Advanced Dentistry in Dartmouth for New Bedford Pet Owners
Some veterinary clinics provide just basic dentistry to their patients, offering cleanings through a sub-contractor or a visual veterinary dental exam as part of their regular check-up. Anchor Animal Hospital takes dental care for pets seriously, providing New Bedford pet owners with all of the services and opportunities required to deliver truly advanced dentistry in Dartmouth. Dental disease is one of the most common diseases affecting pets today by the time that they are just three years old. Approximately 70-80 percent of all cats and dogs have some degree of dental disease by this age, which can lead to serious health problems.
At-Home Cleaning
Good dental care for pets starts at home. Brushing your dog or cat’s teeth on a weekly basis may not seem like a fun weekend activity, but it can help to slow down the development of plaque. Unfortunately, there are many pets who won’t allow New Bedford pet owners to brush their teeth, even with special flavored toothpaste and treats as encouragement. However, this is a very essential part of good pet health. Advanced dentistry in Dartmouth can provide your pet with a regular veterinary dental exam, cleanings, tooth extractions, and other services that you would expect to get at your own dental office.
Without brushing and treatment, dental disease can lead to bad breath, a painful mouth, difficulty eating, and can even cause complications for other conditions, such as heart disease or kidney disease. Your local vet can help provide you with tips for better at-home teeth brushing in addition to giving your pet a veterinary dental exam. When you come for your regular check-up, you might notice that the vet will usually open your pet’s mouth, run their fingers along the teeth and gums, and take a good look. They usually do this as they do other physical checks to get an overall picture of your pet’s health. The condition of your pet’s teeth and gums says a lot about their health, which is why dental care for pets is so important.
Veterinary Dental Cleanings
If your veterinarian recommends that you get a routine dental cleaning for your pet, it is important to know what to expect. A routine cleaning will require your pet to be put under anesthesia to allow a proper cleaning, polishing, treatment, and evaluation. At Anchor Animal Hospital, our team continuously monitors your pet under anesthesia using a cutting edge multi-parameter machine, which tracks heart and respiratory rates, end-tidal CO2, oxygen saturation, blood pressure, and temperature. Our staff also closely watches your pet throughout the procedure to ensure a successful experience. Speak with our team about anesthetic requirements for senior pets.
When your pet comes in for a dental cleaning, we probe and chart each individual tooth for any issues, including tartar, gingivitis, and mobility. This is much like a visit to a human dentist. We strongly recommend that a full mouth digital x-ray is performed during each dental procedure to determine the health of the teeth at the sub-gingival level. Approximately 70 percent of the tooth exists below the gum line, so it is essential to examine this area with x-rays to quickly spot a diseased tooth. Your pet’s teeth might look healthy on the surface, but could be completely diseased or decaying underneath. If our advanced dentistry in Dartmouth can catch it early, the tooth might be saved.
Other Dental Treatment Options
Always striving to provide the best possible care for New Bedford pet owners and their pets, Anchor Animal Hospital also offers other treatment options to help your pet have a healthy mouth. Our trained staff members can perform laser therapy treatments after the veterinary dental exam and cleaning to help reduce inflammation caused by gingivitis or reduce pain after extractions. This can help to increase the healing process. Some pets can benefit from monthly maintenance treatments with laser therapy to reverse painful gingivitis and slow down the formation of tartar.
Oral surgery can also be provided to remove teeth that are broken, infected, or in other types of bad condition. Our state-of-the-art digital dental x-ray unit can produce high-quality images in less than five seconds, helping our veterinary doctors to provide the best dental care for pets without delay. They can help us spot out abscessed tooth roots and resolve difficult cases with the least amount of time under anesthesia for your pet. We can recommend a tartar control diet, pet toothpaste, dental rinses, and dental chews, based on your pet’s needs, to create a dental home plan to keep your pet’s teeth healthy and strong.
Schedule a Veterinary Dental Exam
If you are interested in scheduling a veterinary dental exam to provide better dental care for pets, give us a call at 508-996-3731. Whether your pet needs advanced dentistry in Dartmouth or just a routine cleaning, New Bedford pet owners can trust Anchor Animal Hospital to provide the very best in veterinary dental care.