Pet Dental Care

Cat & Dog Teeth Cleaning

Cat & dog teeth cleaning 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 dental procedures 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.

Dental Services For Your Pet

Brushing your companion’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 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.