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Dental Care / Oral Health
Benefits of Dog and Cat Teeth Cleaning
Is pet dental care part of your routine? If not, consider starting today! Your animal’s teeth require regular care just the way people’s do. This includes regular brushing to maintain good oral health. And just like us, they also need routine dental evaluations with x-rays, scaling, probing, polishing and cleaning. At some point, most companion animals also need oral surgery.
In addition to daily teeth brushing, which we recommend for all pets, our hospital can provide professional cat and dog teeth cleaning services here at Urban Animal Veterinary Hospital. These cleanings allow our team to examine your pet’s teeth and gums more thoroughly and remove stubborn buildup. Regular teeth cleanings and daily at-home care are the surest ways to prevent dental disease and keep your companion healthy!
How We Perform Professional Pet Dental Care
At Urban Animal, we don’t just guess at what’s going on under the gum line. Before we clean your pet’s teeth, your pet will get a full mouth x-rays with their dental evaluation. This helps us check for underlying damage and fully evaluate your pet’s dental health, and chart our findings for future reference.
When we clean the teeth, we use an ultrasonic scaler to remove hardened material from the entire surface of each tooth, from root to crown. If necessary, we can also perform an extraction if a tooth is damaged beyond repair.
Additional Information
Below, you can learn more about our animal hospital’s pet teeth cleaning protocols, and how we keep your dog or cat safe during every dental procedure.
When?
We recommend that dogs and cats have their first teeth cleaning at around 2 years old, though this can vary from pet to pet. We also recommend annual teeth cleanings for the best protection against dental diseases.
Pre-surgical instructions
Surgical options
After Care
Pre-surgical instructions
- The evening before your pet’s dental surgery, do not allow them to eat or drink after 10pm
- Arrival between 6:30 am-8:00 am (M-F)
- Please allow at least a half hour to go over authorizations with a technician and whoever is dropping off should be authorized to make surgical decisions for your pet.
- Your pet must be current with these vaccines and blood tests:
- Rabies vaccine
- Distemper vaccine (dogs)
- Bordetella (dogs – within last 6 months)
- Fecal test (negative within last 12 months)
- Influenza vaccine (dogs)
- FVRCP (cats)
Surgical options
- I.V. Catheter (included)
- Complete Blood Count (CBC) – Allows our vets to check for underlying issues that may result in surgery complications
- Comprehensive Plus Panel (for pets 5 years and older, comes at an additional charge)
- ProBNP Test – Identifies any underlying heart issues that show no outward clinical signs, and which could affect your pet’s health while under anesthesia
- Electrocardiogram (ECG) – This procedure evaluates your pet’s heart function, and helps us determine whether your pet is fit for anesthesia
- Chest X-rays (highly recommended for pets 7 years old and up) – These X-rays can identify diseases of the heart and lungs
- Tooth Extractions
- Dental CT Scan
In case of an oral mass:
Surgical cautery, which helps to decrease bleeding
Biopsy – We’ll send a biopsy sample of the mass to a lab for evaluation and to identify what type of mass it is
Cerenia – An anti-nausea injection to relieve anesthetic-related nausea
Laser therapy – Helps with managing pain and inflammation, and aids in the healing process
Elizabethan collar – Prevents pets from irritating the incision site, which could cause infection
Microchip – If you want your pet microchipped, we can perform the procedure while they’re undergoing their dental
Post-Operative Pain Management
After Care
To help your pet readjust after their procedure:
- Please withhold all food and water until 8am the following day (after the dental procedure). This will help to prevent any issues as your pet fully recovers from the anesthesia
- Limit running, jumping, and/or climbing activity for the next 14 days
- Leash walk only for the next 14 days, including in your own backyard
- Our team will provide you with personalized care and medication instructions at check out!
If you have chosen an e-collar, please make sure they are wearing it for the full two weeks. If they are having trouble eating or drinking out of their bowls, it is OK to remove it and supervise closely during meal time.
Cat and dog teeth cleanings are fully anesthetized procedures. This ensures your pet’s safety and comfort, and allows our team to provide the most thorough and effective dental care possible.
In-between care is extremely important. This typically involves brushing your pet’s teeth daily with pet-only toothpaste (never use human toothpaste). Supervised dental chews or toys can also help to supplement your pet’s dental care.