Pet Dental Care with Longwood Veterinary Center
We know you take your responsibility as a pet owner seriously. It’s important to ensure your pet has everything needed to live a healthy life. Did you know that includes pet dental care? This may or may not be something you’ve thought about much, but you need to think about it! Just like their human counterparts, dogs and cats require pet dental care. Doing what you can to help keep your pet’s teeth healthy will ensure they don’t deal with painful dental problems that can lead to other serious health issues if left untreated.
Breath Check
Contrary to popular belief, pets shouldn’t actually have horrible-smelling breath. In fact, bad breath could be the first warning sign that your pet is developing dental disease. Dental disease is a painful condition, and the result of built-up bacteria, plaque, and tartar on the teeth and around the gumline. This bacteria will cause problems with your pet’s teeth and gums, resulting in discomfort and pain for your animal. This bacteria can even find its way into your animal’s bloodstream having an adverse effect on the function of major organs and overall health.
Signs of dental disease:
- Bad breath
- Yellow tartar buildup on teeth
- Red and swollen gums
Effects of Dental Disease
Untreated dental disease puts your pet into a state of chronic pain and inflammation. A painful mouth will affect how your pet chews their food. Abscessed and infected molar teeth can cause painful, firm swellings on a pet’s face. Cats with severe dental disease sometimes completely refuse to eat, and “mouth chatter” from uncontrollable pain when their teeth or mouths are touched. Oftentimes after a good, professional dental cleaning, oral evaluation, and extraction of diseased teeth, pet owners report a much happier and more active animal.
What Should You Do?
At Longwood Vet Center, we take pet dental care very seriously. We encourage all our pet owners to schedule dental exams for their pets to ensure good overall oral health. At our facility, we have a state-of-the-art dental suite with all the latest equipment necessary to expertly tend to your pet’s dental needs. While being closely monitored under anesthesia, each pet patient receives a comprehensive oral exam and cleaning. Furthermore, our team of veterinarians is assisted by nurses who completed a program through the Animal Dental Training Program of Baltimore, and seek regular continuing education opportunities to stay on top of the latest information about pet dental care.
Pet Dental Care at Home
On top of what your veterinarian can do for your pet’s oral health, you can help ensure healthy teeth and gums in your pet at home too. You can brush your pet’s teeth regularly, and give them dental chews to help keep their teeth clean and mouths healthy. Learn more about the pet dental care we provide at Longwood, and see a list of approved preventative products via the Veterinary Oral Health Council or use products by Greenies.