Dentistry

Most pets have some form of dental disease caused by a buildup of plaque, tartar, and calculus.  As this buildup increases, around the gums he or she will develop an infection along the gum line which will eventually cause many problems including:

• Bone erosion and infection around the teeth result in tooth abscesses and sinus infections.
• Terribly bad breath for you to put up with.
• Heart valve infection is a common secondary problem to gum infections.  This is called bacterial endocarditis which can lead to congestive heart failure and death.  This occurs because the infection along the gums gets into the blood stream and eventually causes infection of the heart valves – a very serious problem.
• Kidney disease also is a common result of untreated dental disease.  Those same bacteria that can get on the heart valves often infect the kidneys which can eventually cause kidney failure. 

We would recommend that you schedule an appointment to have your pet’s teeth cleaned as soon as possible.  It will require him to have a general anesthetic so that we can properly clean and polish his teeth.  We also can pull any abscessed unsalvageable teeth at that time.  Your pet will have to stay for the day and can go home that evening.  We will send 7 – 14 days worth of antibiotics to get the infection under control and recommend measures you can take to prevent this from recurring.  Call if you have any questions.  Thank you!