Did you know? Periodontal disease is the most common clinical condition in cats and dogs — but don’t worry it’s preventable! Read on to learn about our dental care and recommended at-home care.
What To Do At The Vet
Schedule an annual exam with your veterinarian at Kenmore Veterinary Hospital. A thorough oral exam is a part of every checkup.
This exam will allow Dr. Mulvaney and her team to make personalized recommendations about when your pet’s first dental cleaning should be performed, as well as any home care that is recommended.
A professional dental cleaning is recommended between age 3-5 for most dogs, and by age 5 for most cats.
Professional dentistry at Kenmore Veterinary Hospital includes hospitalization and personalized anesthesia with a dedicated licensed veterinary technician and DVM team, a full set of dental x-rays, examination of every tooth and surrounding oral structures, and of course scaling and polishing.
Dr. Mulvaney is skilled in tooth preserving periodontal procedures such as open root or closed root planing, odontoplasty/dentin bonding, as well as extraction work as needed.
What To Do At Home
Practice regular teeth brushing with a pet toothbrush and toothpaste. Are you struggling? Schedule a consultation with our wonderful technical team to get tips and tricks on training tooth brushing behavior.
Not all pets will accept brushing and dental chews and diets can be very helpful in this case. Look for VOHC approved products: www.vohc.org/accepted_products_dogs.html or www.vohc.org/VOHCAcceptedProductsTable_Cats.pdf
We do not recommend hard chewing items such as bones, antlers, Himalayan milk bones/yak chews, Nyla bones or ice cubes, especially in puppies, to avoid tooth fracture. A general guideline is chews should be able to be flexed between two fists or dented with a fingernail.
