Dental Health Services

As the time approaches for a dental procedure for your pet, we wanted to explain what will take place the day it is scheduled. We strive for this procedure to be as safe and as painless as possible. Realizing your pet is not accustomed to a stay at our hospital, we try to reduce the stress involved through our anesthetic protocols and by keeping the hospitalization brief.           

First, during the admission process we want to answer any questions you may have and make sure that all procedures needed are completed while your pet is under anesthesia. We do recommend pre-anesthetic blood work to give us basic information about liver, kidney, and bone marrow function. We will also obtain vital signs and a physical exam prior to the administration of any drugs.

Second, our anesthetic protocol consists of using a sedative, inhalation maintenance anesthesia, and a post-operative analgesic injection. Using this combination of drugs, your pet is treated in a safe and compassionate manner. Throughout anesthesia, a technician will monitor vital signs, including blood pressure and respiratory rate, until recovery is complete. An intravenous catheter will be placed and fluids administered. Detailed records are kept of any changes in condition. Pain control is important and medications may be sent home for your pet to keep him as comfortable as possible. In most cases, this anesthetic combination permits pets to go home the same night allowing their recovery in familiar surroundings. 

Our approach to the comprehensive dental evaluation, cleaning and treatment is the same as a human dentist. We chart each individual tooth measuring periodontal pockets. We also obtain a set of full mouth digital dental radiographs to assess the condition of the root structure and surrounding bone of each tooth. The digital radiographic equipment is fast and efficient reducing the time the patient is under anesthesia. We will contact you if we discover problems that we can address while your pet is anesthetized.

The last component of a dental visit, the discharge appointment, provides an opportunity for us to explain about special post-operative care and medications. It is also an opportunity for you to ask any questions and set up follow-up visits, if needed.                  

Please call us if you have any questions or to schedule an appointment for your pet if one is not already set up. Dental procedures are scheduled Monday through Thursday with admitting in the morning between 8:00-9:00am and release between 3PM and 6PM that same day.

Before	After