Why is dental care important for pets?

Pet dental care is crucial for preventing painful oral health issues like gum disease and tooth loss. It also supports your pet's overall health by reducing the risk of infections that can spread to the heart, liver, and kidneys.

What dental services do you offer for pets?

We offer dental exams under anesthesia, digital dental X-rays, professional cleanings, polishing, fluoride treatment, and tooth extractions when necessary.

What are signs of dental problems in pets?

Common signs include bad breath, difficulty eating, drooling, red or swollen gums, loose or broken teeth, and reluctance to chew or play with toys.

How often should my pet receive a dental cleaning?

Most pets benefit from an annual dental cleaning, though some may need more frequent care depending on their age, breed, and dental health.

Do you follow AAHA dental care guidelines?

Yes, our veterinary team follows AAHA guidelines to ensure your pet receives safe, effective, and high-quality dental care at every visit.

Pet Dental Care

Pet Dental Cleaning for Cats & Dogs in Dundee, Elgin, & Algonquin, IL

Pet dental care is not just a cosmetic solution for whitening your pet’s teeth and freshening their breath. It also plays a major role in preventing painful and possibly debilitating oral health problems. Brushing your pet’s teeth every day may seem like over-attentive behavior, but it can significantly reduce plaque and tartar buildup. Furthermore, this habit can prevent conditions such as gingivitis and gum disease from ever developing. Dundee Animal Hospital offers complete, customized pet dental care programs to prevent future issues and treat existing ones. Our skilled veterinarians and technicians closely follow all AAHA guidelines when performing pet dentistry and related services.

Your pet’s dental health is directly connected to their overall health. If their mouth is inflamed and showing signs of infection, they also likely have problems elsewhere. Creating a dental care plan is an important first step towards giving your pet a healthier, happier life.

Pet Dental Care Services

Brushing your cat or dog’s teeth daily improves their oral hygiene, but pet dental care includes other important aspects. Our Dundee, Algonquin and Elgin veterinary teams can:

Conduct complete oral exams while your pet is under anesthesia to check above and below their gum line for hidden problems. Most dental issues take place under the gum line, where bacteria can collect unseen and cause painful infections.
Take dental X-ray images of the entire oral cavity to detect tooth fractures, pockets, damage to surrounding bone, and other problems.
Perform prophylactic dental cleanings on teeth that are generally healthy. This involves scaling each individual tooth with an ultrasonic scaling tool to remove calculus (hardened plaque).
Polish teeth after a cleaning to smooth the surface of each tooth, then follow with a fluoride treatment to prevent future plaque and tartar buildup.
Perform dental extractions to remove unsalvageable teeth.

Signs of Cat or Dog Gum Disease

Gum disease is a painful condition in which the gums become inflamed and bacteria collects in pockets around the teeth. This leads to infection, and can also result in tooth and bone loss if left untreated. In more extreme cases, the bacteria can enter the bloodstream and affect the heart, liver and kidneys. A majority of dogs and cats in the U.S. suffer from some form of gum disease. However, this problem can be prevented easily with daily teeth brushing, annual checkups, and dental cleanings recommended by your veterinarian.

Is your pet showing any of these signs? Be sure to let us know if you’re concerned about your pet’s dental health. The sooner we can treat their problem, the happier and healthier they’ll be.

Why People Trust Dundee Animal Hospital

For over 60 years, Dundee Animal Hospital has built a strong legacy of veterinary excellence, with each generation of staff passing down invaluable knowledge and experience. Today, that legacy empowers our skilled doctors and dedicated support team to deliver outstanding care for a wide variety of pets—including dogs, cats, birds, pocket pets, and exotic animals.

With a commitment to innovation and compassion, our hospitals in Dundee, Elgin, and Algonquin, IL, continue to raise the standard of care for both pets and their owners. We offer high-quality veterinary medicine, helpful educational resources, and exclusive promotions for our clients.

We invite you to learn more about us—and if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to call us at (847) 278-9942.

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Trista Reynolds

We are incredibly grateful to have found Dr. Lupo and Dundee Animal Hospital of Elgin. Our sweet tripod needed to establish care in our new hometown and we were so lucky to have met Dr. Lupo and all the staff there. Unfortunately, our time was short, as we unexpectedly discovered our guy had cancer. But Dr. Lupo helped us keep him as comfortable as possible for over 6 months and even made sure he was the one to help us say goodbye, even though it was not a clinic day for him. Dr. Lupo treated Bruiser like family and had the best bedside manner. He delivered news in a straightforward way, but was extremely tender and caring. The best vet we’ve ever encountered (and we’ve been through a lot with a senior disabled pup moving from the city to the burbs!!). Cannot thank this team enough for their care. Highly recommend Dr. Lupo. He will be our next vet once we feel ready to add a new member to the family. ❤️

Cindy Cunningham

Our appointment was to check my pups ears. There was so much care and knowledge.

jeff linamen

Excellent emergency care. Staff was extremely attentive and engaged, not rushed, providing great care.

Jean Alt

Everyone there is so kind and really took the time to get to know Henry.