Dental health is an important part of your pet’s overall health. Problems in the mouth can cause pain, infection, difficulty eating, and other health concerns that may not be obvious at home.

During routine examinations, we evaluate your pet’s teeth and gums and let you know when professional dental care may be beneficial. We are also happy to discuss home dental care, including tooth brushing and other ways to help maintain oral health between professional cleanings.

When a dental procedure is recommended, your pet is placed under general anesthesia so that we can safely and thoroughly examine the mouth, clean the teeth above and below the gumline, and perform any necessary treatment.

Professional dental care may include ultrasonic cleaning, hand scaling, periodontal probing, polishing, digital dental X-rays, treatment of diseased teeth, and extraction of teeth that cannot be saved.

Professional cleaning removes plaque and tartar from visible tooth surfaces and from areas below the gumline that cannot be adequately cleaned at home. Periodontal probing helps us evaluate the tissues supporting each tooth and identify pockets, exposed roots, and other evidence of periodontal disease. After cleaning, the teeth are polished to leave a smoother surface.

Digital dental X-rays are especially valuable because much of each tooth lies below the gumline and cannot be evaluated by looking in the mouth alone. X-rays allow us to examine tooth roots, surrounding bone, and other structures and can reveal painful or diseased teeth that may appear normal above the gumline.

Because pets must remain completely still for accurate dental X-rays and thorough cleaning, dental procedures are performed under general anesthesia. Each patient is evaluated individually beforehand, and appropriate pre-anesthetic testing is recommended based on age, health history, physical examination, and medical condition.

After the procedure, we review our findings with you, explain any treatment that was performed, and provide recommendations for home dental care and follow-up when appropriate.

Our goal is to keep your pet’s mouth comfortable and healthy while identifying and treating dental disease before it becomes more advanced.