Hi everybody, it's Dr. Michelle Drake at the Drake Center. I'm here to answer your questions about dog dental care:
1) Dr. Drake, how does dental health impact the overall health of my dog?
So, dental health is so important; it really affects your whole entire body. If you have a dental disease, not only can it be painful, but as we know in humans, gum disease can be a sign that there are more serious things going on in the body. Certainly, if we have infections along the gum line we can cause bacteria to be released into the body and cause heart disease or even kidney disease sometimes. Most importantly, dental disease is painful. So, if you have cracked, broken, or infected teeth, those are chronic sources of pain. Your dog's never going to raise their hand and say, "hey, I've got a toothache!" They'll learn to live with pain which is really unpleasant and nobody likes to think about that going on, so it's really important that you have exams on a regular basis.
2) How can I care for my dog's teeth at home?
So, what we recommend is come in here once a year at least - if not twice a year, depending on their age - and have us take a look at the mouth because we really don't want you even brushing the teeth if they have problems that would be painful. But, once we've examined your dog's teeth, then recommend brushing them every day, brushing is the best way. Some people say, “what if I just have a toothbrush when they go to the groomer?” I'm like, that'd be about the same as you going to get your teeth brushed once a month when you had your hair done, so it really is important to have the teeth brushed every day.
3) What are some signs and symptoms of dental disease in dogs?
So the most common symptom or sign is bad breath. So really, if your dog has chronically bad breath, that's because there's a lot of nasty bacteria underneath the gum line creating some really nasty smells. More serious signs are if they're drooling or dropping food - that's when the mouth is so bad that they can't even eat.
4) What are some of the common dental diseases in dogs?
So we have Gingivitis, which is just inflammation of the gums along the border - between the tooth and the gum; so you would see redness of the gum. Periodontal Disease is a more severe disease. It’s when the disease goes underneath the gum line and up the inside of the tooth. That's periodontal disease; we can also have broken teeth. Dogs get tumors in their mouth; there's certain tumors that grow just due to inflammation in certain breeds, or they actually can get oral cancers as well. So really, when we talk about dental disease and oral health, we're talking about all the above.
5) Why is early detection and diagnosis of dental disease so important?
Well - just like you and I - if we have regular dental care (hopefully by getting our teeth professionally cleaned at least twice a year) and we are really good about brushing and flossing at home, then we can really keep our mouths healthy. If we wait three years and then start doing that, then we're gonna have a lot more issues. Same thing with dogs and cats - if we can keep their mouths healthy and keep them healthy beforehand, then we're gonna get to keep those teeth a lot longer and we'll have a lot less pain in the mouth as well.
6) How often should my dog's teeth be checked?
At a minimum, once a year. In dogs that are above 10 years old, we really recommend twice a year because we start to see things accelerate more at that stage. I start to see a lot more dental disease and we really don't want to wait and hold off. I know some people get fearful of dentals because they do require anesthesia, and people are like, "Oh, I just want to wait," or "I'm afraid of anesthesia." I always tell people, I know for certain that the dental disease will progress. There's always some risk with anesthesia, but honestly, we never have any issues here because we're so diligent with our anesthetic protocols and so there really is nothing to worry about. There is something to worry about, though, with letting dental disease progress: Pain and illness and just not a good situation.
7) What is a professional dental cleaning like for my dog?
First, we would examine them before the day of the procedure and we would generally draw some blood work to make sure their kidney and liver and everything's in good shape. We're going to check their heart and do a thorough physical exam on them before we do any anesthesia. Then, the day they come in here, we're going to go ahead and give them just a little pre-anaesthetic for anxiety and just to help with, you know, kind of soothing the anesthetic procedure. We're going to place an IV catheter so they can have fluids; that's a way of supporting them during the anesthetic process. At some point, they're going to be anesthetized and they're going to be intubated, meaning that they're going to have a tracheal tube down into their trachea so we help them breathe - and that's how we administer the gas anesthetic as well. Then, the dental cleaning is going to occur.
The doctor's going to be right there with the technician who's doing the cleaning. We're going to take dental x-rays because half the tooth is underneath the gum line, so if we don't take dental x-rays, we don't really know what's going on. We're going to assess the x-rays; we're going to check the pockets of the teeth: how much space is underneath the gum that's being exposed, because that could be a place where there's periodontal disease. Then, we're going to decide whether or not there's going to need to be any extractions - which hopefully that's not the case. Before we do anything like that, or any dental surgery, we're going to call you and let you know what we found and get your permission to go ahead and proceed. We're going to then wake up your pet after the procedure, provide pain medication - which can include an infrared block - IV medication and probably some oral medication to go home - and most likely some antibiotics. In many cases, we can also clear up the infection they may have. They're going to stay with us until they're completely recovered from the anesthesia, but when we send them home, they are still going to be a little bit sleepy - so you can anticipate that. Certainly, we take calls for a couple hours after this.
You're always welcome to call us if you have any other questions. Most importantly, if there's anything going on, give us a call at 760-753-9393 and we'd be happy to address those concerns.
The Drake Center for Veterinary Care is an AAHA-accredited animal clinic located in Encinitas, CA. The Drake Center loves being a source of information for all pet owners across the country; however, if you have any questions regarding pet care and do not live in Encinitas, CA or surrounding cities, we encourage you to contact your local veterinarian.