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Clarion Animal Hospital recommends seeing your dog or cat for an oral exam and teeth cleaning at least once a year. This is because pets are prone to bacteria and tartar buildup in their mouths, which can result in inflammatory conditions like gingivitis and periodontal disease. Oral diseases can diminish your pet’s quality of life, causing chronic pain, tooth loss, and bone loss. However, with regular dental care provided at home and routine checkups at our hospital, your pet can avoid these issues and live a better, longer life.
Signs of Poor Oral Health in Dogs & Cats
Without daily care at home to prevent plaque and tartar buildup in your pet’s mouth, a bacterial infection may develop, causing problems that are harder to treat. Your pet may need a teeth cleaning if they experience any of the following:
Bad breath
Discoloration / tartar buildup on the teeth
Loose or broken teeth
Red, swollen gums
Bleeding of the gums, small traces of blood in saliva
Drooling more than normal
Having difficulty chewing and / or eating, dropping food
Eating less
Common Pet Dental Care Questions
How Do I Know My Pet is Due for a Teeth Cleaning?
We recommend cat and dog teeth cleanings at least once a year to prevent the development of a bacterial infection in the mouth. Once tartar builds up on your pet’s teeth and comes into contact with the gum line, it’s time to contact your vet to schedule an oral exam and teeth cleaning procedure.
What Happens During a Pet Teeth Cleaning Procedure?
To clean your pet’s teeth as thoroughly and safely as possible, we need to place them under anesthesia. First, we need to examine your pet and do blood work to check their organ function and make sure the anesthetic will be safe for them. Then we can move forward with the procedure, which involves:
- Examining the oral cavity tooth by tooth
- Taking full-mouth dental X-rays to check the state of your pet’s oral health below the gum line
- Cleaning the crowns of the teeth with our ultrasonic and hand scaling tools
- Root planing to remove any tartar buildup below the gum line
- Polishing each tooth after scaling to smooth away any abrasions
- If necessary, we may also perform tooth extractions to remove damaged or loose teeth
