Ever wonder what happens before, during and after a dental cleaning? This week I had my technicians go into detail with me what exactly is involved with dentals. Believe it or not, dentals on pets are just like human dental cleanings! Crazy, right?! But I mean, us animals should be cared for as well as humans are! (Personally, I think we should be treated BETTER than our humans, but that’s just me!) Any who, I will take you step by step through the ins and outs of dentals at SAH!
First off, your pet needs an exam with one of our doctors to determine their dental status and what stage dental will be performed. (If you read my words of wisdom last week, you should know what the stages are…)
Second, a complete blood panel is done to evaluate how the body is functioning. This will let the doctor know if the patient is healthy or not and if it is safe to undergo anesthesia. Once that’s a go, the dental can be scheduled! At SAH we perform dentals on Thursdays. Admission is between 8:00 and 9:00 in the morning, too early for me! Plan on about ten minutes with the technician to review your pets dental plan for the day.
Alright, now for the day of…
Dr. Ellis will perform another exam prior to any premedication and anesthesia to again confirm the patient is healthy and ok to move forward. A premedication is then given, this helps ease anxiety and relax the patient. My girls will then place an IV catheter in the front leg. This allows them to have quick access to the veins to administer medications and for the patient to receive IV fluids throughout the procedure. (Man are they are gonna have to pee when they wake up!) Once the catheter is in place, induction of anesthesia is given to allow intubation and gas anesthesia is started. Now the fun begins! I wish they would let me take a whack at polishing some nasty teeth! While on gas anesthesia, the assistant is monitoring vitals such as, blood pressure and pulse the whole time using high-tech equipment. Teeth are scaled to remove tartar and plaque and assessed for possible extractions. If extractions are needed, Dr. Ellis removes the teeth and places sutures to close the site. (They even hold on to the extracted teeth in case you want them as a souvenir! Gross!) Now the teeth are polished for a clean sparkling look and fluoride treatment is done as well. Fresh and clean! I bet your pets’ breath smells better that yours now!
And for the finale…
If we do any extractions, a laser treatment is done to help promote healing and decrease inflammation. The patient is removed from anesthesia and transferred to recovery. I’m wicked jealous of the set up, they get large blankets to snuggle on and cover up with. They even get a heat disc to make them nice and toasty! How come I don’t get that celebrity treatment!? I think I need to consult with my girls and change this! Recovery at home is about 2-3 days, just until the anesthesia is worked out of their system.
Now, the great thing about dentals is they typically do not need to come back! I mean, as long as things are going well at home, there is no need to see us again…Unless there were extractions of course, then Dr. Ellis does like to see the patient back in about 10-14 days to make sure things are healing well. Then, it is all up to you! Prevention is very important and we highly recommend daily teeth brushing or using a dental diet such as Royal Canin Dental. All of these products you can find at the office.
Well, there you go! Now you know all the ins and outs of dental care and cleanings! Now pick up that phone or go online to schedule an appointment with one of the doctors at SAH! Do it for your fur babies! They will thank you!
Until next time,
-Murphy Cat
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