Caring for your pet’s teeth is an important part of maintaining their overall well being. There are several reasons why dental care is more important in this day and age:

*Pets are living longer
Thanks to advances in veterinary medicine and increased awareness of how to look after our pets properly, dogs and cats are now living longer. That's why it is important that their teeth last a long time too.

*Hereditary traits
Over many years our pets have been carefully bred to achieve the certain distinct characteristics that we know. However, as a result, some of our pets mouths have become quite overcrowded and uneven which can influence the onset of dental disease.

*Hunting reduction
Our canine and feline companions, large and small, had ancestors who resembled and behaved like wolves and lions - catching and eating their food- fur, bones and all - which provided excellent cleaning actions for teeth. While we have excellent diets available now to feed our pets we need to clean their teeth too.

As with our own teeth, plaque WILL develop even on the cleanest of teeth. If this plaque is not removed it will soon become mineralized tartar or calculus. Your pet's teeth will then become chronically inflamed and in turn the teeth and gums will begin to separate.

Once this separation has occurred the tooth is in serious trouble and without proper attention may become rotten and eventually fall out. A severely inflamed mouth proves to be a real drain on the body's immune system and can have harmful and damaging effects on the body as a whole; such as tooth root abscesses, bone, kidney and heart disease.

*Bad breath
*Discoloured teeth
*Loose teeth
*Excessive drooling, sometimes blood stained
*Inflamed gums
*Dropping of food from the mouth when eating, or reluctant to eat at all, especially hard food.
*Pain when handled around the head
*Facial swelling
*Behavioural changes (e.g. lethargy, increased aggression)

Your pets need to be encouraged to utilise chewing aids. This may be raw chicken necks for very small breeds of dogs or cats, or a larger raw meaty marrow bone for other dogs. There are many good quality dental chews and toys on the market these days also. Old dogs that are not used to these chewing aids may find them too hard to chew and at worst may end up with fractured teeth - so beware.

The Hills Prescription Diet t/d is a complete and balanced dry food that has a matrix format that helps removal of plaque and massaging of the gums. It is most useful when fed as part of your pet's complete diet on a daily basis, and is best used to maintain healthy teeth rather than to treat teeth that are already affected by periodontal disease (tooth, socket and gum disease).

Do not feed your pet cooked bones as they may splinter and cause intestinal damage.

We provide full dental care services for all pets, using equipment similar to your dentist such as ultrasonic scalers. Any dental problems are recorded on your pet's dental chart so that any changes can be noted at each successive visit.
During most pet's lives, their teeth require vet treatment beyond their regular examinations.

A dental treatment involves a general anaesthetic. While under anaesthetic a full dental examination can be conducted along with dental charting, scaling of the teeth, both ultrasonically and by hand. We complete the treatment by giving the teeth a polish to reduce plaque adherence.

If necessary teeth are extracted, however our objective is always to save as many teeth as we can. In some cases X-rays may also be necessary to check the health of the tooth's root.
Aftercare varies according to the individual, but always involves pain relief and home care advice, it may also include antibiotics and other medications.
If your pet does have vet dental treatment it is important to then provide good homecare to try and prevent or minimise further work being done in the future.

A final note

Maintaining good oral hygiene is essential to your pet's overall health. By balancing the three points of the dental care triangle your pet will enjoy a healthy and happy life.

Back to Small Animal Homepage