DENTISTRY
A healthy mouth is vital to the overall health, happiness, and comfort of your pet.
There are many things that we can do over our pets lifespan that will contribute to a healthy mouth such as feeding the right foods, brushing their teeth, and adding in other products or habits to their daily routine. We would be happy to help you establish these key practices with a consult with on of our doctors.
While prevention and routine care are vital to success, many cats, dogs, and pocket pets still require dental surgeries in their lives. We refer to these procedures as a COHAT (Comprehensive Oral Health Exam and Treatment). A COHAT involves an initial exam to asses the mouth and look for gingivitis, tartar build up, fractures, wear on teeth, and occlusions. After an initial assessment the patient undergoes pre-anesthetic screening to ensure they are healthy for an anesthetic procedure. Once they are under anesthesia full mouth radiographs are obtained to assess what is happening under the gum line. Like an iceburg, most of a tooth is located under the surface and with that most problems with teeth are also located under the surface. These radiographs allow us to asses if there is any bone loss, or pockets of bacteria under the gum line so we can determine if any teeth need to be removed. All COHATs also involves a full above and below the gum line descaling and a polish.
If you think your pet could benefit from a dental assessment and potentially a COHAT please call us at (416)483-3511 and we would be happy to arrange for an appointmnet.
dental descaling
A dental prophylaxis includes an ultrasonic descaling of tartar on the teeth, examination of teeth, gums and a search for any gingival pockets. If deemed necessary, teeth will also be extracted at this time. After the tartar has been removed, the teeth are polished and given a fluoride treatment
oral health
On discovering progressive and severe gum disease, your vet may recommend a COHAT in a clinic environment with your pet under anaethesia. While surgery of any sort or putting your pet under an anesthetic possesses inherent risks, post-cleaning you can expect the quality of life for your pet to improve. Careful maintenance, management, and monitoring to ensure against infection are all part of the procedure and at home care after surgery.
dental hygene
In addition to cleaning and management, chew toys, special diets, water or food additives and special treats can help maintain good dental health for your pet.
