Website Radio Talk Article
February 2010
National Pet Dental Health Care Month

Every Wednesday morning at 8:40 am, Dr. O’Quinn speaks with Monty Jett on The Coast 107.9. We briefly discuss many medical topics that could affect your dog or cat. On our website each month, Dr. O’Quinn will give more detailed information for our listeners who may want to know more than just a snippet! February is National Pet Dental Health Care Month, so we will use this time to discuss dental care for your dog and cat. We will cover the signs of dental disease, how to take care of your pet’s oral hygiene at home, when and how we perform professional dental cleanings, and more advanced procedures such as extractions.

Dental disease in our pets is not always as obvious as you would think. Some staining and yellowing of the teeth is normal with age and not a cause for concern. The most common manifestation of significant dental disease is tartar, a hard brown thick product that accumulates mostly on the base of the larger front canine teeth and the wide back molars. You have to really retract your pet’s lips back to visualize the back molars. Other signs of dental disease are odor, red or receded gingiva (gums), and even discharge from the gingiva at the base of the tooth. Dental disease can even cause sinus infections leading to swelling or discharge on the face or muzzle or bloody or mucoid (snotty) discharge from the nose. Rarely you may even note mouth pain, but our domestic pets are actually quite stoic and do not generally make their discomfort obvious.

There are many things you can do at home to stave off dental disease for a while and postpone the inevitable dental cleaning. We have enzyme coated chews that chemically as well as physically break down tartar. There are prescription diets that are specially formulated with “spiculated” kibbles that pull off tartar while the pet is chewing. There are rinses and drinking water additives that help control bacteria in the mouth. The best at home treatment is daily brushing with pet-friendly toothpaste and brushes. But none of these things will remove heavily accumulated tartar. For this, you need a professional cleaning.

A professional dental cleaning is performed much the same way on pets as on people. The difference is that our pets do not hold still without anesthesia. Therefore, we have to check blood work first to assess risk level with anesthesia. If this is normal, we start the patient on an antibiotic to prevent the spread of bacteria from the teeth through the blood stream. We then place an intravenous catheter, put the pet on fluids to keep up the blood pressure and circulation, and then anesthetize the patient. This is accomplished with an injection to make them “sleep,” followed by gas administered via a tube in the trachea to keep them “asleep.” The tube ensures that the patient does not inhale the fluids from the mouth during the procedure. We then scale and polish the teeth in much the same way that the dentist does yours. After a quick fluoride treatment, barring complications, we are done!

Some pets need more advanced care. If we find deep pockets between the gum and tooth, fractures or deep cavities in the teeth, or obvious infection around the roots, we may need to take a radiograph. This allows us to determine if the disease goes all the way to the tip of the root. If so, the tooth will require extraction. This is a major procedure with the larger teeth in the mouth. The tooth may have 1, 2, or 3 roots, depending on where it is. We may use a local anesthetic (a nerve block) like your dentist uses. We may have to break the tooth into two or three sections. Flushing and suturing will be required. Obviously these patients may require a little extra pain medication when they get home. If the root is healthy, we may infuse an antibiotic gel between the gum and tooth to help encourage the gum tissue to return to its healthy position. More advanced procedures, such as cavity filling and root canals, are available at specialty institutions.

In short, dental care is extremely important and can be as simple as brushing or as advanced as radiographs and extractions. But healthy teeth are a necessary part of having a healthy pet! Feel free to call one of our doctors or schedule an appointment if you have concerns about your pets’ teeth.