February is National Pet Dental Health Month! Did you know that dental care is just as important for your pet as it is for you? Keeping your pet's teeth clean and healthy does more than just prevent bad breath—gingivitis, periodontal disease and other dental health problems pets face can lead to more serious medical issues, including heart disease and other ailments. Frontier Pet Clinic uses state of the art ultrasonic and air driven dental equipment to provide your pet with healthy teeth and gums. We also polish the teeth after scaling, and use Oravet dental sealant on all dentals to help prevent plaque accumulation. Good oral health means greater comfort for your pet and also decreases the risk of other systemic side effects associated with dental disease. We also carry a variety of home dental care products to keep your pet's teeth clean in between dental cleanings.

Scaling the teeth by cracking off the tartar is not the same thing as a true veterinary dental cleaning! The Veterinary Medical board is actually considering creating regulations that would prohibit groomers and untrained personnel from cleaning teeth, as this is considered to be an illegal/poor practice of veterinary medicine. In reality, this process simply damages the enamel and dislodges bacteria, allowing bacteria easier access to the bloodstream. If this happens, the bacteria can cause infections in the liver, bladder, kidneys or even the heart valves, resulting in serious health problems.

There are several fundamental differences between the quick tooth scraping and a true dental prophylaxis done under general anesthesia. Most importantly, animals tend not to like having their mouths probed, making it extremely difficult to truly "clean" all the teeth. A true dental involves a 60 to 90 minute procedure whereby all the teeth, and all the different sides of the teeth, are cleaned with an ultrasonic scaler (the same one used by your dentist) after the teeth have been probed for pockets. A different probe tip is then placed on the scaler and is used to gently scrape underneath the gum line, where most dental disease due to bacterial buildup begins. An antiseptic solution is used during this process to disinfect under the gum line where the scraping takes place (this is called sub-gingival scaling). The next step of the process is polishing the teeth, in order to place a protective coating over the enamel. This is done with a rotating polish tip and a grainy substance that coats the teeth. The extra polish is then rinsed off and the teeth are dried. The final step involves sealing the teeth with a product called Oravet. This places a protective coating over the teeth that greatly slows down plaque formation by preventing attachment of bacteria to the teeth. We routinely recommend you continue the Oravet process at home on a weekly basis to keep your pets' teeth clean and healthy!

Depending on the severity of gum bleeding or oral inflammation and gingivitis, antibiotics may be sent home with your pet.

And there, in a nutshell, is what a true veterinary dental cleaning is!