Dental Health
The best defense against plaque is regular teeth cleaning program at home in combination with professional scaling and polishing.
Everyone can understand the importance of dental care for their pets, because the risk of gingivitis and periodontal disease is the same for animals as it is for people. Animals feel the same pain of sore gums and a toothache that we feel. So, the main reason to care for your pet's teeth is to prevent pain.
If you never brushed your teeth, your mouth would be sore and you would have trouble eating. You might feel tired all the time because the infection in your mouth would spread throughout your body. The exact same thing happens in your pet's mouth. The mouth is the door to the rest of the body. It has a very good immune system to protect it against the constant barrage of bacteria and toxins it deals with every minute. But it needs some help. We must keep it clean of the plaque that is constantly forming on the teeth.
Plaque is a clear, thick substance consisting of saliva, bacteria, and food particles. In fact, plaque is 80% bacteria and forms within 6-8 hours after brushing. It sticks to the teeth and collects in the pockets around the teeth. If not removed, an infection will result. This infection will eventually overwhelm the body's immune system.
· Bad Breath
· Drooling
· Difficulty chewing or eating
· Brownish-yellow calculus (tartar) on teeth
Gingivitis and Periodontal Disease
Periodontal disease is a disease of the tissues that support the teeth in the mouth. It occurs when the body's immune system cannot clear the mouth of the bacteria and toxins. If plaque is not removed, it will eventually accumulate and harden into dental calculus (or tartar). Calculus can become hard and yellow brownish covering over the crown of the tooth. Calculus can also cover the gum so that the plaque beneath the gum-line cannot be cleaned. The plaque beneath the gum-line is the real cause of periodontal disease. As the plaque accumulates and the bacteria multiply, the pockets around each tooth become deeper and more painful for you pet.
Periodontal disease has been categorized into 4 stages of severity.
Stage I
Plaque extends to the gum line causing inflammation of the gingival.
Stage II
Marked by inflammation and swelling. Gingivitis can usually be reversed by
thorough teeth cleaning by a veterinarian while the dog or cat is anesthetized.
If treated early, the gums can return to normal appearance and function. If
untreated, periodontitis can result
Stage IV
progression of the bone loss usually creating tooth mobility. Once bone loss
from periodontal disease has occurred, therapy more involved than routine
cleaning is needed.
Stage III
disease occurs when there is bone loss in addition to gingival inflammation and
infection.
An early sign of disease is a swelling and reddening at the gum-line of each tooth. If you touch this area, your pet may shy away and the gum may bleed. This is gingivitis. Gingivitis is a reversible inflammation of the gums. If teeth and gums are cleaned now, the mouth can be "as good as new." However, if the pockets around the teeth are deep enough to infect the bone supporting the teeth and cause the gums to infect the bone supporting the teeth, irreversible changes have occurred in the mouth. This is periodontal disease. The damage it has caused cannot be completely reversed.
Eventually the pockets become deeper, the bone is eroded and lost, and the bacteria and toxins get into the bloodstream and cause widespread systemic disease. Some veterinarians feel that most disease in older animals is directly related to the constant low-grade infection periodontal disease subject to pets. A pet with periodontal disease is circulating bacteria and toxins throughout its body, which can result in liver, kidney, and heart disease.
How is Periodontal Disease Treated?
Treatment depends on the severity of disease.
fluoride help prevent plaque accumulation.
to treat the affected teeth or to repair the gum line.
Here are a few examples of sever periodontal disease:
This canine tooth (Stage III), has tartar buildup affecting the gum line, causing gingival swelling and discomfort for the pet. If left untreated, the infecting of the gingiva will progress until the whole tooth socket is inflamed, affecting the root and eventually would require removal of the canine. After the dental cleaning and tartar is removed, along scaling below the gum line, The gingival swelling will recede and the tooth has been saved.
This patient's molars and pre-molars have major Tartar build-up (Stage IV). Gingival swelling and the tartar buildup and infection has caused the gingiva to recede, causing severe root exposure. Dental X-rays are used to see if the roots of the teeth are affected and how much bone loss is under the gum line. At this point many teeth are loose and will need extractions. After cleaning the teeth, notice how much root is exposed, these teeth will unfortunately have to be removed due to the large amount of bone loss. We will spare your the pictures of after the extractions, but you can imagine...
As you can see, treatment of your pet dental problems should be taken care of, hopefully before Stage III. At Stage III, your pet feels major discomfort and the periodontal disease can be causing other major health problems Anesthesia is also required for all dental work, as the severity of the condition rises, so does the length of time your pet with undergo the procedure.
The Professional Dental Cleaning:
We may recommend that the teeth be cleaned and polished. Scaling removes the plaque and tartar buildup. Polishing smoothes the surface of teeth to discourage plaque buildup. Depending on your ability to brush the teeth, and your pet chemistry, a professionally cleaned may be necessary every 1 to 2 years, each pet is different.
Animal health & Rehab Center is your pet's dentist, as well as medical doctor. The Hospital has recently added a state of the art fiber optic dental suite and a dental x-ray system.
Schedule an appointment today to have your pets dental condition evaluated.
305-665-3526