If you were told that your pet had a disease that could cause any or all of these symptoms, you would want to treat the disease. What if you were told that there is a good chance that the disease could be prevented with a once daily therapy? And what if the preventative therapy could be done for minimal cost to you? And what if we told you the one disease that can cause all of these problems in your pet is Dental Disease?!...

A Dental Story

For my entire adult life, I've been an excellent guardian to my dogs and cats. I've rescued three special-needs dogs. My cats stay indoors for their health and that of the neighborhood wildlife. My animals are clean, if not always perfectly groomed. I play with them, let them on the furniture, and even take Daniel, my border collie cross, to work at my shop. They are spayed or neutered, and up-to-date on vaccinations and heartworm tests and preventives. The Woodhaven staff knows us well.
Yes, it should be clear by now that I have been a caring, conscientious pet owner.
Except for one thing. My concern for my animal friends' health fell short when it came to dental exams and cleaning.
The idea of regular pet dental care seemed a bit much. After all, I did get Daniel's teeth cleaned three years ago -- wasn't that enough for several years? Didn't bones and rawhides keep dogs' teeth clean? Hadn't dogs and cats for centuries thrived without dental care? Besides, I hated their being under anesthesia, and dental visits were expensive.
So despite reminders from Dr. Riebe, I just didn't attend to Daniel's dental care, at great cost to me and more importantly, to him.
Dan is 13. I thought his recent weight loss and slowing down was just his "getting older." One weekend, Daniel stopped eating, clearly in great pain. He had a swelling in his jaw, so we visited Dr. Riebe first thing Monday. This normally calm, placid dog was in such pain he had to be anesthetized to be examined.
Daniel needed immediate dental work. His many infected teeth had to be removed; he has only 13 teeth left. He required a month of antibiotics and soft food to recuperate fully. Poor guy--all this due to my negligence.
Weeks later, Dan is himself again. He's gained weight, energy, and his previous zippy attitude. All my companion animals have since visited Dr. Riebe for dental care. I learned the hard way the necessity of regular animal dental care. I hope this true story helps others learn the easy way.
Mary McComb
April 28, 2009

Dental Disease....

When the Doctor is looking at your pet's teeth and comments that there is a fair amount of tartar and gingivitis, the Doctor has uncovered a clue on your pet's examination that could contribute to any of these serious health problems now or at any time in the future. Dental Disease is associated with infection in the mouth, which is a source of constant stress on the immune system. In order to improve your pet's health, the Doctor may recommend a dental procedure that will need to be performed under general anesthesia to help correct the problem. Unfortunately, this is where many clients decide that the dental disease is not serious enough to warrant the "risk" of general anesthesia, and do not pursue the recommendation for further dental care.

If this sounds familiar to you, you are not alone. The concept of anesthesia is very scary for many people, and they believe it is not worth the risk to treat a health issue that does not seem to be causing any symptoms. In reality, the risk of anesthesia is relatively low with the advances in anesthetics and patient monitoring during the past several years. The risk of developing serious problems from the progression of the dental disease is very great as time progresses.

What symptoms will I notice in my pet?

A dog or cat with dental disease may not appear to have any obvious symptoms associated with the disease, other than a foul odor from the mouth, and plaque and tartar accumulation on the teeth. As the disease process progresses, you may notice blood from the gums, reluctance to chew bones or carry toys, or swallowing of food without chewing. In cases of severely infected teeth, you may notice pus in the mouth, and swelling of the face or lymph nodes.

What makes the Dental Procedure so beneficial?

The benefits of the dental procedure are numerous! Once the patient is anesthetized, the patient is carefully monitored with equipment to measure the breathing, heart rate, heart rhythm, and blood pressure during the procedure. Once the patient is comfortably anesthetized, the dental technician thoroughly scales and polishes the teeth, both above and below the surface of the gum tissue. This procedure will remove any plaque and tartar that have accumulated. Since tartar and plaque are composed of multiple colonies of harmful bacteria, the technician has essentially removed the original cause of the infection in the patient's mouth.

Next, the Doctor will evaluate the gums and each tooth in the patient's mouth, checking for recession of the gums, deep pockets between the tooth and gum (which harbor more harmful bacteria), abnormal tissue or masses on the gums, abnormal wear of the teeth, chipped or broken teeth, loose teeth, abscesses, and bone loss around the teeth. Each of these concerns will be noted in the patient's medical record, and appropriate treatments recommended while the patient is still under anesthesia. This will further eliminate the problems and pain associated with dental disease. The patient receives medications that will minimize any discomfort associated with the treatments.

Finally, the patient is allowed to recover from the procedure during the rest of the day. An appointment is made with the dental technician to review all the findings and the plan for home care. In general, the patient is sleepy the night of the procedure, but will be more alert and wanting to eat within a couple of days!

Is it safe for my pet to have anesthesia?

Current anesthetics are very safe. In our practice, isoflurane inhalant anesthesia is utilized for the procedure. Prior to anesthesia, it is necessary to screen your pet's liver, kidneys, blood proteins, blood sugar, and red blood cell concentration (low concentration indicates anemia). These parameters are important during the administration of anesthesia, as any abnormality may interfere with the ability to process the anesthesia.

