By Dr. Hannah Nel, EberVet Pet Clinic
Dental disease can happen to everyone, including your pets. If care isn’t taken, our and their pearly whites may cause troubles because of dental disease. That’s something no one wants. Where we’re able to use floss they must rely on their paws, and the scratching can cause their gums serious damage. That’s why we’re taking the time to explain to you why it’s important to prevent dental disease in our pets.
What is Dental Disease and Why is it Important?
Dental disease comes in various forms, some more noticeable than others. These can include gum disease, plaque buildup, broken teeth and even tooth decay. It is often a silent cause of pain that pets don’t show until it is extremely severe. Good oral hygiene and dental care is important, not only to your pet’s health, but also to their quality of life.
Remember the last time you had a piece of popcorn stuck in your teeth? It was terribly annoying and distracting – you would’ve tried everything to get it out. And now imagine having that feeling for years on end, worsening slowly over time. Chronic dental disease isn’t just about their teeth, it also puts stress on other parts of their bodies. The bacteria from the mouth can enter the bloodstream and cause systemic effects, such as heart disease.
How Do I Know if my Furry Friend has Dental Problems?
You can start by looking out for certain signs that may indicate there are problems. Noticeable problems in your pet’s mouth may include excessive drooling, bad breath, reluctance to chew hard food or poor grooming habits. The easiest way to know for sure would be to schedule your pet in for a dental checkup.
Check in with your veterinary team as many clinics offer free or discounted consultations to assess your pet’s oral health. Indicators of dental disease would include inflammation of the gums, plaque buildup, gum recession with exposure of the roots of teeth or broken/loose teeth.
My Pet has Dental Disease. What Now?
If significant dental disease is present, a dental scale and polish is most likely needed. Like humans, we use an ultrasonic scaler to clean off the plaque buildup and then polish the surface of the teeth for a clean and smooth finish. If teeth are damaged or loose under all that plaque, they will need to be extracted. Unlike in our human counterparts, a good dose of anaesthesia is needed; this is the best way to avoid being bitten by a stressed pet (can’t blame them).
Our Pet Does Not have any Issues Yet. How can we Prevent it From Happening?
Brushing your pet’s teeth is a good way to prevent plaque buildup and dental disease. Unfortunately, brushing their teeith will not be enough to remove severe plaque or reverse significant periodontal disease. It may even cause pain if there are already loose or damaged teeth.
Check in with your veterinarian if you are not sure if your pet needs a thorough cleaning. Start low and slow to get them used to the process. Please remember to use a pet-specific toothbrush and toothpaste – they will swallow the toothpaste, even if you ask them politely not to.
Offering dental chews and diets formulated to prevent dental plaque buildup can be useful. Some breeds and individuals may be more susceptible to dental issues, so even if you do everything right at home, they may still need dental cleanings regularly.
My Vet Said Fluffy Needs a Dental. Why is it so Expensive? My Dentist Never Charges That Much……
Unfortunately for us, our pets don’t understand the whirring machines or the seemingly crazy people wanting to fiddle around in their mouth. It is also more common to miss severe dental disease in animals, since many of them don’t show obvious signs of pain until the problems become very severe.
That means that the dental procedure may not only be too scary for them while they are awake, but also painful. So, for their safety and ours, full anaesthesia is needed in order to perform dental care in animals. Unfortunately, this necessary step adds costs to the procedure.
My Pooch has Terrible Teeth, but aren’t they too old for anaesthesia?
Understandably, dental disease is often seen in older patients. While there are many valid risks involved with putting an older pet under anaesthesia for a dental, it can drastically improve their quality of life. In any patient older than 7 years, a pre-operative screening is advised.
Depending on your pet, this will include bloodwork, urine analysis and possibly some other lab tests too. If any issues are found, it can be assessed on an individual basis if they are a candidate. In many cases we can still address the dental disease, a bit of extra caution is just needed to keep them safe.
Well this seems like a lot of nonsense. In the wild, they don’t have any of these issues!
Unfortunately, in the wild they do. Good preventative care and addressing medical issues is why our domesticated pets live to be much older than their wild counterparts. To put it into perspective, wolves in the wild only live 5-7 years. Many of our beloved pets can live to be much older than that. It is also rather doubtful that the average lap dog would survive in the wild in the first place.
Dental care is as important as following preventative measures. Your pets will live a fruitful life without any worries and you, as a loyal pet owner, will get to enjoy their wagging tails much more regularly. Looking after them by visiting your vet is a surefire way to always have the happiest of pets.
