Dentistry

Dental disease can not only cause BAD BREATH but can also be extremely PAINFUL. 80% of dogs and 70% of cats have some form of dental disease by the time they are 3 years of age. In extreme cases dental disease can lead to Kidney Disease, Liver Disease & Heart Disease! Put simply, untreated dental disease can reduce your pet’s life expectancy dramatically!

The most common cause of dental disease is inadequate chewing although bad oral hygiene, your pets breed and some underlying systemic disease processes can influence oral health.

There are a number of things that you can do as a pet owner to maximise your pets oral health. Most importantly feeding a good quality dog or cat food forms the basis any dental program.

Like us our pets teeth need cleaning to remove plaque and bacteria. While the gold standard for achieving this involves brushing your pet’s teeth (animal tooth paste should only be used – human tooth paste should never be used as it is not designed to be swallowed) many pet owners find this difficult to do and time consuming.

Adequate chewing can help to reduce plaque and bacteria. The use of certain types of bones, chew toys, proven dental treats & diets as well as Veterinary Dental Association approved Dental water additives (aka doggy mouth wash) can all help to reduce dental disease.

Unfortunately the pet industry does not have same degree of consumer protection that we see associated with the human dental industry and for this reason it is important to carefully select dental products for your pet.

While our focus at The Causeway Veterinary Clinic is to prevent dental disease we also treat dental problems should they arise and for this reason we offer free dental checks all year round as we understand dental issues don’t just happen during “pet dental month”. Our extremely experienced vets and nurses are also always, available to discuss the best options for you and your pet to be used at home to maintain good oral health.

Unfortunately, dental disease is not just limited to the mouth. Tartar and dental calculus can be a source of bacteria that can seed off into the bloodstream. These bacteria can then spread to other areas of the body including the heart (valves), liver and kidneys causing damage to these organs. Therefore, any degree of dental disease has the capacity to cause problems for our pets and therefore should be treated promptly.

Dental Cleaning & Extractions

All patients require a general anaesthetic to have their teeth cleaned and/or extracted. It is impossible to complete these procedures safely without an anaesthetic. All patients are pre medicated prior to their procedure. This includes pre-emptive pain relief. All dental patients are intubated with an endotracheal tube to ensure that there is no risk of aspiration during the dental procedure.

At The Causeway Veterinary Clinic to ensure that your pet has the best access to oral care possible we have the same dental equipment that your dentist uses. We use an ultrasonic dental scaler to remove dental plaque, tartar, and hardened calculus that builds up over time. Your pet’s teeth are assessed for signs of root decay and dental infections. Extractions are performed if the teeth are severely diseased, broken or damaged. The healthy teeth are thoroughly cleaned above and below the gum line to maximise dental health.

On completion of the cleaning process, all remaining teeth are polished to remove any remaining calculus and bacteria.

If there is evidence of infection and extractions are required antibiotics and pain relief will be administered on recovery. In addition antibiotics and a short course of NSAIDS will be prescribed. This dramatically speeds up the healing process and improves comfort levels when your pet goes home.

At The Causeway Veterinary Clinic we are committed to ongoing dental care, and for that reason, after every dental procedure we monitor your pet’s dental health. At the time of discharge we organise a free dental review approximately 3-5 days after the procedure to ensure your pets mouth is healing appropriately and to design an at home dental plan that suits you and your pet.