Our practice is able to perform the anesthetic blood chemistry profile and blood counts in our laboratory the day of the dentistry. If any abnormalities are detected, we may need to alter our anesthetic plan or postpone the dental procedure, pending additional testing. In addition to the preanesthetic blood testing, a Doctor or technician monitors your pet during the entire procedure, using advanced monitoring equipment. The combination of preanesthetic testing and continued patient monitoring during the procedure allows us to greatly minimize the risk of anesthetic related complications and fatalities.

Prevention of the Disease (The Once Daily Therapy!)....

Studies have shown that daily brushing can prevent development of plaque and gingivitis in most patients. While this may seem like an impossible task, it is well worth the effort to be able to control future dental disease. And it is much less expensive than treating established dental disease. In many cases, future dental procedures are not needed. In other cases if a dental problem does develop, the treatment is not as involved as the original procedure. Devoting a few minutes each day to your pet is well worth the effort, since plaque and harmful bacteria can begin to reform within 12 to 24 hours after the dental procedure! In fact, we encourage all puppy and kitten owners to start the process early in an effort to minimize the need for future dental procedures.

What else can I do to prevent Dental Disease?

The good news is that recent studies have shown that the second most effective method for prevention of dental disease is feeding a specialized dental diet, such as Science Diet TD or Royal Canin Dental DD. These foods are unlike any other diet because the food pieces are large enough for the dog or cat's teeth to sink into, thereby "brushing" the surface of the teeth used for chewing. These diets may be fed as the exclusive diet or as treats to supplement the patient's current diet.

For many years, everyone believed that any "dry" food or Milk Bones would be good for preventing dental disease. This belief was proven to be false by clinical research that has shown there is not any benefit to feeding a "dry" food verses a "moist" food for prevention of dental disease, and Milk Bone treats do not prevent dental disease!

If the Doctor says my pet has Dental Disease, I could just start to brush the teeth and be sure to feed a dental diet instead of scheduling a dental cleaning procedure.....

While this sounds reasonable, this is not a good plan for many reasons. First of all, brushing alone is not "powerful" enough to remove the tartar deposits -- you would just be brushing the surface of the tartar. The harmful bacteria would stay in the mouth. In addition, the process of brushing is a painful procedure if the patient has inflamed gums (similar to brushing your gums after developing a "pizza burn" in your mouth!). And brushing will never reach the area of the tooth under the gum, which holds more harmful bacteria. Likewise, the mouth will be tender if the patient tries to bite into the dental diet, increasing the risk of swallowing the food without chewing. If a professional dental cleaning procedure is recommended, there is no alternative that will be effective.

How common is Dental Disease?

Actually, at least 75% of all pets over the age of 3 to 4 years have some degree of dental disease. A small percentage of the pet population is genetically "blessed", and will never need any form of dental care. The rest of the pets will require brushing, dental diets and professional dental care to maintain the health of the mouth.
If extractions are indicated, will my pet be able to eat?

Yes! Teeth are only extracted when they are loose, fractured or diseased; in other words, the teeth are already causing a problem. As a result, our pets generally develop a way to compensate for any pain and discomfort caused by problematic teeth - chewing bones or food on the opposite side of the mouth, or swallowing food whole. Once the source of the pain in removed (that is, an infected tooth), most pets will actually resume normal chewing habits. Only a small percentage will need to be fed a soft or canned diet permanently.

Is it really safe to extract multiple teeth, or would it be best to leave some of the affected teeth?

It is best to remove all diseased teeth. While it may be ideal to perform the extractions in stages, the fact that we need to utilize general anesthesia causes us to be concerned about putting a patient under anesthesia multiple times. Since the problematic teeth will only continue to cause discomfort and perpetuate infection, it is best to remove the teeth to return the mouth to a healthier status.

Why does it cost more to have my pet's teeth cleaned than my own?

As noted above, it is essential to use general anesthesia to perform any dental procedure for a dog or cat. This is the only way to visualize the inner and outer surfaces of all the teeth, evaluate the gums, and perform a thorough cleaning and polishing. The use of general anesthesia adds cost to the procedure. In addition, the amount of tartar and plaque accumulated on the teeth is generally much greater than any person would have on their teeth. This amount of tartar takes more time to remove when compared to a human's mouth.

In veterinary dentistry, it is most common to perform all the necessary procedures at one time, such as the actual cleaning, oral evaluation, and various periodontal treatments or surgical extractions. In humans, these procedures are generally divided between multiple visits. Therefore, what we provide on one invoice is broken up over several visits to your human dentist.

We hope this information addressed some of your basic concerns regarding dental care for your pet. Please call or stop in if you have any further questions!

Facts to Chew On...

●● Puppies have 28 "baby" teeth and 42 permanent teeth

●● Kittens have 26 "baby" teeth and 30 permanent teeth

●● Studies show that about 28 percent of domestic cats develop painful neck lesions ("cavities") during their lifetime

●● Oral disease is the most frequently diagnosed health problem for pets

●● An astounding 80 percent of dogs and 70 percent of cats show signs of oral disease by age three, according to the American Veterinary Dental Society

●● Dental disease can be prevented!