Pet Dental Care in Clemson, SC
Did you know? Dental disease is the most common disease in dogs and cats. Not only does dental disease cause bad breath in dogs and cats, but it can actually lead to severe pain and serious systemic health issues! At Pinnacle Veterinary Group we focus on prevention of dental disease starting early in your pet’s life. But if your pet is like most, they probably already have dental disease. Lift up your pet’s lips, especially toward the back of their mouth. How do their teeth and gums look? Are their teeth pearly white and their gums a pretty pink color? Or are their teeth discolored and covered with tartar with bright red gums? If it’s the latter, your pet already has dental disease that is affecting their overall health. Call us today to schedule an examination to have your pet’s dental health evaluated!
The Importance of Pet Dental Care
Prevention of Dental Diseases
Dental health starts at home. Brushing your pet’s teeth is the gold standard when it comes to prevention. Unfortunately, most dogs and cats don’t love this process and it can be very hard to find the time to brush every day with how busy life gets these days!
Just like us humans, even if we brush our pets’ teeth daily, they still need professional cleanings regularly. At Pinnacle Veterinary Group, we recommend starting annual professional dental cleanings (also known as COHATs) by 2 years of age for all dogs and cats. Some pets, though, may even need COHATs starting earlier and performed every 6 months.
There are several over the counter products that can help maintain your pet’s dental health at home. But how do you know which products to use??? We recommend that our clients refer to the Veterinary Oral Health Council’s website to find products that have been tested and shown to actually provide benefit. Otherwise, you could be wasting money of something that isn’t really helping. Many of these over the counter dental health products available through our online store and they can be shipped directly to your home. Click here to start shopping for products today.
Periodontal disease…it’s there before you know it!
Dental disease starts small. Just a little bit of food debris gets stuck under the gumline during a meal. But if that debris is not removed by brushing within 24 hours, it hardens into tartar/calculus. Before you know it, mild dental disease progresses to periodontal disease, where the soft tissues and bone surrounding the teeth become infected. Infections that start in the mouth can easily spread, leading to serious conditions involving the heart, liver, and kidneys. These infections and their associated bone loss are painful, though most pets will hide that pain and continue eating. The scariest part is that most pet owners have no idea this is happening because it’s all below the gumline where we can’t see it! By the time we can see it, there is often irreversible damage and the affected teeth will likely require extraction.
The American Veterinary Dental College has a wonderful website where you can read more about periodontal disease and it’s affects on your pet’s dental health. You can visit their site here.
Our Services for Pet Dental Care
What is a COHAT?
So what is a COHAT, anyway? It is Complete Oral Health Assessment and Treatment. More commonly, these are called “Dentals” or “Dental Cleanings,” but they’re so much more than that.
A COHAT is a procedure that is performed under general anesthesia. There is no way to perform a thorough oral exam, take dental radiographs, or provide a safe and effective dental cleaning without anesthesia. For more more information about why you should not elect for an “Anesthesia Free Dental Cleaning,” click here.
During the COHAT your pet’s entire oral cavity is evaluated, not just their teeth. Full mouth radiographs are taken to evaluate what is going on below the gumline. Then, the teeth are scaled above and below the gumline to remove any debris and calculus. A probe is used to measure how deep “pockets” are around each tooth. This helps us determine how much bone is missing from that area. The teeth are then polished and a sealant is applied to protect the teeth and gums. The entire process generally takes about 1-2 hours if no additional treatments are required.
Professional Teeth Cleaning
A professional teeth cleaning absolutely requires anesthesia. Imagine how our experience as humans is going to the dentist every 6 months. We have to hold our mouths open for radiographs, the hand scaling is uncomfortable, and the ultrasonic scaler makes a terrible noise! No one enjoys that process but we understand why we are there and why it’s necessary. As much as we’ve tried, we have never had any luck convincing one of our patients to undergo a COHAT awake!
We understand that anesthesia can be scary. But at Pinnacle Veterinary Group, we take every precaution and never cut any corners to ensure your pet’s safety. All patients undergoing anesthesia have pre-anesthetic lab work performed to ensure they are healthy enough to undergo the procedure. We have the best anesthetic monitoring equipment available to make sure we can catch any anesthetic complications that may arise right away. Most importantly, each COHAT patient has two dedicated medical team members (at least one of whom is a licensed technician) attending to your pet and monitoring them for the entire process.
Call us today to schedule a dental consultation for your pet and our staff will answer any questions you have about our COHAT procedures.
Treatment for Dental Issues
If during a COHAT we find dental disease that cannot be resolved with cleaning alone, our veterinarians will discuss their treatment recommendations with you. If extraction of a tooth is needed, appropriate pain management, including local nerve blocking, will be administered, the tooth or teeth will be extracted, and post-extraction radiographs will be performed to ensure the root(s) of the affected teeth are fully removed.
Pets who have had extractions will be sent home with pain management and, when warranted, antibiotics.
For pets who have severe dental disease where the extraction of a tooth could lead to a jaw fracture or other serious complication, we will refer to a veterinary dentist to ensure the very best possible outcome for your pet.
Dental X-rays
Can you imagine trying to fix a broken bone without taking radiographs to determine where and how bad the fracture is? Attempting to repair a broken bone without even looking at is seems like a crazy idea. The same is true when it comes to extracting teeth.
Full mouth dental radiographs are performed with all of our COHAT procedures. This is the only way to visualize what is going on under the gumline so that an appropriate treatment plan can be determined. Radiographs are also the only way to be sure that tooth roots are fully removed after a tooth is extracted.
At Pinnacle Veterinary Group, we utilize digital dental radiology equipment to yield the best quality images available. These detailed images allow us to devise precise treatment plans tailored to your pet’s needs. We are always happy to go over the radiographs with you since, as they say, a picture is worth a thousand words!
Choose Pinnacle Veterinary Group for Your Pet’s Dental Care
Our team understands the critical role dental health plays in your pet’s overall well-being. With a focus on preventing dental diseases, we offer comprehensive dental exams and professional teeth cleaning tailored to meet each pet’s unique needs.
Our treatments address not only current dental issues but also aim at preventing future problems, ensuring your beloved companion maintains optimal health.
Equipped with advanced dental X-ray technology, we’re able to accurately diagnose and treat underlying conditions that might go unnoticed during a standard exam. Recognizing the significance of both canine and feline dental care, we take pride in providing thorough evaluations for cats and dogs, setting us apart in Clemson, SC.
Trust us to keep your pet’s smile healthy and bright throughout their life stages.