206.323.4433 2115 - 23rd Ave. S, Seattle, WA 98144

Dental Checkups and X-Rays: An Important Routine to Keep Your Pet’s Teeth Healthy

Dental check-ups and routine dental X-rays are necessary for a healthy mouth and to ensure your pet’s teeth are picture-perfect for a lifetime.

During physical exams, we take a look in your pet’s mouth. However, a visual examination of your pet’s mouth doesn’t tell us everything we need to know.

Tartar on a dog's tooth | Atlantic Veterinary Hospital, Seattle

More than half of each tooth resides under the gumline, where the human eye can’t see.

What we do see is the exterior of the tooth crowns, but we can’t see the tooth roots, dental ligaments, or jaw bone. This is why full-mouth dental X-rays are such an important part of your pet’s dental care and a service we perform with every anesthetic dental procedure.

While it may be tempting due to cost to skip dental X-rays, in order to provide thorough care, we consider them a necessary step in evaluating your pet’s dental health and developing a dental treatment plan.

Advantages of Dental X-rays

Dental X-Ray of a dog's mouth | AtlanticVetSeattle.comDental X-rays, also known as radiographs, can detect oral health problems at their earliest stages, such as gum disease, bone loss, oral infections, and some types of tumors. After examining your pet’s mouth under anesthesia and reviewing the X-rays, we can accurately diagnose and treat dental problems.

Because dental X-ray machines are designed to minimize radiation, these processes are safe and your pet’s exposure is negligible. In fact, we use the very latest digital X-rays, which further reduce radiation exposure and significantly improve the quality of the picture for the veterinarian to review.

Wellness Plans Make Routine Dental Healthcare Affordable

Atlantic Veterinary Hospital’s Wellness Plans are a program we designed to save you money on important preventive healthcare services for your furry family members.

Each Wellness Plan provides all essential preventive healthcare services we recommend for one year, plus discounts on any additional care your pet may need. Some of our plans include additional services like a professional dental cleaning and full-mouth digital dental radiographs.

Wellness Plan costs have some built-in discounts and spread the cost of care over 12 months with zero interest, allowing you to budget for your pet’s care. If you’d like to learn more about our affordable wellness plans, give us a call at 206.323.4433.

One Response to “Dental Checkups and X-Rays: An Important Routine to Keep Your Pet’s Teeth Healthy”

  1. Reply Taylor Abrams

    It helped me when you said that your pet will receive very little radiation exposure thanks to the radiation-minimization features of X-ray machines. My dog has been advised by his vet to get checked by Digital X-Ray Machine because of the fractured he got when fell. I’m grateful for your advice about your article, this is truly helpful for pet owners like me!

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Atlantic Veterinary Hospital in Seattle serves the following neighborhoods: Mt. Baker, Columbia City, Beacon Hill, Rainier Valley, Seward Park, Capitol Hill, Leschi, Central District, Madison Valley, International District, and Georgetown.