Pet Dental Exam In Douglassville

Dentistry

One of the most overlooked medical problems affecting dogs and cats is animal dental disease.

  • More than 80% of dogs and cats older than 3 years have significant dental disease.

Dental disease is an infection resulting from the build-up of plaque on the surfaces of the teeth around the gums. To treat dental disease, your pet’s teeth need to be scaled and polished using special dental equipment. This procedure cleans the surface of the tooth and then polishes it smooth to help prevent further accumulation of plaque. 

Imagine if you never brushed your teeth or had them cleaned. Pretty frightening, right? As you can imagine, things would eventually start to go very, very bad inside your mouth: teeth would rot and decay, gums would become inflamed and infected. Bacteria from those rotting teeth would eventually travel into your bloodstream and could cause other serious health problems. And we haven’t even mentioned the daily, debilitating pain.

It’s the same scenario for your dog or cat. While some people might laugh at the idea of brushing their pet’s teeth or taking them for a dental cleaning, the fact is that by age three, 80% of dogs and 70% of cats have some evidence of periodontal disease. Periodic pet dental exams help maintain proper oral hygiene and prevent future problems.

Pet Oral Health Services We Offer

Douglassville Veterinary Hospital offers complete pet oral health services, including:

  • Dental exams
  • Annual dental cleanings
  • Dental X-rays
  • Extractions

Following American Veterinary Medical Association guidelines, Douglassville Veterinary Hospital only does cleanings and dental work on anesthetized pets. To ensure your pet is healthy enough to undergo anesthesia, we do require a routine blood test before the procedure.


The following video reviews dental disease in pets and the treatment for this common ailment


Digital Dental Radiographs

Dental x-rays are one of the most important diagnostic tools available to a veterinarians during a dental procedure. It is our opinion that dental clean

  • Dental x-rays allow us to evaluate the internal anatomy of the teeth, the roots and the bone that surrounds the roots to be examined.
  • Dental disease is often hidden below the gum line and x-rays allow our veterinarians to evaluate the health of each tooth in your pet’s mouth

Intra-oral radiographs are performed using digital sensors placed inside the patient’s mouth, and provide superior quality for examination of individual teeth or sections of the jaws compared with standard-sized veterinary radiographs. Because veterinary patients will not cooperate when a radiograph or sensor is placed in the mouth, taking dental radiographs requires that the patient is anesthetized or sedated


Preventive Dental Care

Brushing your pet’s teeth several times per week is the best way to prevent plaque and tartar build-up. Interested in learning how to brush your pet’s teeth? Just ask and our veterinarians will be happy to help you get started. If you have a pet that won’t tolerate brushing, our veterinarians can also recommend products that will help keep your pet’s mouth healthy in between cleanings.

Pet Dental Care In Douglassville, PA

To make an appointment for a pet dental exam or pet dental cleaning, call us at 610.385.4848.