Dental or periodontal disease is the most common disease in pets with an estimated 80% of dogs and 70% having a degree of the dental disease. Common signs of the disease include the formation of plaque. There are certain dog breeds that are more susceptible to the disease than others. If the issue of plaque formation is not addressed, mineral salts found in saliva tend to precipitate and form a dental calculus on the teeth. This further causes gums inflammation that traps bacteria. It is these bacteria that destroy the periodontal ligament that could eventually cause the teeth to loosen and even fall off. In worst case scenarios, the high number of bacteria in the pet’s mouth can be absorbed directly into the bloodstream and be transported to vital organs such as the heart, lungs, liver and kidney.
What to Expect When you Visit the Vet
When you visit the dog vet clinic, the vet will conduct an oral observation of your pet. In most cases, dental issues with your pet ought to be noticed by you while at home. There is a myriad of issues that pets’ mouth have and the vet can be able to see some of these issues through oral observation. Unfortunately, it is not possible to identify every issue with your pet when they are still awake. Of great challenge are the teeth at the back of the mouth and some pets might not even allow any analysis of the teeth. The vets office can recommend putting the pet under anesthesia a procedure that takes place in the dog vet clinic in order to establish the number of teeth that need to be extracted.
Anesthesia
When you visit the vet clinic with your pet because of the periodontal disease, you can expect that the pet will be put under anesthesia at some point. This is because, dental cleaning must occur above and below the gum line. Thorough cleaning cannot occur while the pet is still awake. After visiting the dog vet clinic, there are different anesthetics in veterinary medicine that are effective and yet safe to your pet. Since dog dental care should not be a choice but a necessity, the anesthetic protocol is tailored to suit specific needs of the pet undergoing treatment and cleaning. In addition, there is close monitoring on how the dog will respond to the anesthesia. Prior to taking your dog to a vet clinic, food should be withheld for at least 12 hours before the anesthesia. However, water is allowed. This is one way of ensuring effective dental care for your dog. Older animals might be required to undergo some blood tests in order to establish whether the animal can be able to excrete the anesthetic drug.
After the Dental Treatment
If any extractions were carried out on your pet, then you need to start caring for your pet before you find yourself going back to the dog vet clinic. There will be several dissolving stitches and the affected area can take between 4 to 7 days before healing. This means that the dog should be fed with soft or canned food. You might also have been given antibiotics and pain medication at the veterinarian office in the event that dental disease was found to be present. Make sure that you follow all the instructions as guided by the vet. After healing, you need to develop ways of ensuring that you have an elaborate long term plan for dental care for dogs. This can include feeding your pet with a diet that controls plaque. Another strategy is ensuring that your pet’s teeth are regularly brushed. Whereas there is no stipulated timeline regarding how frequent this should happen, it is recommended that the brushing take place as frequently as possible.