Dental Health Month!

Yeah! February is National Pet Dental Health Month!  Teeth are one of my favorite things to talk about (second only to heartworms:).  I think the reason is that there is instant gratification there.  Your pet comes in to the clinic in the morning with some nasty looking choppers and they leave that afternoon with much cleaner and healthier teeth and fresher breath!  I have to admit that I don’t like waiting on medication to take effect and I get impatient for results, so teeth are my Mecca.  Now everyone knows that tartar buildup on your dog or cats teeth can cause some seriously bad breath.  But I bet you didn’t know that the caked on brown stuff on the teeth is actually a bacteria forest!   There are billions of bacteria on one tooth, and that bacteria can erode away at the enamel and the gum where it is touching and cause serious health problems.  Bacteria from the mouth can actually go into the bloodstream and then get stuck on the valves of the heart causing heart disease!  FYI:  that is why I always listen to a pet’s heart when they come in for a check up on their teeth.   Dental chews and hard food can help prevent buildup from occurring, but if tartar is already adhered to the surface of the tooth the only way to remove it is an ultrasonic scaler.  An ultrasonic scaler is used while the pet is under anesthesia to remove tartar on the surface of the tooth and under the gum line without damaging the enamel.  Once the tartar is removed dental chews can be uses to slow down the buildup of plaque and tartar in the future. 

More Information and Exciting Blogs to come! Check back soon!

~Dr. Andrea Schroeder DVM