Dental Care

Why should I brush my pet’s teeth?

Plaque is continually forming on your pet’s teeth. Plaque is an accumulation of bacteria that forms at the gum line. When plaque is not removed daily with tooth brushing, calculus then forms irritating the gums further and causing infection. This infection then spreads under the gum line causing destruction of the attachments that hold the teeth in place. In addition to creating loose teeth, infection under the gum line can spread to the kidney, liver and heart. Daily removal of plaque is the key to an effective oral hygiene program.

What will you do to clean my pets’ teeth?

There are four steps in the cleaning process that will be used on your pet:

1. Digital x-rays. The majority of dental disease, such as bone loss is due to periodontal disease, occurs below the gum line, making dental x-rays necessary. (insert x-rays).
2. Scaling removes tartar, the thick crust of bacteria, above and below the gum line. This is done with hand instruments and ultrasonic cleaning equipment. (insert pictures of dental tartar).
3. Probing and examination lets us know if your pet has gingival pockets (a sign of periodontal disease), missing teeth, broken teeth, other dental problems and also to check for masses in the mouth (insert pictures of gingivitis)
4. Polishing slows plaque and tartar formation by smoothing small scratches on the surface of the tooth that give bacteria an area to build-up.

A fluoride coating may be used in some cases to decrease teeth sensitivity, strengthens enamel, and decreases the rate of future plaque formation.

Why do my pet’s teeth need to be cleaned?

If plaque (a thin sticky coating of bacteria) and tartar (a thick crust of bacteria) are allowed to remain on the teeth, several things may happen, including:

• Tartar accumulates at the gum line causing infection of the gums—gingivitis
• Tartar will push the gums away from the root of the teeth allowing bacteria to infect the roots and bone that hold the teeth in place—periodontal disease. Once the infection enters the root socket, the tooth will fall out or needs to be removed.

Periodontal Disease

Periodontal disease is the most common disease that happens in dogs and cats!

Heavy tartar and infection will push the gums away from the root of the teeth allowing bacterial to infect the roots and bone that hold the teeth in place. Once the infection enters the root socket, the tooth will fall out or needs to be removed.

• Periodontal disease (severe dental infection) is the most common disease that happens in dogs and cats.
• Periodontal disease is the leading cause of tooth loss.
• Bad breath is the most common symptom noticed by owners.

What is gingivitis?

Plaque and tartar accumulate at the gum line leading to irritation of the gums, leading to bleeding and eventually pain.

Signs of periodontal disease include:

• nose discharge
• sneezing
• drooling

(insert picture of dental disease)

Unfortunately, bad breath and tooth loss are only the tip of the iceberg.

• Infection, starting in the mouth, may cause tonsillitis and pharyngitis (sore throat)
• Bacteremia occurs when the bacteria surrounding the tooth roots enter the blood stream. These bacteria may lead to infection or microscopic damage to the kidneys, heart muscle, and liver. Although antibiotics may temporarily suppress infection that spreads outside the mouth, if the tartar is not removed from the teeth, infection will return.

A laser system supplies highly focused and powerful beam of infrared light that can selectively interact with tissue.

Periodontal treatments

The most common periodontal treatments include:

• Sub gingival scaling (removing plaque and tartar below the gum line)
• Root planning (removing plaque and tartar attached to the roots of the teeth)
• Prescribing medicines like antibiotics and special mouthwashes
• Oral surgery for more severe dental disease

Endodontics

The most common endodontic treatment is the root canal—the removal of infected tissue and refilling of the nerve canal inside the tooth. This is done to avoid extraction (surgical removal) of dead teeth.

Reasons a tooth may die include:

• fractured (broken) tooth
• trauma to the tooth that causes death, but without fracture of the tooth
• jaw fractures that damages the blood supply to the tooth
• severely worn teeth

What is a vital pulpotomy?

This treatment can be important in deciduous (baby teeth), giving the tooth time to mature and gain strength until a standard root canal procedure can be done. This is like a root canal, but is done on teeth that are still alive (vital).

There are two main reasons a tooth may require a vital pulpotomy:

1. Crown reduction (changing the shape or size of a tooth if it is causing damage to another part of the mouth)
2. Fresh fractures of teeth

What is done during a root canal?

• Under anesthesia, the tooth is explored to determine whether damage extends into the pulp chamber and a dental x-ray is taken to determine that there is no dental disease that would interfere with the procedure.
• The patient receives a complete cleaning and the mouth is rinsed with an antimicrobial solution to reduce bacterial contamination.
• A local anesthetic injection is administered to decrease pain during and after anesthesia.
• Depending on the tooth involved and type of damage, access to the root canal is made to allow cleaning and filling the canal.
• Using special files, the diseased nerves and blood vessels are removed from the canal. The canal is cleaned with an antibacterial solution and dried with sterile paper.
• The root canal is filled to avoid the tooth becoming re-infected. (insert x-ray of root canal).
• A post-operative x-ray is taken to ensure proper fill of the canal.
• The access hole and fracture site are filled.

Recheck x-rays are recommended at 6 months and then every year or so. Many times recheck x-rays are combined with regular dental cleanings.

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