Advanced Dental Care

Every time a cat or dog eats, small particles of food stick to the teeth and combine with bacteria to form a sticky film called plaque. If plaque is not cleaned away, it will concrete into a hard brown layer called tartar. Tartar is a semi-permanent substance bonded to the tooth itself that harbors dangerous bacteria that begin to attack the gums and the roots of the teeth. This leads to periodontal disease and is irreversible.

By age two to three, almost 80% of our cats and dogs will have developed gingivitis – inflammation caused by the accumulation of plaque and tartar. Left unchecked, gingivitis will progress into periodontal disease – leading to bad breath, root decay, loss of teeth and increasing risk of liver, heart and kidney disease.

Oral health care, including home dental care and veterinary-performed dental cleanings, are an essential part of maintaining your pet’s good health. Something going bad in the mouth can cause bad breath, weight loss, pain and infection – both locally and systemically. And, recent veterinary studies have identified that untreated dental disease can take three to five years off a pet’s life span.

And, think about your own experiences with the dentist and dental hygienist. Typically, you are getting your teeth cleaned and examined, at a minimum, once yearly, if not more. For your dog or cat given that they are aging more rapidly, roughly four to seven pet years for every human year, it will be dependent on home dental care and tartar/gingivitis accumulation, but many pets benefit from annual dental cleanings.

We want to ensure that your cat or dog lives a long healthy life and invite you to learn more about our advanced dental care. Park Hill Veterinary Medical Center’s doctors and staff apply the same level of quality care and attention to detail in your pet’s care as we do for our own. Our dental services include dental cleanings, oral surgery and extractions, dental sealants and periodontal treatments such as Doxirobe™.

Link for details on dental cleaning steps and a photo tour of a dental cleaning

For safety, patient comfort and appropriate cleaning, our patients are under general anesthesia. This is the only way to accomplish the level of dental care we choose to deliver. “Anesthesia-free dental cleanings” are not a safe or healthy way to maintain your pet’s teeth. To learn more about why “anesthesia-free dental cleaning” is potentially dangerous for your pet, please visit the American Veterinary Dental College website.

For all our dental cleanings, we recommend and/or perform the following services and additionally follow the recommend protocol (from Oral ATP):

• Pre-anesthetic blood work prior to the procedure is performed for all pets – this allows us to check for organ dysfunction that might preclude anesthesia
• Doctor’s selection of pre-anesthetic, induction and pain management drugs based on your pet’s individual needs – our goal is always to select the safest, most effective combinations for your pet to allow for easy recovery and good pain management if any painful procedures are performed
• Intravenous fluids throughout the procedure to maintain adequate hydration and blood pressure
• Constant monitoring of your pet’s blood pressure, oxygen level, heart rate and rhythm, body temperature and breathing – all recorded to become a permanent part of your pet’s medical record
• Anesthesia as well as the water used during a dental cleaning can cause a pet’s body temperature to drop. To keep your pet warm, we use a thermal heating blanket to maintain optimum body temperature.
• A minimum of one but more often two staff members at your pet’s at all times during the procedure (including the doctor)
• Digital dental radiographs – allowing us to assess your pet’s below-the-gum line dental health.
• Local anesthesia for any teeth requiring extraction
• Analgesic (pain-relieving) medications, before and after, for optimum pain control

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