Pet Dentistry
At High Desert Veterinary, we know how important dental health is to your pet’s overall health. So we’ve invested in advanced training and certifications for our staff and state-of-the-art technology to diagnose and treat a range of dental problems. From routine cleanings to oral surgery, our staff are highly experienced and provide an exceptional level of care.
Why is dental health so important?
Good dental health has a direct bearing on your pet’s quality of life. Animals with healthy teeth are happier, healthier, and more likely to live longer. Poor dental health can result in poor appetite and weight loss (because chewing can be painful!) Advanced periodontal disease can cause blood-borne infection, heart disease, liver disease, urinary tract infections and other serious health consequences for your pet. Sadly, dental disease is often “the final straw” for elderly pets.
Do all dogs and cats need dental care?
The answer is yes. Your pet’s teeth are much like your own. Dogs and cats start life with a set of baby teeth that they start losing at about four months of age. These baby teeth are replaced by permanent, adult teeth at around six months. At some point, your pet’s adult teeth start accumulating tartar. The rate at which tartar builds up on your pet’s teeth can vary depending on diet, behavior, age, and genetics. As tartar accumulates, it leads to inflammation of the gums and infection—known as gingivitis and periodontal disease. As we noted above, advanced periodontal disease can be life-threatening for your pet…and can also be quite painful.
It’s hard to appreciate how much an animal can be suffering from a loose or damaged tooth or tender, diseased gums. But once we correct these dental problems, it’s typical to see a dramatic improvement in a pet’s attitude, playfulness and appetite.
Could your pet be suffering from dental issues?
These are the warnings signs that your pet is in urgent need of dental care:
Foul breath
Discoloration of teeth, enamel staining, accumulation of tartar
Loose or broken teeth
Gums over-growing teeth
Redness, sensitivity or bleeding of the gums
Receding gums with tooth root exposure
Oral ulcers
Mass lesions
When it comes to teeth, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
Preventive care—in the form of regular cleanings and annual check-ups—are the best way to keep your pet healthy over the course of their life. Regular cleanings also help keep your pet’s mouth feeling comfortable. Preventative care is also cheaper! Dental problems always go from bad to worse, and the worse the problem, the more expensive the treatment.
Pet Dentistry at High Desert Veterinary
How we evaluate, plan and treat dental issues.
If you suspect your pet has dental issues, bring your pet to High Desert Veterinary for a physical exam, which includes a full dental evaluation.
We’ll check your pet’s mouth and determine if routine cleaning is necessary. We’ll also conduct a tooth by tooth examination and evaluate your pet for periodontal disease. If we see anything of concern, we’ll take dental x-rays (which we take in-house, and which generate images in mere seconds). Since many dental problems occur beneath the gums, x-rays can give us a better view of your pet’s dental issues and help inform treatment options.
If any dental problems need to be addressed, we’ll discuss treatment options with you and arrive at a treatment plan. We take a conservative approach to tooth extraction, periodontal treatments, restorative treatments and oral surgery, and follow established guidelines. Our goal is to correct your pet’s dental problems in the most cost-effective manner for long-term benefit. We like to preserve teeth whenever possible, but we give serious consideration to practicality and expense of treatment when formulating a plan. With the exception of root-canals and orthodontics, we are capable of performing nearly all dental procedures, including major oral surgery.
Once your pet’s treatment is complete, we’ll follow up with aftercare to ensure your pet’s comfort and minimize infection during the healing period. To keep your pet’s mouth healthy going forward, we may recommend measures to promote dental health, such as dental chews, oral rinses, and daily brushing. We’ll also suggest a schedule for routine cleanings based on your pet’s dental needs.