A healthy pet has a healthy mouth.  Dr. Darcy Smith is happy to help keep your pet’s mouth healthy with both dental treatment and suggestions for at-home dental care.

Taking care of your pet’s teeth is about more than avoiding their bad breath.  As shown below, the consequences of untended teeth can range from unpleasant to quite severe:

• Pain (from minor discomfort to a severe toothache)
• Difficulty eating
• Inflammation of the gums and jawbone
• Loss of teeth
• Infection
• Additional risk of heart valve, kidney, and liver inflammation (due to infection)

What Does Dental Treatment Involve?

Because most conscious pets will not allow treatment to the teeth, dental treatment most often requires general anesthesia.

We then remove the tartar from your pet’s teeth using dental instruments and an ultrasonic cleaning device.

We inspect the teeth for fractures, chips, and other abnormalities.

Depending on what we find, dental treatment can range from a simple cleaning to more extensive treatments.

As with human teeth, it sometimes necessary to fill teeth or extract them.

When Does Your Pet Need Dental Treatment?

You should make an appointment for any of the following signs:

• Red gums on the transition from gums to teeth
• Easily bleeding gums
• Bad breath
• Brown plaque on teeth
• Excessive salivation
• Loose teeth
• Chewing on one side

 At-Home Prevention and Care

There are several things you can do to keep your pet’s mouth healthy and avoid extensive dental treatment:

• Feed special food formulated for the prevention of dental problems, dry food is best.
• Brush and polish their teeth regularly–daily is best.
• Make sure chew toys are available.
• VET enzadent chews – formulated to help remove and prevent plaque build up.  Available in 4 sizes at our office.

We’d be happy to make specific recommendations. Just ask!