. Scaling will remove any hard deposits while polishing will smooth any rough surfaces, therefore reducing accumulation of tartar and plaque in the future. Finally, sealants may be placed on the teeth to further reduce tartar or plaque buildup.
Once your pet's dental cleaning is complete, you will likely receive information at discharge and your veterinarian will discuss at home dental care for prevention of periodontal disease.
Dr. Rosalie Gibson is an associate veterinarian at the Richmond SPCA.To read the biographies of our regular bloggers, please click here. Before posting a comment, please review our comment guidelines. Please note that our comment policy requires a first and last name to be used as your screen name.
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