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Dental Services and Teeth Cleaning:

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Proper dental care is as important for your pet as it is for you. In addition to preventing bad breath and periodontal disease it can also prevent infection from spreading through the blood stream to your pet's liver, kidneys, and heart. This bacterial shower can lead to permanent organ damage affecting your pet's overall health.

We provide dental care services to insure your pets’ proper oral health care.

Our Dental Services include (but are not limited to):

Dental Prophylactic Cleaning
Polishing
Extractions
Periodontal Care / Surgery
Puppy / Kitten Dental Evaluations
Home Dental Care Instruction

Damaged, painful or diseased teeth are as distressing to a dog as they are to humans. A dog's teeth can suffer from a variety of problems such as gingivitis (gum inflammation), tartar build up, loose teeth and abscesses. All these things are preventable with good diet and healthy jaw and teeth exercise. Dogs chew to clean their teeth, exercise the jaw and massage the gums, (and sometimes to reduce tension or boredom).

Dog's teeth erupt during the first six months of their life. The first of the 28 temporary milk teeth can be seen between 4-5 weeks of age and are slowly replaced by 42 permanent teeth by about 4 months old. Sometimes a milk tooth can be retained after the permanent teeth are through. If left this can cause problems to the surrounding teeth and produce a crowded mouth. A veterinary surgeon would give you good advice on what to do if that occurs. The chewing instinct is strong at this time and the puppy should be encouraged to chew suitable items to ensure healthy gums and teeth.

Suitable chewing items need some careful consideration as some toys or bones can prove to be fatal if bits are broken off and swallowed. Rawhide chews and some of the chews especially manufactured for maintaining healthy teeth are helpful. The size of the item should reflect the age and size of the dog.

Bad teeth and gums in a dog produce bad breath. In the book, Proper Dental Care, (details at end), it is suggested that 85% of dogs that are older than four years of age have tooth disease and due to this, most people consider 'doggie bad breath' to be normal and something to have to put up with. This is obviously not the case as bad teeth are preventable. It should also be noted that bad teeth produce bacteria, which in turn are released into the dog's bloodstream. The bacteria can travel to the dog's heart, kidneys and liver to cause other health problems.

If you remember that a visit to the dentist is a normal occurrence for you a couple of times a year, then it surely follows that your dog will need a couple of visits to the vet each year to ensure his teeth are as in good shape as yours are. Home care is of great importance. Cleaning your dogs' teeth regularly will help a great deal. Find a toothbrush with a long handle and angled head and soft bristles. Doggie toothpaste is available from most good pet shops or the vet. It is also possible to us your finger for cleaning a dogs teeth, using some gauze or a finger toothbrush. Whatever you use it should not be traumatic or worrying for the dog. If taken carefully and slowly. The procedure becomes part of the daily routine