|
||
Just as in humans, good oral hygiene is important to your pet's overall health. Tartar and plaque build up on your pet's teeth and cause both minor and serious health related issues. Typical indicators of your pet's dental health include bad breath, gum recession, cavities, and loose or damaged teeth. Most dental procedures will require some sort of pre-surgical blood work. It is always a good idea to do blood work before your pet under goes anesthesia, especially if your pet is considered a senior. Blood work will generally consist of a CBC and a chemistry profile. A CBC would check for anemia and infection. The chemistry profile checks organ function, mainly kidneys and liver and it also checks blood sugar. It's always good to know as much about the health of your pet before they under go anesthesia. Once under anesthesia, an oral exam will be conducted. This will allow the doctor to examine any loose, broken, or missing teeth along with any oral tumors or lesions. The gums around the teeth are probed and any pockets are noted. The next step is to scale and polish much like what happens at a human dentist. At this point usually a veterinary technician takes over and scales all the tartar and plaque from the teeth and then polishes the teeth. Once the veterinary technician has completed the cleaning the doctor extracts any teeth that are loose. In some cases broken teeth will need to be extracted or a root canal will be recommended. If your pet needs extractions, the doctor may prescribe pain medications, and antibiotics if your pet had infected gums and/or extractions. |
 |
|
|
