February is National Pet Dental Health Month. So one month out of the year you pick up your pets’ lip and peek in to see if your pet has dental tartar on their teeth. Yikes….they do….now what? At Sharp Animal Hospital here’s what happens……..
You bring your pet in for a dental exam and have either Dr. Sharp or Dr. Malarney examine your pet. The news is, you need to schedule an appointment for your pet to have a dental cleaning. So you set one up! The night before your pets dental procedure, you follow the instructions of no food or water after midnight. The next morning your pet is admitted and the technicians prep your pet for a dental cleaning. First they give a sedative injection, then they administer a drug called Isoflurane to put your dog under for digital dental x-rays and the cleaning procedure. Next the doctor looks over the x-rays to determine what exactly needs to be done. If there’s any additional dental work that needs to be done after the x-rays, you are quickly notified. In the mean time a technician takes a before photo.
The cleaning gets under way with an instrument called an ultrasonic scaler. The high frequency tip cleans below and above the gum line. Water shoots out from the scaler instrument to cool the teeth during the cleaning process. Before you know it, the scaler totally removes the excess tartar from your pets teeth.
The technician quickly takes an after photo before your pet awakens. This whole procedure takes less than two hours, unless a few teeth need to be removed.
I’ve seen a lot of before and after photos and I can’t believe the amazing transformation.
Before
After
In recovery, your pet is monitored while the anesthesia wears off. Soon it’s time for you to pick up your furry friend. Upon discharge you receive the before and after photo’s. You will be astonished to see your pet’s pearly whites.
With all this said, my best advice would be, Don’t Wait Till February!! Every month is Dental Month!!
