How often do you open your cat or dog’s mouth, and take a good long look? Chances are, it doesn’t happen often. It’s easy to forget the importance of dental health for our pets when it’s not something we can see on a daily basis. The truth is that oral wellness is integral to our pet’s health as well has quality of life. Dental problems can lead to pain, infection, and weight loss. Unfortunately, our pets can’t tell us if they have a toothache. It’s up to us to take active measures to ensure their teeth and gums are in good shape.
Veterinary dental health has evolved rapidly in recent years, and we are proud to support the safest and most innovative technologies in our clinic. Good dental care requires an entire suite of tools and training to help us monitor and treat your pet’s dental health with increasing sophistication. In addition to cleaning and x-rays, dental treatment involves general anesthesia so we measure blood pressure, oxygen levels, and body temperature. This year we are making new additions to our state-of-the-art dental facilities! This includes a new digital dental set-up; a new x-ray machine, monitoring equipment, and a new cleaning unit. Each component is designed for greater levels of specificity and attention to problem areas.
The new x-ray machine excites us because it delivers less radiation, and runs on a DC converter; this means a consistent focused beam with higher resolution, enabling more specialized diagnosis. For cleaning, we use an ultra-sonic cleaner – the gold standard – that cleans through vibration. Our “Bair Hugger” circulates warm air around the pet to offset any drops in body temperature caused by anesthetics.
Technological advances allow us to electronically track below the gum line, the tooth surface and pockets. There are also new products allowing us to treat dental diseases that sound almost like science fiction –bioproducts enabling us to get under the gum and help re-grow bone, and nerve blocks which mean less anesthesia for your pet.
Dental health is more than cleaning. It is about actively monitoring your pet’s dental condition. Veterinary dentistry has evolved to conduct treatment safely and effectively, and we can do a lot now that was previously not possible.
To help support your pet’s dental health, we are offering $50 off dental cleanings for the month of Feburary! To learn more about our facilities and take a virtual tour, please visit our website.