Just like people, pets need their teeth and gums regularly examined and cleaned. While pet owners remember to take their pets to wellness exams, unfortunately pet dental care often falls by the wayside. Regularly checking your pets’ teeth and gums is a great way to help guarantee optimal overall health. Below, let's examine pet dental care in more depth to understand just how important it is to the health of your pet.
Why Is Dental Care Important?
Pets use their teeth for everything. Pets use their teeth to both communicate and eat, so it is vitally important that pets have healthy, clean teeth. Often, the first signs and symptoms of many dangerous diseases first appear in the mouth. Kidney and heart disease can be caught early if the warning signs are discovered early through regular teeth and gum cleanings. Open wounds and broken teeth are also a perfect site to attract dangerous bacteria. Handling these problems before they become larger issues is the best way to keep your pet healthy.
What Can Dental Care Treat?
A dental care appointment can help treat broken or diseased teeth. If a tooth is broken, not only is it painful to your pet, but it is a perfect site to invite dangerous bacteria into your pets’ body and blood stream. Diseased teeth can quickly spread to otherwise healthy teeth if not properly treated. Further, a pet dental exam can help clean in and around the gums. Just like people, pets are susceptible to gingivitis, a degenerative gum disease. With proper cleanings though, your pet can reverse the impact of this disease.
What Should I Expect at the Cleaning?
Your pet will have to undergo light anesthesia for the health and safety of both your pet and the veterinarian during the cleaning. While cleaning, the vet will be able to fully clean and treat any signs of infection or broken teeth. Following the exam, your veterinarian may prescribe an antibiotic to help treat any possible infection. Further, your pet may have a restricted diet following the cleaning if there was extensive repair work completed. In between cleanings, your veterinarian may offer suggestions for supplementary cleaning tools, such as various textured chews and toys. These can help massage the gums and break up food debris, keeping your pet's teeth healthy even in between dental appointments.
We are passionate about dental care at North Heights Veterinary Clinic. Our team of knowledgeable and caring veterinary professionals is happy to help keep your pets’ teeth and gums healthy, to promote a lifetime of overall health. To learn more about how we can help clean your pet's teeth, or to schedule an appointment, call us today at (920) 739-7816.
