Dental Checks

What is dental disease?

Dental disease is a painful condition which occurs overtime due a build-up of bacterial plaque and tartar that gets trapped under the gumline. Initially, the accumulation of plaque results in the inflammation of the gums (gingivitis), then, as a pets dental disease progresses, inflammation, and irreversible destruction of the tooths supporting structures precede. Dental disease is a silent process that has the potential to cause many other illnesses, including kidney, heart and blood infections.

 

DID YOU KNOW?

Up to 80% of dogs and 70% of cats have some form of dental disease by the age of 2 years of age?1

 

How can we slow down the progression/ prevent dental disease?

There are two key components in preventing dental disease in dogs and cats – home dental care and an annual veterinary dental care.

 

Home dental care helps to slow down the progression of dental disease. Daily tooth brushing remains to be the gold standard of preventing the build-up of plaque and calculus. Find out how you can inculcate this into your dogs or cats routine.

 

Additionally, dental chews, water additives and dietary changes may also be used to help assist you with your pet’s preventative oral healthcare. We would recommend using products with the Veterinary Oral Health Council (VOHC) stamp of approval

                              

 

Akin to human dental care, yearly veterinary dental checks also play an important part in your pet’s oral health care. If indicated, your veterinarian might recommend a dental COHAT which would allow us to perform dental x- rays, visualization and probing of each tooth under anaesthesia. This is important so that any beginnings of periodontal disease can be addressed immediately before it causes extensive and expensive damage.

 

At Kai's our purposefully built dental ward provides our Veterinarians with the ability to offer the best possible dental care to your pets 

 

References

  1. Wiggs RB, Lobprise HB. Periodontology. Veterinary Dentistry, Principals and Practice. Philadelphia: Lippincott – Raven, 1997, pp 186-23
  2. American Veterinary Dental College. https://afd.avdc.org/pet-periodontal-disease/