What is involved?

A routine dental cleaning for your pet involves several key steps to ensure their oral health:

1. Pre-Anesthetic Blood Tests: Before the procedure, we perform blood tests to ensure your pet's liver and kidney functions are adequate for anesthesia.

2. Antibiotic Treatment: If your pet has immune system concerns or other health conditions, we may start antibiotic treatment before the dental cleaning.

3. Examination: Once your pet is under anesthesia, our veterinarian conducts a thorough oral examination, checking the alignment of the teeth and the extent of tartar buildup above and below the gumline. We also take intraoral X-rays to assess the health of tooth roots and surrounding bone.

4. Scaling: Using both hand scalers and ultrasonic cleaning tools, we remove all tartar and plaque from the teeth surfaces, including below the gumline.

5. Polishing: After scaling, we polish the teeth to eliminate microscopic scratches, making it harder for plaque to stick to the tooth enamel.

6. Special Applications: Depending on your pet's needs, we may apply fluoride, antibiotic preparations, or other cleaning compounds to reduce tooth sensitivity, strengthen enamel, treat bacterial infections, and prevent future plaque buildup.

7. Advanced Procedures: In cases of severe periodontal disease, extraction may be necessary. However, advanced treatments like guided tissue regeneration (GTR) or guided bone regeneration (GBR) might be alternatives, performed by a board-certified veterinary dentist.

It's important to note that a full general anesthetic is required for dentistry to ensure a thorough and effective cleaning. While some tartar can be removed from an awake pet, this is merely cosmetic and does not address underlying dental diseases.