Dentistry
Dental diseases are commonly found in both cats and dogs. Most pets that do not see a vet often suffer from a degree of periodontal disease. Cats and dogs that have dental lesions experience significant pain as it progressively destroys the structure of the teeth and pain sets in.
Main Symptoms of Dental Disease
Loose teeth
Worn and broken teeth
Difficulty or pain during feed
Gingivitis – red inflamed gums
Bad breath
Food particles that mix with saliva cause plaque which in turn attracts bacteria that builds up on clean teeth in a few hours. Plaque can harden as well to form tartar within a few days. Within the plaque is bacteria that causes infection and inflammation of the gums and can potentially spread deeper into mouth tissue and even penetrates the underlying bone. Teeth can also loosen and fall out. Dental disease affects more than teeth but over time impact the liver, kidneys and heart as well.
Prevent Dental Diseases At Home
Pet owners can prevent dental diseases at home by preventing plaque build-up. When plaque isn’t treated, tartar forms which can only be treated at your vet. Keep your pet’s teeth and gums in great health and reduce trips to the vet with a combination of:
As part of their daily diet, it is essential to feed your pets dry pet food
Keep treats to a minimum
Brush their teeth with animal toothpaste
Rinse their mouths with gels and rinses for the specific animal species
The removal requires a general anaesthetic to clean the diseased area below the gum line.
Our dental services include:
General oral surgery
Extractions
Scaling and polishing
Detailed oral examinations
Digital dental radiographs
Dental
Healthy Teeth, Healthy Pet
We humans have it drilled into us from a young age to brush our teeth twice a day, use dental floss and mouthwash. We know that our teeth are an important part of our health care routine. Your fur baby’s teeth are just as important for them to stay healthy.
HOW OFTEN SHOULD YOU HAVE YOUR PET’S TEETH CHECKED
Checking your pet’s oral health is not only about their breath. Dental health and overall health are connected. That is why you need to have their teeth and gums checked at least once a year. Korumburra Veterinary Clinic are standing by to help you with your pet’s dental hygiene.
Why is Dental health so important to pets?
The plaque that we get on our teeth and remove daily builds up on the teeth of pets too. You can’t leave plaque untreated; it calcifies and turns into a solid known as tartar. Tartar can lead to gingivitis and periodontal disease.
Periodontal disease is very painful to pets. Pets often keep eating in spite of dental pain, because they have to choose between pain or starving.
Just like with people, infected teeth can cause infection in other body organs, such as the heart and kidneys.
DENTAL SERVICES
We offer a full service dental and oral surgery service, depending on your pets needs. General anaesthesia is needed is needed to properly clean and assess your pets teeth. Some groomers offer a teeth cleaning service, but beware that this only cleans above the gum line and hence is only cosmetic. In order to treat periodontal disease it is necessary to clean below the gum line with an ultrasonic scaler like we have.
Under anaesthesia we probe your pets teeth to assess for periodontal disease or painful resorptive lesions. We have also just invested in a state of the art dental x-ray unit to better assess what is going on beneath the gum line, just as your dentisy does.
Should your pet need extraction of painful/ diseased teeth, we are able to perform surgical extractions.
