Dental Health Care

We feel that dentistry is very important to overall health, so instead of offering a dental month special, we try to focus on dentistry every month of the year. We know some of our clients are used to having dental specials once or twice a year, but because we believe so strongly in ensuring your pet is healthy in every aspect possible, we switched things up a bit. If you are worried about your pet’s dental health, schedule a free dental consultation with one of our veterinarians. During that consult, the veterinarian will examine the mouth, and determine if your pet is in need of dental care. Should the veterinarian determine that any care is needed, we will offer $40 off a dental cleaning if it is scheduled within 30 days of the recommendation.

Is your pet a returning dental patient of ours? To help promote continued dental health with our established patients, book a dental cleaning within 15 months of the last one, and you will receive the same $40 coupon towards the procedure.

Call us today at 918-481-1693 to schedule your FREE dental consults with one of our wonderful veterinarians!

Dental Procedures

Dental care is vital to the overall health of any animal. Dental disease leads to health issues with the heart, liver, and kidneys and can affect the entire body through the bloodstream. In fact, 85% of dogs and 70% of cats over the age of three years suffer from some form of dental disease, making it the most common pet health issue among our pet population.

The most effective way to protect your pet from dental disease is through professional cleanings. We perform thorough cleanings, including the area beneath the gums that you can’t see or access at home.

If your pet has brown/yellow teeth, bad breath, or is having difficulty eating, these could all be signs of dental disease. Please call us at (918) 481-1693 today to learn more and schedule your pet’s dental cleaning.

Here is how we perform our dental procedures: By performing pre-anesthetic bloodwork and a comprehensive exam, we ensure that your pet is healthy enough to undergo anesthesia. On the day of the dental procedure, we give a premedication for pain and to help the patient relax. Once that has taken effect we place an IV catheter and then induce anesthesia followed by placing an endotracheal tube to help maintain an open airway. We administer a gas anesthetic to maintain a proper depth of anesthesia along with continued oxygen. The pet is then placed on a monitoring system where they are monitored for blood pressure, heart rate, respiratory rate, ECG, pulse oximetry, end-tidal CO2, temperature, and a warming blanket placed over them to keep them warm. We also run IV fluids during the procedure to help maintain circulation and blood pressure while under anesthesia. A Registered Veterinary Technician then performs full mouth digital dental radiographs on the patient, then the doctor will look over the radiographs while the technician uses an ultrasonic scaler to scale away the tartar and calculus from the teeth. After the cleaning is done, the doctor performs a physical exam on the mouth and decides if any extractions are needed. With the radiographs on hand and the physical exam performed, the doctor will contact the owner if extractions are needed. If no extractions are needed, or once extractions have been performed, the technician will come back and polish the teeth and apply a fluoride treatment. Once finished, the patient is gently woken up from anesthesia and provided a soft comfortable bed and a recovery buddy (a stuffed animal) to recover with. While recovering, a technician is sitting with the patient until they are up and looking around. We take every precaution possible to make sure your pet is safe and does well under anesthesia.

Here are some before and after pictures of dental cleanings performed here at Chimney Hills Animal Hospital

While the above teeth may look healthy once they are cleaned, it is impossible to see what is underneath the gum line. This is why we take digital radiographs on every patient we do dental cleanings on. Normal teeth above the gum line may be diseased below the gum line.

This radiograph shows normal healthy teeth. You can see that there is adequate spacing between teeth, there is adequate bone surrounding all teeth, and there are no fractures or abscessed around any of these teeth.

This radiograph shows bone loss. Inside the red circle, you can see the line that dips down in almost a U shape. This is where the bone has started to recede away from the crown of the tooth.

This radiograph shows a retained deciduous (baby) tooth. While these teeth usually fall out by the age of 6 months, it is common in smaller breeds to see retained deciduous teeth. If these teeth are not causing problems (infection, excess tartar/calculus accumulation, impaction of other teeth) they can be left alone, otherwise, they are usually extracted when the pet is spayed or neutered, or at a dental cleaning.

This radiograph shows an abscess on the root of a tooth. You can see what looks like a dark circle around the apex (the top) of the root tip. These teeth can be painful and are usually mobile. These teeth are extracted and the area is cleaned and flushed well to remove all the infection.

This radiograph shows a tooth that has been fractured across the crown. This can happen because of trauma or the weakening of the enamel. In these cases, the crown is usually removed and the roots are extracted.

This radiograph shows a resorptive lesion in a dog. These lesions are caused by the body attacking the enamel of the tooth. While these lesions are more common in cats, they are not uncommon in dogs. These teeth are very painful and may cause your pet to stop eating. Once the tooth is extracted, the pet will go back to eating within a few days as the source of the pain has been removed.

This radiograph shows several resorptive lesions in a cat. The moth-eaten appearance of the teeth is a classic radiographic presentation of resorptive lesions. Again these can be very painful for the animal and may cause them to stop eating, or to chew on one side of their mouth only. If you notice this happening, please schedule an appointment to get your pet in for a dental exam.

Concerned your pet may be experiencing some dental issues? Call us today at 918-481-1693 and we can schedule your pet’s FREE dental exam and give you recommendations from that exam.