One of the biggest reasons pets live longer today than they did 30 years ago is the increase in good dental care. Dental care is far more than a cosmetic or breath odor control problem. Teeth with tartar are hotbeds of bacterial infection that seriously impact your pet’s health. “Dirty teeth” are not just stained, they are infected, and that bacterial infection can easily spread to the rest of the body causing heart, kidney, lung, and kidney problems. To keep your pets healthy it is vitally important that they get good dental care.
Good dental care means regular oral examinations (which will be performed by our doctors at your pet’s annual and semiannual physicals), regular dental cleanings, and at-home care. A cleaning for pets is different than for us, because they are under general anesthesia for the procedure. For this reason, all the same precautions are taken that we take for our surgery patients (pre-anesthesia blood work, IV fluids, patient monitors, and constant supervision by a trained surgery assistant.)