Dental Care

Dental care for your pets

Imagine what your mouth would feel like if you never brushed your teeth or went to the dentist.

For many dogs and cats, this is a painful reality. Dental disease is the most frequently diagnosed health problem in pets affecting 80% of cats and dogs over 3 years old!

We offer free Dental Quote Exams with one of our dental techs to generate an estimate for dental services.

Caring for animals and the people who love them.

What Happens During Our Dental Procedures?

1

Book In With Us

Please call us when you arrive on the morning of your pet’s dental procedure. We will let you know when to come into the clinic. We accommodate pets that may be nervous in clinic environments, so we prefer only having one pet in the lobby at a time. During your admission appointment, our technician will review the intake form that you filled out the night prior, answer your questions and do her best to ease any pet parent concerns!

Book your appointment using our online booking system. This is the easiest way to find our availability and book for surgeries.

​Our surgery days vary depending on the week.

When booking surgeries please select your admission appointment time carefully. This is your dedicated time with a technician on the morning of surgery to ask any questions and for us to take a history. So, ensure you leave extra time for traffic and other factors so you arrive on time. 

​You will be sent pre-surgical instructions and your admission appointment time the day before surgery via email and text.

Our pre-surgical instructions include:

  • No food after midnight the night before surgery, though water should be left accessible.
  • Filling out our pre-surgery form

2

Morning Of The Dental

Once you have said goodbye and departed the clinic your pet will get settled into their cozy kennel. If your pet is nervous, we will administer a calming medication. We want your pet to have the best experience with us, so just like with some humans at the dentist, having this medication before the procedure can ease anxiety.

​The pre-operative exam is then performed, during which we listen to their heart, take their temperature and assess their overall physical condition. An important part of our pre-operative process is blood work and urinalysis. Conducting these tests helps our doctors and vet techs pick the appropriate medication protocol to give your pet for sedation, anesthesia, and pain control. Knowing how your pet’s organs are functioning allows our team to tailor your pet’s medications to their specific needs, which helps decrease possible side effects of any medications given in the clinic.

Many pet parents don’t realize the importance of blood work, and that’s okay! We are here to guide you in the process and answer your questions. If a human is undergoing sedation or has a health concern blood work is one of the first things your doctor will conduct as part of your treatment plan. It can pick up on internal issues that cannot be seen or are still too subtle to notice on a physical exam. The same goes for your faithful friend.

3

During And After The Dental

During the dental procedure, we will take full mouth x-rays. These allow us to assess the overall health of their mouth because we can see what is happening below the gum line. Sometimes, dental disease can hide below the gums; this critical step ensures any unseen issues aren’t missed. X-rays frequently reveal infections between the roots of teeth and fractures that can’t be detected by a visual exam. If there are issues that are detected on the x-rays, the culprit tooth, or teeth, will be extracted. Once any needed extractions are completed, we will then use an ultrasonic scaler to remove any calculus and tartar that is on the surface of the teeth. Once these deposits have been removed, we polish the teeth to smooth their surfaces and ensure your pet has a brand-new smile.

After the dental is complete, your pet will be taken back to their cozy kennel. This is where we will keep them warm and comfortable while they wake up and recover from the procedure. Our team takes special care to check in on dental patients every few minutes during their recovery to make sure they are comfortable and recovering well. Once they are awake, we will notify you and schedule your discharge appointment.

We set discharge appointments between 2:30 pm and 4:30 pm on the day of the surgery. This is your time for a technician to go over the surgery and answer any questions you have. You can request a specific time slot on your surgical authorization form. Please ensure your availability to pick up your pet between these times (unless previously discussed before surgery day). Any pets not picked up before the clinic closes will be made comfy for the night, charged an overnight fee, and will be available for pick up at 9 am the following business day.

Understanding Your Quote

Dental Score of 1

Dental Score of 1

We are seeing mild tartar around the gum line and inflamed gums. We think your pet may just need a scale and polish with no extractions.

Dental Score of 1 - 2

Dental Score of 1 – 2

We are giving you a range between two of our packages. There is varying levels of tartar and the build up could be mild to severe with inflammation around the gums.

We are anticipating that your pet will possibly need 1-2 extractions.

Dental Score of 2 - 3

Dental Score of 2 – 3

A good cleaning is needed as there is a lot of build-up and inflammation. We anticipate that over four extractions are needed.

Dental Score of 4

Dental Score of 4

We are seeing severe build up. Usually a “Dental score of 4” indicates that a full mouth extraction (or close to full) is needed!

The Results

Before

Dental Score of 3 – 4

Dental score of 3-4.

It’s clear with that build up that a thorough cleaning is needed.

There is inflammation around the gum line and we are anticipating that over four extractions are needed upon presentation.

After

After Dental Care

Here is the result.

After viewing the x-rays we ended up extracting fourteen teeth and gave this little girl’s remaining twenty three teeth a good scale and polish.

Her owner reported that after her dental she started acting like a puppy again!

FAQ

How Can I Help Prevent Tartar?

Plaque forms in as little as six hours after your pet eats! If allowed to remain on the tooth’s surface, the plaque thickens and mineralizes resulting in tartar. Tartar is a rough material that attracts more plaque to “stick” to the tooth’s surface.

This means if you aren’t brushing your pet’s teeth every day a preventative dental will be necessary.

Pet food manufacturers have developed dental diets that can help reduce the formation of plaque and tartar on your pet’s teeth. These diets are an excellent tool to utilize in preventative dental care. Once tartar has formed, however, professional scaling and polishing under general anesthesia will be needed as it cannot easily or thoroughly be removed by diets and/or brushing.

What About Sedation-Free Dentals?

In recent years Anesthesia-Free Cleanings have grown in popularity as many owners can be nervous about their pets being under anesthesia. As pet owners we understand and sympathize with these concerns, but here are a few reasons why we recommend a full dental procedure:

  • A thorough oral examination cannot be performed until the animal is under anesthesia. Probing and measuring must be done below the gum line and between the teeth, and the entire oral cavity can be examined completely.
  • 80% of periodontal disease is below the gum line where you can’t see it. This part cannot be cleaned during a nonprofessional dental cleaning.
  • We conduct oral X-rays with every dental procedure so we can check the integrity of the teeth. Anesthesia is necessary for these.
  • During a nonprofessional dental cleaning, the animal is restrained while the tartar is removed. In some cases, this is stressful and painful.

Extraordinary Care For Your Fuzzy Family.