You’ve been told you’re supposed to brush your dog’s teeth. Maybe you’ve even made some strides in that department, but at the end of the day (or week, or month), it’s not getting done. Here are some suggestions to help you be more successful:

1. Put a picture of your dog (or your dog’s teeth, if you’re really brave!) by your tooth brush. Let this be a reminder to you that you’re not the only one who needs some teeth brushing!
2. Set up an automatic reminder. If you have an email address or smart phone, setting up a reminder can be an easy way to remember lots of things. While you’re at it, set up a reminder for your dog’s monthly heartworm and flea prevention too!
3. Make it easy. Keep the tooth brushing supplies in an easy-to-access location so you won’t come up with too many excuses.
4. Make it fun! If you and your dog both dread the teeth brushing, you’ll never do it, except maybe the day after your vet gives you a guilt trip for not brushing them daily. Work up to it gradually, with lots of handling of the muzzle and gums, and let your dog lick the toothpaste off your finger before you move up to an actual toothbrush and actual brushing.
5. Think of it as an investment. Brushing your dog’s teeth every day may not eliminate the need to have his/her teeth cleaned under anesthesia periodically, but rest assured you’re demonstrating perhaps the highest commitment to your best friend by making a faithful effort to ensure his/her oral health.

The video below is one we made with our friends at DVM360.com to help show people how to brush their dog’s teeth.

External root resorption of teeth is one of the most common dental diseases of our feline patients.  Some reports state 50-70% of cats have resorptive lesions.  These “cat cavities” are called feline odontoclastic resorptive lesions based on the cells found lining these cavities that do not appear to be caused by decay and bacteria as in human cavities.

Why do some cats get it and others don’t?

The cause is unknown, but theories supporting an autoimmune response, calicivirus, and metabolic imbalances relating to calcium regulation have been proposed. The resorptive lesion often erodes into sensitive dentin, causing a cat to show pain and jaw spasms whenever the lesion is touched. Patients affected with FORLs may show increased salivation, oral bleeding, or difficulty eating. Most times, it is up to the veterinarian or astute owner to diagnose FORLs.

How do we treat it?

The aim of treatment is to relieve pain, prevent progression of tooth destruction, and restore function.  It is believed that these lesions can be very painful when the lesion has eaten away the tooth crown and exposed the cavity to the oral cavity.  Most affected cats do not show any signs; others may drool, chew with difficulty, or become reclusive or aggressive.

Currently there is no known treatment to stop the progression of these lesions.  Treatment is aimed at preventing pain. There can be two types: type 1 is inflammatory and is best treated with extraction; type 2 involves roots that have already been resorbed to the jaw bone and is best treated with crown amputation with intentional root retention.

Trying to save these teeth with restoration of the enamel is only temporary and the restoration will eventually be lost as the cavity continues to enlarge.  What is crown amputation?  Often by the time these lesions are diagnosed, the extent of resorption is great:  the root has been resorbed, or fused, and become part of the jaw bone and cannot be extracted.  Studies indicate that these usually heal without incident and the body resorbs the tooth root. Annual prophy/dental cleanings and radiographs are recommended for cats that have been diagnosed with FORLs as cats tend to have more than 1 tooth affected over their lifetime.

After a dental procedure

October is pet dental month.  During the month of October, a $30 discount will be applied to all dental procedures!

What is a dental procedure and why does your pet need one?  Periodontal disease affects more than 80% of pets over three years old, and has been proven to shorten their lifespan.  Periodontal disease can also cause problems in the heart, liver, and kidneys, as well as lead to chronic oral infection and pain, eventually resulting in tooth loss.

What’s the good news?  Periodontal disease is PREVENTABLE!  It can be prevented by good oral hygiene at home.  Just as in people, brushing your pet’s teeth is the best thing that can be done at home.  As our pets get older, they often already have periodontal disease.  Once disease is present, a professional dental cleaning is needed to reverse or stop the disease progression.  Here is a link to our article about periodontal disease.

Is it safe?  At Olathe Animal Hospital, we do everything we can to minimize the risk of anesthesia.  This includes a pre-anesthetic exam and bloodwork, IV catheter and fluids, and monitoring by our equipment and our trained technicians.  Here is a link to our article and a video that discusses anesthesia safety for our dental procedures.

Call today to set up an appointment for your pet’s dental procedure.  Together we can work towards keeping your pet as healthy as possible for as long as possible.

When I inform a pet owner that I recommend a prophy, or teeth cleaning, I’m often asked, “Do you have to put him under anesthesia to do that?” But the REAL question they’re asking is, “Is it safe to put my pet under anesthesia?”

If there’s one thing I could effectively convey to the general pet-owning public, it would be the difference in quality of anesthesia drugs, monitoring equipment, and trained staff. Not all anesthesia is the same. I’ve heard plenty of stories of friends, relatives, and neighbors who’ve had a pet die under anesthesia when it came in for a simple routine procedure such as a prophy (or spay or neuter).

