Veterinary Services

Pet Dental Cleanings

Revitalize your pet’s oral health with our specialized pet dental cleaning services. Our experienced team ensures gentle and thorough cleanings, combating plaque and ensuring fresh breath. Prioritizing your pet’s comfort, we provide a stress-free experience for a happier, healthier companion. Choose us for brighter smiles and overall well-being.

Mission Statement

We believe in and recognize the benefit of the human-animal bond in our daily lives and the ability of animals to help us be better people. Through that bond, we focus on unconditional love, obedience, and enjoyment of what life offers us. To achieve and maintain this, we believe in a timely, thorough, and complete evaluation of each patient at each visit and offer the best preventative, diagnostic, and treatment regimens that provide state-of-the-art care. We believe in offering complementary services that increase the client’s ability to provide for their pet’s physical and emotional well-being, helping them be well-trained and good citizens.

What to Expect

Why Dental Care?

Dental care of dogs and cats is one of pet health care’s most commonly overlooked areas. A recent AAHA study showed that approximately two-thirds of pet owners do not provide the dental care veterinarians recommend. The American Veterinary Dental Society reports that 80 percent of dogs and 70 percent of cats show signs of oral disease by age three. Dental disease doesn’t affect just the mouth. It can lead to more serious health problems, including heart, lung, and kidney disease, making it all the more important to provide your pets with proper dental care from the start.

Doctor's Examination

Establishing a client/doctor/patient relationship is the first step you need to take to provide a happy and healthy life for your pet. By scheduling an exam with one of our veterinarians, we can assist you in your pet’s future care. We are responsible for communicating the results of physical exam findings and test results and their meaning and educating you on the benefits and risks associated with health care.

Blood Work

Your pet’s health is our primary concern. As a precautionary measure, we recommend that all pets undergo pre-anesthetic blood work to ensure that their body can process the anesthetic and eliminate it after the procedure. Any pet over the age of 5 must have pre-anesthetic blood work before their dental procedure. Blood work may include but is not limited to a CBC (Complete Blood Count to screen for anemia and infection), a thorough chemistry panel (organ testing including kidney and liver), as well as PT & PTT (clotting ability). In addition, if this is your pet’s first blood panel, it will give us a good baseline to help evaluate future health issues should they arise.

Electrocardiogram

An EKG is a pre-anesthetic examination you should consider for your pet. An EKG is an electrocardiogram–literally an “electric heart picture.” The heart is a hollow muscle whose contractions pump blood through the body. These contractions are recorded as electrical signals and measured with an EKG machine. Changes in heart muscle and some, but not all, heart abnormalities can be diagnosed through an EKG. An EKG will help determine if your pet can safely undergo anesthesia and the best anesthetic protocol.

At Home Preparedness

You can make your pet’s procedure less stressful on you and your pet by following these simple steps before the procedure:

Fast your pet- Your pet should arrive for his or her procedure fasted; this will help reduce vomiting from pre-medications and while under anesthesia. A technician will give you detailed fasting instructions the day before the procedure
Bathe your pet- To help us ensure a clean and sanitized environment for your pet, please bathe your pet before his or her procedure.
Potty your pet- Give your pet a chance to relieve themselves before checking in. This will help your pet not relieve themselves while under anesthesia.

Check-in Appointment

Please be prepared to spend 15-20 minutes on your pet’s scheduled check-in appointment on the morning of the cleaning. We try to be as clear and thorough as possible while quickly moving you through the check-in process. During your check-in appointment, you can expect a technician to take vitals on your pet, provide a brief history, and confirm your pet has been fasted, bathed, and had a potty break. We will also provide a detailed treatment plan and have you sign a consent form authorizing the treatment. You will have the opportunity to ask any final questions about your pet’s procedure.

Pre-Anesthetic Process

Before your pet’s dental cleaning, we will take the time to make sure your pet is ready. If elected, we will run your pet’s EKG before the procedure. We will be placing a surgical IV catheter to administer anesthetic induction medications and give us the ability to provide emergency medications or fluids if the need arises. Your pet will be given pre-medications before being put under controlled anesthesia. Pre-medications include pain control and essential heart stimulation medications.

Anesthetic Induction and Intubation

After pre-medication, an anesthetic induction medication is administered, starting the anesthetic process. An endotracheal tube is then placed. An endotracheal tube is a breathing tube used to keep the airway open and provides a controlled passageway for the anesthesia gas to reach your pet. Your pet is now under a controlled “sleep” and ready for his or her dental cleaning procedure.

During the Dental Procedure

During your pet’s dental cleaning, you can rest assured your pet is being monitored very closely. While your pet sleeps comfortably, one of our technicians cleans, polishes, and applies fluoride to your pet’s teeth. The doctor then checks the technician’s work, and if your pet needs teeth extracted or other treatments, a veterinarian will perform these procedures, just like your personal dental cleanings. Pictures of your pet’s teeth before and after the dental procedure will be taken.

After Dental the Procedure

Once a doctor has approved the dental procedure, your pet is taken off the anesthesia and monitored while he or she wakes up. Any vaccinations, antibiotics, or additional pain medications needed are given at this time. Once your pet is swallowing, ensuring they control their airway again, the endotracheal tube is removed. The surgical catheter is removed once your pet is fully awake, and a bandage is placed on his or her leg where the catheter was inserted to control bleeding. It can be removed in a few hours after returning home.

Check Out Appointment

Once your pet is awake, a technician will call you at the number you provided and update you on how your pet’s dental procedure went. The technician will also set up a discharge appointment with you when you may come and reunite with your pet. During the discharge appointment, the technician will give you any homecare instructions you may need, explain any medications being sent home, and answer any further questions you
have.

After Care Instructions

Your pet may experience some oral discomfort for 2-3 days following a dental procedure. The mouth may be tender for 6-7 days if any teeth are extracted. Any sutures will dissolve within two weeks. In most cases, the doctor will want to examine the extraction sites in 1-2 weeks. Mild drooling and/or a small amount of blood-tinged saliva are normal for a few days. Your pet’s throat or voice may also be sore. Call us if any of the following persist beyond three days: