Bright Smiles Mean Healthy Pets!
At Westside Veterinary Hospital, we practice a pets-as-family approach. When it comes to dentistry, there's no exception. Just as in people, your pet's oral health is directly tied to their internal health. If periodontitis is allowed to build up in your pet, their organs, especially their heart, liver, and kidneys, age at an accelerated pace! As such, dentistry is one of the core foundations for your pet to live a long, healthy life, so read on about how we can and do help your loved ones maintain the best dental health possible.
Prevention First
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No way to brush? No problem!
Dental DietsA staple in oral health! Every pet without another ailment should really be on this! Twice daily plaque control without all the work.
- Hills t/d - - Royal Canin Dental - - Purina DH (dental health) - |
Dental ChewsBetween the prescription strength of Oravet Chews preferred by our doctors to the multitude of Veterinary Oral Health Council (VOHC) approved chewables, let your pet's own drive to gnaw clean their teeth for you! There are always new options to consider on the VOHC website directly too if you have a picky pet.
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Dental TopicalsThis category has the most options, but also involves the most work... VOHC approved gels, sprays, and wipes require daily use but can be used to enhance your dog or cat's mouth, reduce gingivitis, AND freshen breath directly.
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Routine Dental Cleanings are still a MUST
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While we can easily get to a dentist every 6 months to have a cleaning and prevent most, if not all of our periodontal problems, most pets need a sedated cleaning and radiologic examination every 3 years at a minimum, with small/toy breed dogs having one every year or more!
Small breed dogs, as you'll see in the image slideshow are overrepresented in the breeds we see for having severely crowded mouths, less chewing/brushing routines, and eventually faster surgical extraction necessity to ease their oral pain and infection concerns. Did you know? Dogs have a total of 42 teeth! As opposed to humans with 32 and cats with only 30. For some breeds, this is simply FAR too many to fit in their tiny little mouths, where larger breeds can last a lot longer between dentals. |
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When all else fails -- Oral Surgery and Extractions Performed On Site
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This is one case example of what can occur in a dog's mouth unbeknownst to their pet parents! This poor old guy had a caries type lesion or "true" cavity that formed on both of his back lower molars and ate a HUGE chunk of bone and tooth away as seen on the X-rays.
At this stage only extraction is able to safely ensure he would no longer have any oral pain, and clean up the rest of the teeth in the process. We flush each socket after removal and stitch each extraction site to ensure there are no "dry socket" concerns which dissolve in a few short weeks! Our oral surgeons can do a vast majority of all dental extractions and cleaning services with the exception of root canal procedures. |
A special note on CATS -- Stomatitis
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Stomatitis is a seriously debilitating condition for many of our feline friends. Many factors can play into the creation of stomatitis but one sad fact remains... the only way to cure them is to either extract every single tooth, or if we're very lucky, every tooth but the canines! It may seem drastic, and we never take this decision lightly, but when you see the way their painful red and bleeding gums can finally come back to healthy pink tissue, it is SO rewarding. To the right is a typical case where we found severe disease on exam, and after a year of healing, the kitty was SO much happier, gained weight (in a good way), groomed herself better, and was all around a more pleasant cat with amazing healthy breath!
Things that predispose to stomatitis:
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