Animals – Doggy dentistry

A huge percentage of consultations we see daily here at Wellsford Vet Clinic are for dental problems. Even when this is not the presenting problem, we often come across severe dental disease as an incidental finding. Good dental health is a critical component of your pet’s overall health. When dental disease is present, treatment has been shown to dramatically improve their quality of life. I often say to clients, “Imagine how sore one nasty tooth can be for you … and your pet has multiple rotten teeth!”

Unfortunately, rotten teeth often go unnoticed apart from pet owner complaints of stinky breath. Common symptoms to look out for include red or inflamed gums, which may bleed, tartar (the yellow stuff that stains teeth), facial swelling, excess drooling, dropping food, difficulty chewing, reluctance to eat due to pain, pain when touching around the mouth, pawing at the mouth and teeth chattering. Your pet’s dental disease can be severe, but they will continue to eat in preference to starvation.

If your vet suspects periodontal disease (disease of the tooth and the surrounding structures), the procedure is as follows:

First, your pet will need to undergo a general anaesthetic. This allows the vet to safely and thoroughly examine the mouth. Pets need to come in first thing in the morning and, unfortunately, need to skip breakfast.

Your pet may also need to have x-rays of their mouth. Teeth may look normal on the surface, but what lies beneath may be very different. X-rays will help your vet decide which teeth need to be removed.

The vet will then set about extracting any teeth that need it. This is often done after injecting nerve blocks (anaesthetic) so that your pet will feel as little pain as possible after surgery. Pets generally do very well after having extractions and the mouth heals quickly. Better to have no tooth than a painful tooth.

The remaining teeth are then cleaned using an ultrasonic scaler, which removes the hard tartar on the surface and below the gum line.

The clean is finished with a polish to remove the rough surface left after scaling. This helps stop the build-up of plaque again.

Your pet will then need a couple of hours to recover and usually goes home mid-afternoon.

Your vet may provide medication either before or after the operation to treat an infection or manage pain associated with rotten teeth. Often, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are given to reduce swelling and inflammation. Antibiotics may be prescribed to treat any bacterial infection. The clinic will also advise you on how to avoid having problems recur in the future. Teeth cleaning can be difficult in some pets, but there are easy options such as special diets or dental wipes. Don’t let your pet suffer. If you are worried they may have some dental problems, organise to get them checked out.

Jenny Wrangham, Wellsford Vet Clinic
www.vetsonline.co.nz/wellsfordvet