Pet Dental Health Month

For Pet Dental Health Month, we encourage you to check your pet’s oral health. This involves not only the tooth surfaces but also the gums/ gingiva. Gently lift up your pets lip/muzzle to get a better look. If your dog is shy or fearful around its mouth, leave it up to us to evaluate or you may be able to get an idea when they are panting. Healthy gums should be moist and pink in color. Many breeds that have black or grey fur may have similar color spots on their gums. In this issue A Message From Dr. Crowley Read the article. Pet Dental Month Read the article. In Memorium News Archives The teeth should be white to off white without chips or sharp edges. Tartar or plaque is the most common obvious problem with the teeth. This occurs when tiny food particles and bacteria calcify on the tooth. If advanced, it may make the tooth look bigger than it really is. It can also cause a red line to form along the gum line. A healthy tooth normally has its gingiva directly adhered to it. If there is plaque and inflammation, it can cause the gums to recede, exposing the root (OUCH!) Certain breeds are more prone to periodontal disease than others. Often it is due to their size and shape, also known as conformation. An example of this would be a pug with it "smushed in" face. The normally U shaped tooth arcade is now condensed resulting in over crowding of the teeth and misalignment. If indicated, we may recommend that your pet have a dental prophylaxis done. Routine dentistries must be done under anesthesia. Each pet is checked thoroughly to make sure that it is a good anesthetic candidate. This involves the physical exam and may also include lab work. The pet comes in for a day case and has the dental examination and treatment done that day. This involves a full examination under anesthesia. This allows us to evaluate each surface of the tooth and probe the gumline. Any extractions or xrays would be done. The remaining teeth are then cleaned and polished. Even with several extractions, most dogs and cats are able to eat dinner the same day! Pain medications are always given prior to the procedure to alleviate any discomfort. Signs your pet may need dental care Persistent bad breath Mouth sensitivity Pawing at the mouth Decreased appetite Difficulty chewing food Plaque Bleeding, inflamed or receded gums Tartar Loose/ missing teeth If you have any concerns about your pet’s oral health, please call our office to set up an appointment to go over your concerns. We can evaluate your pet’s oral health and come up with a plan for acute care as well as long term home dental care. Special Offer We will be offering free dental homecare products for every dentistry done in February and March 2003. New products are introduced on a regular basis to help keep our pet’s mouths healthier. These include chicken or malt flavored toothpaste and long acting gels for those that can’t brush that often. We also now stock Greenies, a great chewable treat for dogs. Greenies are a naturally made product that helps with plaque build up and freshens breath! They are available in all sizes! For dogs from two pounds to over one hundred. DID YOU KNOW? Cats have 30 permanent teeth. Dogs have 42 permanent teeth Dogs and cats are not born with any teeth. They start to develop baby teeth (decidous) when they are 3-4 weeks old. Most of those teeth have fallen out by 6 months of age and are replaced by adult teeth. Most puppies and kittens swallow the baby teeth! Be aware! Any chew should always be big enough so that it cannot be wedged on one side of the mouth. Some dogs can fracture (break) their molar teeth on chew toys such as pig hooves which are narrow enough to chew just on one side of the mouth. This can lead to an abscess of the molar requiring removal (extraction).