Maintaining dental health is an important part of your pet’s preventive health care regimen. Dental health is so important at the Animal Medical Center, we have a Dentistry Service staffed by three veterinarians devoted to full-time dentistry for dogs and cats (and the occasional less common pet!). In honor of National Pet Dental Health Month, I have amalgamated some prior blogs on the topic of dentistry to serve as a resource for pet dental issues.

Inside the Mouth

Many pets resist an oral examination in the veterinarian’s office and completely refuse to let their family even have a peek inside their mouth. In the photo blog post, “Hound’s Tooth and Cat’s Teeth,” you can view some great images of the inside of dog and cat mouths. Better yet, you can see the magic a good dental cleaning can do for your pet’s teeth in some before and after photos highlighting AMC’s dentists’ work.

Dental Do’s and Don’ts

AMC’s dentists have a list of do’s and don’ts for your pet. I found the fact that tennis balls are a don’t to be fascinating. The felt on tennis balls abrades a dog’s tooth enamel, which is how the dayglow yellow balls landed on the don’ts list. Who knew? Our dentists recommend felt-less tennis balls.

Smile, If You Have Clean Teeth

Prophylactic tooth cleaning is generally recommended every 12-24 months, but certain dogs and cats have dental problems requiring a different protocol. Many pet families resist dental cleaning recommendations made by their veterinarian because of the need for anesthesia to properly perform a comprehensive veterinary dental cleaning. Read about anesthesia in veterinary dental care which explains why your pet will get optimal dental care only if the procedure is done under general anesthesia.
Have I convinced you to take better care of your pet’s teeth? Watch our video on dog tooth brushing to get you started. Check out the list of Veterinary Oral Health Council approved products and choose the ones that best meet your pet’s oral health needs.