Do you guys know… that February is National Pet Dental Health Month!? This is a big deal to all of us at CVC because we are understand how important good oral health is to your pet’s overall health.

Veterinary Dentistry is much too broad of a topic to cover in a single blog post. Therefore to  simplify for the sake of time and length I am going to stick with writing about:

My Top 3 Reasons To Pay Attention To Your Pet’s Mouth.

1.Dental disease is PAINFUL.

Gingivitis, stomatitis, fractures, abscesses, resorptive lesions, periodontal disease, malocclusion… these are terms we use daily when discussing the painful problems your pets can develop. Their pain often goes unrecognized by pet owners until treatment is completed and One of the problems we deal with pain in our animals is that they don’t

“tell” us that they’re in pain like we think they should. Veterinary professionals are trained and educated to recognize your pet’s subtle signs of pain and discomfort. Often these are not outward signs and only picked up on during a physical exam.

2. The mouth is the gateway to the rest of the body.

Which means a disease in the mouth can lead to disease throughout the rest of the body, especially the heart, kidneys, and lungs.  Human physicians have known for years how disease in the mouth will exacerbate and even trigger diseases in other organ systems such as the respiratory system, renal system, and cardiovascular system. Veterinarians have also compiled research and anecdotal evidence that this is the case in our veterinary patients as well. By treating your pet’s mouth as well as you do the rest of their body you are actually preventing other diseases.  

3. Treating dental disease can be costly.

There is no getting around this fact. Unfortunately, there is no way to accomplish a thorough dental exam that is safe for the veterinary staff and the animal without anesthesia. And with anesthesia comes two things: risk and expense. The pros and cons of anesthesia deserve its own blog post- or conversation in the exam room.  When it comes to the expense of treating dental disease- like everything else we treat- the earlier in the disease process we treat, the less expensive it will be. The less time it will take, fewer medications, shorter recovery time, less serious side effects.

As you probably now realize, this is subject I’m a bit passionate about. I am constantly trying to improve my dentistry skills, learn about new procedures, discover the best preventative care methods to help reduce the risk of your pet developing more serious dental problems. And I would love to discuss this more with you at any time!

DON’T FORGET: If you have any questions or concerns about the state of your pet’s mouth- we offer FREE dental exams with our technical staff. A brief exam will allow us to discuss any current or potential problems as well as generate an accurate estimate for treatment if indicated. Don’t hesitate to contact us!

~Dr. Charlotte Lucas