Does your pet have bad breath? If the answer is yes, lift up the lips and look at your pet's teeth. There's a good chance your going to find your pet has some degree of dental disease. This problem is caused by the bacteria that lives in the mouth. The bacteria causes the buildup of dental tartar, infection of the gums and damage to the periodontal ligament (the critical structure that attaches the tooth to the jaw). Over time the infection causes damage to the tooth roots and tooth loss. Furthermore, the constant infection in your pet's mouth is a persistent stress to the immune system and may eventually lead to other serious medical problems.
The pictures in this blog show a patient with advanced dental disease before and after the extraction of several diseased teeth and cleaning of the remaining healthy teeth. You can only imagine how lousy we would feel with a dental infection such as this. We owe it to our pets to not let it get to this point. We also owe it to ourselves - this pet's dentistry cost over $500.00
The very best way to prevent dental disease is to brush your pet's teeth at least once everyday. Most pets (yes, even cats) readily accept brushing of their teeth if using an appropriate veterinary toothpaste and properly sized tooth brush. It only takes 1-2 minutes each day and can prevent so many problems. There are also dental sprays and dental chews to help prevent dental disease - but nothing is as effective as brushing.
Go ahead now, lift up your pet's lips and look at those teeth - especially those teeth in the back. If your pet's teeth look like the "before" dental cleaning picture, with tartar buildup or red sore looking gums and stinky breath, schedule an appointment to determine what level of therapy is needed to return your pet's mouth to good health. If your pet's teeth look beautiful, like the "after" dental cleaning picture, schedule an appointment to have us show you how to best care for your pet's teeth.
Preventative dental care is much better for your pet's overall health and a lot less expensive than treating dental disease.
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