Routine Dental Exams & Preventative Care

At Home Animal Clinic partners with pet owners to ensure a lifetime of oral health. During regular health care visits our veterinarians will provide a dental assessment. Since there may be no clinical signs of oral pain or disease, regular annual examination by a veterinarian are key to identifying dental disease. If you notice particularly unpleasant breath, drooling, bleeding gums, facial swelling, pawing at the face, or a reluctance to chew, please contact us for a dental exam.

There are a number of steps you, as a pet owner, can take to safeguard the longevity and comfort of your pet with good preventive and veterinary dental care:

• Daily brushing using a pet-safe toothpaste to minimize plaque/tartar buildup
• Tartar Shield Chews that have the Veterinary Oral Health Council (VOHC) designation, proven to remove plaque and prevent dental disease
• Oral rinses to protect against bacterial growth
• Prescription dental diets such as Purina DH or Science Diet TD
• Annual oral exams by a veterinarian

In-Clinic Veterinary Dental Care

Our veterinarians will recommend a dental cleaning If we spot signs of dental disease, such as gingivitis or tartar buildup, during a routine exam. Dental cleanings are performed under general anesthesia, as recommended by the American Veterinary Dental College. During the dental cleaning, a complete oral exam is performed to identify diseased and painful teeth. The teeth are then scaled and polished to remove plaque and calculus.

We also take digital dental X-rays to evaluate if there is disease below the gum line that cannot be detected on exam. If oral disease is detected, our veterinary team is experienced in treating and managing these conditions and can perform various procedures, such as tooth extractions and minor oral surgery.