Since I joined Olathe Animal Hospital in 2004, I cannot think of ONE anesthetic death that occurred in association with a dental procedure.  And trust me, we remember major events like that. Out of curiosity, I ran a report to see just how many dental procedures (under anesthesia) we’ve performed in the last 5 years. In that time frame, we have performed 1,611 teeth cleanings under anesthesia, and have had NO anesthetic deaths.

While that should ease your mind a bit, what you really need to know more about are the safety precautions we take. Every patient undergoing an anesthetic dental procedure receives an IV catheter for IV fluid support (helps keep blood pressure up). Blood work is performed prior to the procedure to check internal organ function. A physical exam is performed on the day of the procedure to check heart health and hydration status. Monitoring equipment monitors the patient’s heart rate and oxygen levels. A technician is with the patient the whole time, watching breathing, temperature, and heart rate.

These precautions I described above are more than half the battle in terms of having a safe anesthetic event. Obviously the drugs used also play a significant role. Patients are premedicated (made sleepy) with an injection of hydromorphone (a sedating narcotic) and sometimes acepromazine (a sedative), depending on the patient’s anxiety and activity level. To induce a state of anesthesia, we use propofol IV. To maintain anesthesia, we use isoflurane gas, which is widely used in human medicine as well. The gas anesthesia is delivered through an endotracheal tube, which also allows assistance with ventilation if needed and prevents aspiration. Watch the video above to see the process of a dog undergoing anesthesia at Olathe Animal Hospital.

Broken incisors

Earlier today, I examined a dog who had been adopted from a shelter. She was very sweet, albeit a little shy, and we could quickly see she’s a good snuggler. During my exam, I noticed some broken incisors and a broken canine tooth. Given her background, we’ll never know how she broke these teeth. Was she kicked? Hit by a car? Did she chew too hard on something?

What we do know is that 98% of broken teeth will eventually develop an abscess. Tooth abscesses, as any humans who’ve experienced this problem can attest, are extremely painful. Being the stoic creatures that they are, however, dogs may not show any signs of pain. The best treatment for this particular dog is extraction of the broken incisors and either extraction or root canal therapy of the broken canine tooth.

Lower left canine tooth is broken

Root canal therapy is a specialty procedure, and we can offer a referral to a qualified veterinarian if this is something you’re interested in for your pet. Remember, dental pain should not be ignored–the sooner it’s addressed, the sooner a dog can be on her way to healing and feeling better!

• difficulty chewing food or dropping food while eating
• weight loss
• pawing at the mouth or facial swelling and/or pain

Similar clinical signs may occur with other ferret health problems such as oral tumors or insulinoma, which is why consultation with a veterinarian is helpful.
Veterinarians at Olathe Animal Hospital are well trained in dental care and routinely examine the ferret’s mouth for an assessment of overall oral health during the annual physical exam. If plaque and tartar have built up, a routine cleaning and polishing of the teeth may be recommended. This procedure is performed under general anesthesia so that a complete oral health assessment and dental cleaning can be thoroughly and safely performed. The soft tissues of the mouth including tongue, gums and the mouth lining are examined for evidence of infection or ulceration. A dental probe is used to examine all teeth for evidence of gingivitis and periodontal disease where pockets of infection exist between the tooth and gum. The teeth are examined for evidence of odor, pain, fractures, discoloration and root exposure. All healthy teeth are then scaled and polished. Fluoride treatment is available to help strengthen enamel and reduce any pain associated with unhealthy teeth. Dental radiographs (x-rays) may be necessary to assess the roots and surrounding bone for abnormalities.

In the event of a serious dental problem, such as a tooth crown fractures or tooth infections and abscesses, our doctors may recommend procedures such as surgical extractions, bonded sealants or root canals. A detailed treatment plan can be provided to discuss what will be involved.

A prophy is often called a “teeth cleaning,” but I’m afraid that description doesn’t quite do justice to what is included in a routine prophy. A better description is “periodontal therapy”, but even that may still leave you asking, “What?”

During a prophy, the heavy layers of tartar and calculus are removed from the tooth using an ultrasonic scaler (what human oral hygenists use). Most importantly, the sub-gingival (“under” the gums) tooth is also cleaned, which you simply can’t achieve on an awake patient.

We then chart the teeth. This is a very important step. Charting measures any pockets between the tooth and gums and allows us to make note of any chipped enamel, mobile teeth, gingivitis, oral masses, or any other potential areas of concern. Because this step can be time-consuming, many vet clinics opt not to do this (or they don’t do a thorough job), but we feel it’s one of the most valuable parts of the process.

Lastly, we rinse the mouth with fluoride and apply Ora-Vet. The Ora-Vet binds to the tooth and prevents tartar and bacteria from binding to it, so we can keep the teeth pearly white for even longer. We recommend that you continue applying the Ora-Vet weekly to help keep the teeth clean. It’s easy to apply and takes less than a minute.