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Preserving Your Pet's Pearly Whites with Veterinary Dentistry
Your pet needs strong, healthy teeth to eat, play, and live their life to the fullest. Like their owners, cats and dogs enjoy a better quality of life when their teeth and gums are in good shape. Pets of Newberry, Jonesville, Tioga, and Gainesville, FL can all benefit from our comprehensive pet dental care that helps to prevent dental disease and maintain their pearly whites.
Dental disease is common in dogs and cats and can develop in pets as young as three years old. *Good oral veterinary care is about more than keeping your pet’s teeth pearly white. Periodontal disease can be very painful and deter your pet’s health and lifespan, so our veterinarians take it very seriously. With routine dental exams, cleanings, and at-home care, we look forward to helping pets enjoy greater longevity and happier smiles.
Veterinary Services to Treat and Prevent Dental Disease
Dental disease can have a harmful effect on your pet's overall health. In addition to chronic pain, your pet may also be prone to infection and disease of the heart, liver, or kidneys. To confront this problem, our veterinary clinic provides various veterinary dentistry services to diagnose, treat, and prevent dental disease.
- Pre-anesthetic exam: We perform a complete physical pet health exam on the day of the procedure. Our veterinarians also require that your pet has had recent blood work evaluated. The goal of the exam and blood work is to make sure that your pet is healthy and can be anesthetized safely.
- IV catheter fluids and multimodal anesthetic monitoring: As with surgery, our veterinary team follows strict protocols to ensure that your pet remains safe and comfortable during their dental procedure. A dedicated veterinary technician stays at your pet's side to monitor all vital organs via state-of-the-art monitoring equipment and provides attentive nursing care for them afterward to help them awaken safely from the anesthesia.
- Full dental X-rays and exam: When your pet is under anesthesia, we will be able to conduct a thorough dental exam. This includes full-mouth X-rays to evaluate the condition of your pet's teeth and see below the gum line for signs of disease. We also examine the pockets around the teeth to check for infection.
- Full dental cleaning: We scale each tooth above and below the gum line to remove accumulated plaque and tartar. The teeth are then polished smooth to discourage future buildup. Without the benefit of anesthesia, proper evaluation, cleaning and treatment cannot be performed.
- Dental extraction: Dental X-rays help us see if tooth extractions will be needed. Removing loose, broken, or infected teeth will reduce your pet's discomfort and make eating enjoyable again. All pets undergoing extractions receive pain relief medication tailored to their age and size. We may also use nerve blocks for more extensive surgical extractions.
Why is Dental Disease a Concern?
Dental disease is an inflammatory condition that affects the teeth and gums. As tartar builds up on your pet's teeth, it may start spreading under the gum line. When this happens, bacteria are deposited into the surrounding tissues and may eventually find its way into the bloodstream. This results in swollen, painful gums, loose teeth, and possible heart, liver, or kidney disease. Our animal hospital’s goal is to prevent these later stages from ever occurring in your pet. If we can detect dental disease early, thanks to regular appointments and annual visits to your veterinarian, we can also recommend steps to prevent its progression. Common signs of gum disease include loose teeth, bad breath, inflamed gums, and excessive drooling.
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Complete Your Pet's Dental Care At Home
While our pet hospital strongly believes that professional veterinary dentistry can make a big difference in your pet's oral health, at-home dental care is also essential. As your pet's primary caregiver, it's up to you to maintain a routine and teach your pet to be receptive to daily treatments. Following your pet's dental cleaning we'll send you home with copies of their dental X-rays, along with a small dental care kit. Our veterinarians aim to show pet owners that at-home pet dental care is not only possible but also a way for pets and people to bond.
Our veterinary clinic’s main pet dental care products for home use include toothpaste, toothbrushes, dental chews, Hill's tartar control diet, and special dental treats for cats. If brushing isn't an option for your pet, we can always get creative! Let us know if you need help, and we'll be glad to offer suggestions and walk you through the steps. Just give the pet hospital a call at (352) 331-7050!
Our pet clinic is happy to help your pet with whatever phase they’re in of their oral health journey. Whether you are coming to us from Jonesville, Newberry, Gainesville, Tioga, or elsewhere across Alachua County, Florida, we’re here to polish their smiles and keep them healthy from the inside out.
