ISN’T BAD BREATH IN PETS JUST NATURAL?
No. Bad breath is not normal in pets and is most often caused by bacteria that form when plaque and tartar are not removed from the teeth, which then causes gum infection. A pet with healthy teeth and gums will not have an unpleasant odor from the mouth.
——————————————————————————–
IS GENERAL ANESTHESIA NECESSARY TO CLEAN TEETH?
Yes. It is impossible to use the mechanical and sharp instruments in the mouth without the patient being completely still. The slightest movement can cause harm. In addition, scaling below the gum line is a very important part of the procedure. 60% of the tooth is located below the gum line. This is where gum disease starts and where it causes the most damage. Failure to remove these bacteria and deposits under the gum line eliminates any medical benefit from the procedure.
Owners of pets naturally are concerned when anesthesia is required for their pet.
However, performing dental treatment on an unanesthetized pet is inappropriate for the following reasons:
1. Dental tartar is firmly adhered to the surface of the teeth. Scaling to remove tartar is accomplished using ultrasonic power scalers, plus hand instruments that must have a sharp working edge to be used effectively. Even slight head movement by the patient could result in injury to the oral tissues of the patient, and the operator may be bitten when the patient reacts.
2. Professional dental scaling includes scaling the surfaces of the teeth both above and below the gingival margin (gum line), followed by dental polishing. The most critical part of a dental scaling procedure is scaling the tooth surfaces that are within the gingival pocket (under the gum line), where periodontal disease is active. Because the patient cooperates, dental scaling of human teeth performed by a professional trained in the procedures can be completed successfully without anesthesia. However, access to the area under the gum line of every tooth is impossible in an awake canine or feline patient. Removal of dental tartar on the visible surfaces of the teeth has little effect on a pet’s health, and provides a false sense of accomplishment. The effect is purely cosmetic.
3. Inhalation anesthesia using a cuffed endotracheal tube (the breathing tube placed in the pet’s airway) provides three important advantages: Reduced stress in the pet during a procedure he does not understand, elimination of pain resulting from examination and treatment of affected dental tissues during the procedure, and protection of the airway and lungs from accidental inhalation of the fluid and debris produced during the treatment.
4. A complete oral examination, which is an important part of a professional dental scaling procedure, is not possible in an awake patient. The surfaces of the teeth facing the tongue cannot be examined, and areas of disease and discomfort are likely to be missed.
Veterinarians are trained in all of these procedures. Although anesthesia will never be 100% risk-free, modern anesthetic and patient evaluation techniques used in many veterinary hospitals minimize the risks, and thousands of dental treatment procedures are safely performed each year in veterinary hospitals.
——————————————————————————–
I AM CONCERNED ABOUT GENERAL ANESTHESIA ON MY PET. WHAT CAN BE DONE TO ASSURE MY PET’S SAFETY?
Safety starts out with blood testing. Evaluating the internal organs and blood cells in this manner improves safety by detecting underlying disease. Gas anesthesia such as Isoflurane has tremendously improved safety. In addition, we place an intravenous catheter on every anesthetized pet. This allows us to supplement your pet with warmed electrolyte solution during the procedure for stable blood pressure and speedier recovery. Monitoring of blood pressure, blood oxygen level, ECG and body temperature all increase safety and are routinely done at our hospital. A trained technician will stay with your pet during the entire procedure and throughout the recovery process.
——————————————————————————–
WILL MY PET SUFFER IF I DON’T TAKE CARE OF HIS TEETH AND GUMS?
Yes. Just as in humans, gum disease can cause our pets significant pain and serious dental problems later in life, as well as possibly lead to more serious illnesses, such as heart and kidney disease.
Most pets with painful dental conditions do not show clinical signs that are obvious to the owner, but this does not mean that they are not feeling pain. They cannot tell you about the pain and don’t know that someone can make the pain go away. In the wild, animals tend to hide signs of illness or pain to ensure survival- dogs and cats possess this instinct.
Many painful dental conditions develop gradually, and are more common in middle-aged and older pets. As a result, behavior that the owner interprets as “getting older” may be the result of dental pain. Owners often observe that their pet acts “years younger” following dental treatment.
——————————————————————————–
WHY DOES IT COST SO MUCH TO HAVE MY PET’S TEETH AND GUMS TREATED?
The cost depends on the stage of dental disease that your pet has. Patients with tartar buildup only require preventative dental cleaning (prophylaxis) while patients with periodontitis (gum disease) require periodontal therapy and sometimes tooth extraction. Fees for these two procedures alone vary. X-Rays of the teeth are needed because this is the only way to address the 60% of the teeth that is located below the gums.
In addition, ancillary treatment to assure the safety of your pet is necessary. This includes general anesthesia and safety monitoring, blood screening, IV fluids, and pain medication.
Keep in mind that not every animal hospital treats gum disease as the medical condition that it is. Many will clean your pet’s teeth for a fairly low fee. Unless, however, the health of the entire mouth and gums is addressed and treated, the procedure will strictly be a temporary cosmetic benefit and will have done nothing to improve your pet’s health and eliminate pain.
——————————————————————————–
WHY ARE X-RAYS IMPORTANT WHEN TREATING MY PET’S TEETH?
Dental radiographs (x-rays) are one of the most important diagnostic tools available to a veterinary dentist. They allow the internal anatomy of the teeth, the roots and the bone that surrounds the roots to be examined. 60% of the pet’s tooth is invisibleas it is located below the gum line, yet it is exactly there where most of the problems occur. Unless the tooth roots and surrounding bone are examined via x-ray, significant and often painful problems are often overlooked, such as fractured teeth, tooth root abscesses, tooth resorption (very common in cats), and bone loss requiring extraction.
——————————————————————————–
WHAT CAN I DO FOR MY PET’S TEETH AT HOME TO MINIMIZE HOW MUCH PROFESSIONAL TREATMENT HE WILL NEED?
To minimize the need for professional dental scaling procedures and to maintain optimal oral health, we recommend daily dental home care from an early age in dogs and cats. This should include brushing or use of other effective techniques to slow accumulation of dental plaque, such as dental diets and chew materials. This, combined with periodic examination of the patient by a veterinarian and with dental scaling under anesthesia when indicated, will optimize life-long oral health for dogs and cats. For information on effective oral hygiene products for dogs and cats, visit the Veterinary Oral Health Council web site (www.VOHC.org)
