Creating Cleaner Smiles & Healthier Lives with Cat & Dog Teeth Cleaning in Atlanta, GA
Do you avoid getting kisses from your pet because of their breath? Do you catch them dropping kibble on the floor every time they eat? You should probably see a vet to make sure your canine or feline family member doesn’t have an oral infection. Periodontal disease is one of the most common conditions affecting dogs and cats. It can interfere with their quality of life, and even make them vulnerable to heart, liver, or kidney disease. At Pharr Road Animal Hospital, we can help you understand and provide for all your pet’s dental needs, so they can stay infection-free (and have clean pearly whites) for a lifetime. Call us at (404) 237-4601 to make an appointment.
Schedule your pet’s dental checkup today.
Call (404) 237-4601.
Is Bad Breath in Pets Really that Serious?
While there is certainly no reason to panic over your pet’s bad breath, it shouldn’t be ignored, either. Bad breath might indicate excessive plaque and tartar buildup, gingivitis, or periodontal disease. The only way we can know for sure what’s causing your pet’s bad breath is to do an oral exam. From there, we can recommend the appropriate treatment to address any existing problems and prevent future issues.
The Importance of Cat and Dog Teeth Cleanings
If your pet comes to us with bad breath and evidence of plaque and tartar buildup along their gum line, we’ll recommend a teeth cleaning to remove the buildup and treat any infections present. Regular teeth cleanings are essential for dogs and cats because they allow us to clean not just the crown of each tooth, but under the gum line as well, where most infectious bacteria resides. If we don’t clean under the gums, this bacteria will gradually destroy the roots of the teeth and the surrounding tissue. Not only is this condition painful; it can result in heart, liver, or kidney disease if any of the oral bacteria enters your pet’s bloodstream.
How We Clean Your Pet’s Teeth and Help to Prevent Future Infection
To perform teeth cleanings on our dog and cat patients, we need to put them under general anesthesia. While they’re under, we’ll take digital dental X-rays of your pet’s mouth to fully assess the health of each tooth from top to bottom. This allows us to find issues such as an embedded tooth root (with no crown), signs of tooth resorption, bone loss, and more.
The teeth cleaning procedure itself involves:
- Utilizing our hand scaling and ultrasonic scaling tools to remove stubborn plaque and tartar buildup
- Polishing the tooth enamel to create a smooth, plaque-resistant surface
Maintaining Your Pet’s Healthy Smile at Home
Prevention is the best medicine. To preserve your pet’s pearly whites and prevent gingivitis or periodontal disease, we recommend brushing their teeth at least several times a week and scheduling annual dental checkups. Additionally, you can incorporate a dental diet, dental treats, and special toys to supplement the teeth brushing and periodic teeth cleanings. Our team at Pharr Road Animal Hospital would be happy to offer suggestions on what dental care products to use.
For more information, give us a call at at (404) 237-4601.