Oral Health
Good dental care is an imperative part of overall pet care. Whether it’s for a routine cleaning or for a fractured tooth, tooth root abscess, extraction, gum disease prevention or other, Pinellas Animal Hospital has both the equipment and expertise needed to ensure that your pet both achieves and maintains optimal dental health. We also recommend giving your pet dental chews in-between visits and requesting a teeth cleaning when you come in for your preventative care visits!
We understand that dental cleanings can be expensive, and we know that some of you may have seen offers from groomers or other providers that offer a non-anesthetic cleaning for “less cost and less risk.” Unfortunately, neither of these claims are true. Restraining an animal to allow someone to clean the visible surfaces of their teeth without sedation is very stressful for pets, as they do not understand what is happening to them!
All a non-anesthetic dental cleaning entails is scraping plaque off of the surface of the teeth and does not address the accumulation of tartar underneath the gumline. A professional dental cleaning is so much more – the dental technician is cleaning, evaluating, and sending your pet home with a healthy mouth, free from bacteria that can cause painful dental disease. A professional dental cleaning done by your veterinarian is the safest and most effective way to completely evaluate your pet’s dental health, treat any problems, and send them home healthy and happy.
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Have you ever really looked at your pet’s mouth? It can be surprising how much tartar can build up without you even noticing! The back teeth tend to gather more tartar than the front teeth. Pull up the lip of your pet and look at their back teeth, you may be surprised at the amount of tartar buildup!
Many people have concerns about their older pet’s health while undergoing anesthesia or have heard that it is unsafe for their older pets to be anesthetized. We understand your concerns and view anesthesia as a serious procedure, which is why we take every precaution to ensure your pet is safe to undergo anesthesia at any time. It is your pet’s overall health, not just their age, that determines the safety of the anesthesia.
Prior to your pet’s scheduled surgery we will perform a series of test to ensure that they will be able to handle being under anesthesia. If at any point while your pet is under anesthesia they begin acting abnormally the procedure will stop and we will begin the process of waking them up.
An Oral Health Procedure is an outpatient surgery. You will come in to the clinic between 7 and 8 a.m. the morning of your pet’s surgery to have them admitted and will get a call from a vet tech when your pet is woken up to set a time for you to pick them up after 4:30. Only with an extensive oral surgery the doctor may recommend an overnight stay.
Our pets are masters at hiding their pain , they will chew on the side that does not have infected teeth. When the veterinarian recommends extracting some teeth, it is because it is causing your pet pain and there is no other treatment option.
Reasons for Extraction:
• Loose teeth
• Pulp exposure
• Tooth root abscess
• Bone Loss
• Fractured Teeth
• Retained baby teeth
• Resportive lesions (cavities)
Keep in mind that an oral health procedure is a treatment for periodontal disease; a regular oral home care regimen is prevention. We have a number of different products that can help reduce the build up of plaque and tartar. Please ask your dental technician for more information or to click here to watch a demonstrate how to properly care for your pet’s teeth at home.
Having your pet’s teeth cleaned will also help protect their vital organs like their heart and kidneys!
The anesthesia allows us to perform a full mouth evaluation, including x-rays, that cleans under the gum line without causing your pet any pain or discomfort.