Pets must receive dental treatment to prevent gum disease. Untreated gum disease is five times more prevalent in dogs than in people and can lead to tooth loss, cavities, and gum problems. As a pet owner, you must help your pet maintain good dental hygiene.
What are the advantages of routine dental cleanings?
Here are some reasons why your pet should see a veterinarian dentist annually and if you still don’t have one for your furry pal, click here.
A comprehensive oral check can reveal surface problems that aren’t evident.
A veterinarian will inspect the whole oral cavity of your pet for symptoms of disease or pathology. Dental cleanings require anesthesia to ensure the pet’s safety; with blinding lights and sharp instruments, no animal would gladly consent to the treatment. Anesthesia enables specialists to check areas that a conscious patient would never consent to, such as below the tongue, at the back of the throat, and beneath the gums.
Dental X-rays may reveal disease hiding beneath the surface.
Like an iceberg, the roots of every tooth conceal half of each tooth beneath the gum. Sixty percent of oral health problems in pets are unseen by the human eye and reside beneath the gum line. By obtaining dental X-rays of the complete mouth, experts can inspect each tooth, root, pulp chamber, and bone and jaw surrounding the tooth. Dental X-rays provide the discovery of unpleasant conditions, including a cracked crown or root, tooth or root resorption, dental infection, bone erosion, and cancer.
Without routine dental X-rays, these creatures would suffer in silence. In time, the sickness or degeneration would manifest, but the prognosis would be far worse by then. If identified early, a tooth can be saved or extracted, the progression of periodontal disease can be halted, and cancer can be biopsied, removed, and treated.
Your pet’s teeth are polished and free of hazardous microorganisms.
The obvious benefits of regular dental cleaning and dog wellness exams are clean teeth and fresh breath, but the benefits extend under the surface into an invisible realm.
Plaque is produced by salivary bacteria that form a biofilm on the tooth’s surface. It transforms into yellow-brown tartar, layer by layer, as this film ages. It is accurate that many owners compare tartar’s appearance to stone or cave formations. The tartar hardens and cements itself to the tooth, necessitating the use of pliers to remove it. Although tartar appears inert, the bacterial population is continually expanding and hiding in two dangerous places: below the gum line, where it causes periodontal disease, and in the bloodstream, where it spreads infection and causes chronic inflammation of internal organs.
In addition to restoring the natural brightness of your pet’s teeth, dental care significantly minimizes the bacterial load. Annual cleanings decrease or eliminate all infections to keep the bacterial count in check and prevent the infection from advancing to life-threatening heart and kidney damage levels.
Oral masses can be discovered and biopsied early on.
Typically, bad breath is a sign of periodontal disease, but your pet’s mouth may disguise a more dangerous condition, such as cancer. It is uncommon to deliver anesthesia to a patient undergoing a routine dental procedure and then discover a large mass in the mouth cavity. Populi, benign gingival tumors, are not metastatic but can grow rapidly, demanding surgical excision and even tooth extraction. Significantly more ominous are malignant tumors, such as sarcomas and carcinomas, which can aggressively invade soft oral tissues and pierce the jaw bone, demanding extensive surgery and radiation.
During your pet’s annual dental cleaning, a comprehensive examination of their oral cavity may reveal any concerning growths that were not seen during a regular examination. Then, these tumors might be biopsied for diagnostic purposes. Surgical excision and therapy can begin as soon as possible, possibly before cancer has spread to the bone if they are cancerous plus it’s a great opportunity for your pet to get a spay & neuter clinic treatment as well.
The Meaning
As with people, incorporating teeth cleaning into your dog’s regular regimen will help prevent the buildup of oral bacteria. If you do not know how to properly clean your dog’s teeth, your local veterinarian can demonstrate and suggest products. Introduce your pet to dental cleanings as early as possible, particularly as a puppy, to acclimate them to the motion of brushing.
