Understanding veterinary dental health is essential for ensuring your pet's well-being. You help maintain a pet’s oral health with home care—like regular brushing, water additives, appropriate diets, dental wipes, and more. This will bring you pet comfort and improved long-term health. More on this in HOME CARE TIPS & PODUCT ADVICE

Early detection of problems is key: This is done through a careful examination, probing, and radiographs during a sedated dental procedure. There is not other way!

Start care as soon as possible. Pet owners can gentle home care routines, such as daily brushing on the palatal side of those upper canines, and scheduling professional cleanings under anesthesia before problems develop. These cleanings are an art in and of themselves—meticulously removing plaque and calculus below the gumline, where disease begins, ensuring health.

A dental procedure isn’t just cleaning the visible parts of the teeth. It's an artful job of exploring, probing, and carefully cleaning beneath the gums—removing infected tissue and restoring health. Proper diagnosis, combined with gentle yet thorough debridement, can prevent the progression of disease and the need for more invasive procedures like extractions.

Dental disease is primarily a surgical problem. It's not something that can simply be treated with antibiotics or rinses. Bacterial biofilms, the thin, complex communities of bacteria protected by a slimy matrix, hide in calculus, plaque, or tooth roots. These structures do not have a blood supply, making systemic antibiotics ineffective at reaching the source. Even topically, these biofilms are remarkably resistant! They are often 1500 times more resistant than bacteria in isolation.

Different breeds and species are prone to specific problems. For instance, certain breeds, like Dachshunds and tiny dogs such as Basset Hounds, are particularly prone to developing oronasal fistulae—small openings between the mouth and nasal passages caused by deep periodontal pockets on the upper canine teeth. These conditions often go unnoticed by un-sedated examination, yet they can lead to chronic respiratory issues that resolve once treated.

A COHAT (Complete Oral Health & Treatment) procedure is especially important in young, at-risk small breed dogs. They often require more frequent care. Large breed dogs have less periodontal problems, but they are not immune, and they fracture teeth more commonly, sometimes under the gums where only radiographs can see.

The art of veterinary dentistry is balance of science and craftsmanship!

The FOUnDATIONS of Veterinary Dentistry