Why does my cat or dog need a dental cleaning?
Dogs and cats can develop oral diseases like periodontal disease and gingivitis, caused by the buildup of tartar and plaque on their teeth and underneath their gums. Over time, these conditions can lead to pain, inflammation, infection, tooth decay, and tooth or bone loss. Plaque and bacteria can also enter your dog’s bloodstream, and affect other organs like your dog’s heart, liver, and kidneys.
Periodically, your pet will need veterinary dental cleanings to ensure any oral and dental conditions don’t progress, avoiding the potential for a great deal of pain and serious health issues for your pet.
Regular, at-home brushing is also highly recommended, as it helps to keep your pet's mouth healthy every day, and can also reduce the number of veterinary cleanings they will require over their lifetime! However, even pets whose teeth are regularly cleaned at home will still require occasional veterinary dental cleaning, which is able to more thoroughly remove plaque and tartar from the teeth.
What does a pet dental cleaning involve?
At Small Door, we have a specialized, state-of-the-art dental suite for all dental cleanings and procedures. Your pet will have anesthesia to keep them safe while our doctors clean their teeth.
Dental cleaning begins with scaling, where our nurses use an ultrasonic cleaning machine to remove any plaque and tartar above and below the gumline.
We’ll then polish your pet’s teeth. Polishing leaves the surface of the teeth smooth, removing tiny scratches in the enamel, which helps prevent buildup of plaque and tartar in the future. (Cleaning teeth without polishing afterwards leaves teeth with microabrasions, which actually makes plaque build up faster!)
The doctor will then thoroughly inspect your pet’s teeth for any cavities, fractures and other dental issues, and we’ll take full dental radiographs (a type of x-ray) to check for any issues that are hiding below the gumline. If your pet requires any surgical dental extractions, our doctors will perform this during the same procedure.
What to expect
Before your cat or dog comes in for their dental cleaning, we’ll see them for a pre-operative appointment to discuss the procedure and check their health. This will include a physical exam plus some bloodwork to make sure your pet is healthy for surgery.
The night before your pet’s dental, you’ll need to withhold food from midnight onwards, but you can keep providing water. Make sure everyone in your household is aware, so no-one accidentally gives them breakfast!
You’ll drop your pet off with us in the morning and leave them at the hospital until the procedure is complete and they’ve recovered from the anesthesia. We’ll send you regular updates and photos or videos of your pet throughout the day to let you know how they’re doing. You’ll then be able to pick them up later on the same day, unless there are any complications.
Post dental care
Most cats and dogs recover relatively quickly from dental cleaning. A little wooziness is not unusual, and some post-anesthesia anxiety and fussiness is normal. You can feed your pet the evening of their procedure; soft food is recommended if any dental extractions were performed. If your pet required a lot of oral manipulation during the procedure, or any extractions were performed, we will send them home with pain relief to keep them comfortable.