Professional veterinary Dental cleanings

Why is my pet not awake for a Dental Cleaning?
When your pet undergoes a dental procedure, they are anesthetized under general anesthesia. When your pet is anesthetized, this is what often worries most pet owners. However, with proper protocols anesthesia can be very safe. We encourage pet owners to ask us about our anesthesia protocol and experience prior to scheduling a procedure.

Dental Exam and Cleaning:

A complete oral exam and whole mouth digital dental radiographs are taken to identify any problems beneath the gum-line. (This is similar to the x-rays you might receive from your own dentist.) Common painful problems that can be identified with radiographs are broken teeth or roots, periodontal disease, and abscesses/infected teeth. 

We also perform a full cleaning under the gum-line since this is where the periodontal disease and bacteria can reside. It would be impossible to clean this area on an awake dog or cat. The crown or visible part of the teeth are also scaled and polished. This is a crucial step to remove plaque and calculus build up. Lastly, the teeth are polished leaving a completely smooth surface of the tooth. This discourages plaque and bacteria from adhering to the rough tooth surface.

OraVet:  ORAVET® Dental Hygiene Chews for Dogs — Serious Oral Care Made Simple 

After the procedure is done depending on the stage of your dog or cat's dental health, we can apply a sealant called OraVet. This sealant contains delmopinol and is one of the only products equivalents to you bushing your pets' teeth on a daily basis. OraVet is to be applied directly after the dental cleaning (the sealant can be used on newly cleaned surfaces) and then applied by the owner on a weekly basis. The application typically very easy to do as most pets tolerate it. There is also a canine dental chew if the sealant may not be the best for your dog. We will work with you to find the best option for you and your pet. 

Following the procedure your dog or cat is most often able to go home the same day. Unless there were teeth extracted and removed, then your pet can eat and return to it's normal diet.

Restorations
Dogs and Cats may also have congenital defect  or damage of the enamel on the crowns of the teeth. Not only unsightly, but these defects can also expose the underlying dentin, which is sensitive or painful. If this is the case we can perform a bonded restoration to make the teeth smoother. This is so the teeth look better and stay easier to keep clean. But more importantly, restorations act as a bandage to protect the sensitive pulp tissues inside the tooth from further damage.