Dental disease

This can range from mild gingivitis, inflammation of the gums, to sever periodontal disease. Sever periodontal disease is where the gums are badly inflamed, the teeth covered in tartar with the destruction of the tissues supporting the tooth and the accompanying bacteria and halitosis (bad breath) that this causes.

Severe dental disease does not limit the damage it does to the mouth, the huge amount of bacteria that is present can enter the blood stream and cause infections all over the body but most especially the kidney, liver or heart.

Just think how it would feel to have a mouth full of wobbly, infected teeth with inflamed and bleeding gums!! Not nice!

You worry about your pet getting cold in winter. You worry that your dog has a slight limp. You worry that your cat has small patch of hair loss on her back.

But do you ever worry that your pet's mouth seems painful, that maybe even they feel nauseous from the smell!

Dental Scale and Polish

This must be done under anaesthetic. Most pets would come in for a day and go home in the evening. At Valley Farm we use the most modern anaesthetic techniques, to keep your pet safe and allow for a quick recovery. We offer the option of testing your pets blood to check that their organs can handle the anaesthetic as well as Intravenous fluids to help keep the blood pressure up and the organs perfusesd.

The scale and polish is much like you would have with your dental hygienist. The ultrasonic scaler can remove the plaque and the polisher smoothes the microscopic scratches the scaler makes on the teeth. The mouth is thoroughly examined and any teeth that need to be extracted are removed.

Antibiotics and painkillers are given to keep your pet comfortable. The mouth may be a little sore for 48 hours after the scaling and extractions so soft food should be fed. Some of the mouths that we see we wonder how they have been eating at all the teeth and gums were so bad!

Home Dental Care

It best to start early in life to get your pet used to it but better late than never!
There are many products on the market that can be used to slow down the development of dental disease in you dog or cat

Brushing is the number one way to care for your pets teeth. We have a selection of special tooth brushes and tooth pastes. If you want to try this at home come in and see our nurse and she will give you a demo. Tooth pastes contain enzymes that help prevent the build up of the plaque and the physical action of the brushing also helps. We would love all our clients to do this daily but we know you are busy people so here are some other options.

If you can't brush then the next best is a dental Spray or gel. Dental sprays must be sprayed on to the teeth. A non hissing spray such as HexaRinse is good for cats. This is chlorhexidine and zinc solution. This or a basic chlorohexadine mouth spray can be used in dogs. These should be used atleast twice weekly and preferably daily.

Dental Gels can either be applied in to the mouth or on to a small amount of food or even a cat's paw for it to lick off. These work in a similar way to the sprays with an antibacterial and a plaque prevention ingredient.

Dental Chews come in all shapes and sizes. What you must remember is all chews contain calories. There are various types of dental chew probably the most popular are the Greenies. Although these do help a they are really just a healthy treat.

Many of the premium brand pet foods add various ingredients to their foods such as sodium polyphosphate, zinc and eucalyptus. These substances slow the build up of tartar and reducing the bacteria in the mouth. Other more dental specific foods not only have these types of substances but also each biscuit is formed with parallel fibres that have a mechanical brushing action on the teeth. These special dental care diets can be fed exclusively, which gives the best benefits or combined as part of the diet.

It is not necessary to restrict yourself to one method of keeping your pets clean but a combination such as feeding an oral care food and brushing twice a week would be better than just the twice weekly brushing.

Do the kisses test on your pet – if you can't get close then they need a trip to see our qualified Veterinary Nurses.