Orlena Tampira, DVM

Veterinarian Orlena Tampira of Craig Road Animal Hospital in North West Las Vegas discusses the importance of proper dental care for canine and feline teeth.

By Orlena Tampira, DVM

Dental hygiene is just as important for your pets as it is for you. Not only can your loved one experience pain while chewing and bad breath, dogs and cats can experience the same diseases as humans like gingivitis, gum disease, and tooth decay. Without proper care, this bacteria can travel to the liver, kidneys, and heart through the blood stream.

Upper 4th premolar extracted due to extensive decay.

Periodontal disease, or gum disease, is very common in pets. Studies show that 85 percent of pets have gum disease by the age of three. A professional cleaning is the only way to remove harmful plaque and bacteria and assess the health of the mouth.

A proper dental cleaning involves placing your pet under anesthesia then scaling, polishing, and evaluating each tooth. Without anesthesia, these steps could not be performed properly thus decreasing the benefit of performing a dental.

Tartar build-up on canine teeth.

Things that you can do at home involve daily tooth brushing with pet toothpaste and certain foods or treats.

Dental health is very important in keeping a happy, healthy pet. Signs that your pet may need a cleaning could be bad breath, drooling, pawing at the mouth, loose or missing teeth, or discomfort while chewing. As always, it is best for a veterinarian to evaluate the mouth, any of our doctors would be more than happy to help you out with any questions or concerns you have.

Want to watch the entire dental cleaning process? You can see what a difference we made on Chip, a Greyhound, here: