“Pets Need Dental Care Too” is a theme that has gained momentum over the past two decades as we’ve recognized that our furry family members need the same kind of attention to their dental health we do to ours.
Benefits of Oral Health
Besides improving their breath, caring for pets’ oral health is an important part of maintaining their overall health and quality of life. Poor oral health can affect a pet’s entire body, including their ability to eat, as well as their immune system and internal organs.
Abscessed or broken teeth and severe gingivitis hurt, yet many pets hide their pain. Pet owners often don’t recognize the changes they are seeing in their pet’s behavior, thinking the pet is “just getting old” when in fact the pet is dealing with constant pain. Some pets completely mask their pain.
Chronic inflammation in the mouth can also lead to oral cancer, a very serious, life-threatening situation that may be treatable if detected early.
Non-Anesthetic Teeth Cleaning
Besides traditional dental care services and digital dental x-ray, Atlantic Veterinary Hospital is one of the handful of veterinary hospitals in Seattle offering the very popular non-anesthetic teeth cleaning (dental prophylaxis) for carefully screened pets with early dental disease.
Pets with mild tartar and gingivitis may be good candidates for the procedure, which is done with an awake pet lying across the lap of the veterinary dental hygienist. The hygienist carefully charts each tooth; cleans the teeth and under the gums; then polishes the teeth – just like the procedure we have done at our dentist’s office.
If any problems are found, they are brought to the attention of one of our supervising doctors, who develops an alternate treatment plan.
