Did you know that 85 percent of dogs and cats have significant (in need of treatment) periodontal disease by age 4? Dental disease is the MOST COMMON medical problem identified in pets.
As a veterinarian with a practice that focuses on dental care, I treat periodontal disease everyday.
So first things first, let’s talk about steps to take BEFORE a dental cleaning to so that your veterinarian can properly and SAFELY care for your pet’s mouth.
A Pre-Dental Examination:
Your pet’s mouth and teeth ought to be thoroughly examined when your vet performs a pre-dental physical examination. It is very important to have a complete physical examination to identify problems other than those in the mouth. This is because your pet must anesthetized in order to do a complete dental cleaning.
In order to use anesthesia safety, it is important to know whether or not your pet has any other health problems. The pre-dental examination will help to determine if your pet has a disease that needs to be treated prior to anesthesia.
Important Note: Many non-veterinarians advertise anesthesia-free dental cleaning. This will not benefit your pet and may, in fact, do harm. In order to manage periodontal disease the part of the tooth that you cannot see, that is the part UNDERNEATH the gum line, needs to be thoroughly cleaned and polished.
Even the best of patients will not allow a veterinarian to do a complete job on both the inside and outside of the tooth when awake. Sure, anyone can pick the discolored plaque and tarter off of the part of the tooth that you can see and make the teeth LOOK better, but this just gives you a false sense of security.
The part of the disease that results in tooth loss and other systemic illness (for example: heart, kidney, liver, joint and pancreatic diseases) remains untreated and will progress if the teeth are not cleaned properly. In addition, if the person scraping the tooth off leaves even microscopic scratches on the tooth surface, plaque and tarter will accumulate faster because bacteria have a great place to set up ‘house keeping’ on the tooth.
O.k., back to the exam …..even if your pet’s physical examination does not alert your veterinarian to any problems, further testing in regard to anesthesia is a good precaution. Your veterinarian should perform some pre-anesthetic blood work and urinalysis even if your pet seems healthy. This is to be certain that the major organs are healthy enough to metabolize (get rid of) the anesthetic agents that will be used. Most often, in a healthy patient these tests will be normal.
If these tests show any abnormalities it does not necessarily mean that your pet cannot have a dental cleaning performed. However, your veterinarian will most likely want to find the cause of the abnormality to ensure that your pet is as healthy as possible.
In older patients and those patients where physical problems are identified, more extensive blood work or other diagnostic tests such as an echocardiogram or ultrasound may be needed in order to proceed safely with the dental procedure. Although this can lead to some frustration on the part of the owner, remember that the earlier a doctor identifies and treats a problem the more likely we are to be successful with our treatment to have your pet live a long, healthy life!
Once all of this information has been collected and reviewed by your veterinarian you can be sure that the benefits of a complete dental cleaning far outweigh the risks of undergoing anesthesia. Start by scheduling a pre-dental examination for your pet today!
Stay tuned for more information about good oral care for your pet – I’ll be back soon with more tips to keep your pet safe and healthy!
Dr. Veronika Kiklevich, DVM, DABVP (Canine and Feline)
I-10 Pet Emergency
10822 Fredericksburg Road
(one block West of IH-10 and Huebner Road)
San Antonio, TX 78240