Dental care procedure information
Pets, like people, need routine dental care in order to maintain a healthy and pain-free mouth. All pets, old or young, need to be anesthetized for their teeth to be safely and effectively cleaned, charted, and x-rayed. Your pet will be continuously monitored while under anesthesia.
A pre-dental oral exam will be performed on your pet to try to identify any issues before starting the procedure. However, it is not until the animal is anesthetized that a complete and thorough evaluation can be accomplished, including tooth-by-tooth visual exam, probing and in some cases radiographic exam. We perform the exact same steps on our pets that are performed on us at a dentist’s office! After a full examination has been completed, you will be contacted regarding any identified issues and presented with the treatment options.
If a fracture or diseased tooth is noted during the complete exam, often the recommendation will be to remove the damaged tooth. A diseased tooth is very painful to our pets, just as it is to us, and can lead to systemic diseases, such as an abscess, kidney disease, heart disease and liver disease. X-rays will be utilized to confirm complete extraction of diseased teeth.
After the dental cleaning is completed, it is normal for animals to be a bit groggy for the next 12 hours. Their body needs time to clear the anesthetic drugs and most pain medications have a sedative side effect. Allow them to rest quietly at home. If extractions were performed, their food will need to be softened. We may also need to send home antibiotics or pain medications for you to administer after the procedure. Your doctor will give you additional instructions regarding specific care for your pet after the cleaning.
A pre-dental oral exam will be performed on your pet to try to identify any issues before starting the procedure. However, it is not until the animal is anesthetized that a complete and thorough evaluation can be accomplished, including tooth-by-tooth visual exam, probing and in some cases radiographic exam. We perform the exact same steps on our pets that are performed on us at a dentist’s office! After a full examination has been completed, you will be contacted regarding any identified issues and presented with the treatment options.
If a fracture or diseased tooth is noted during the complete exam, often the recommendation will be to remove the damaged tooth. A diseased tooth is very painful to our pets, just as it is to us, and can lead to systemic diseases, such as an abscess, kidney disease, heart disease and liver disease. X-rays will be utilized to confirm complete extraction of diseased teeth.
After the dental cleaning is completed, it is normal for animals to be a bit groggy for the next 12 hours. Their body needs time to clear the anesthetic drugs and most pain medications have a sedative side effect. Allow them to rest quietly at home. If extractions were performed, their food will need to be softened. We may also need to send home antibiotics or pain medications for you to administer after the procedure. Your doctor will give you additional instructions regarding specific care for your pet after the cleaning.
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Potomac Animal Hospital
10020 River Road
Potomac, MD 20854
301-299-4142
10020 River Road
Potomac, MD 20854
301-299-4142