Dentistry
Pet Dental Care in Huntersville, NC
Home dental care is the best way to prevent dental disease. The best prevention is daily brushing with a dental prophylaxis kit which includes a toothbrush and tube of animal-specific toothpaste (poultry and vanilla mint flavors are popular for dogs, seafood for cats). Not all pets will stand for such invasions into the mouth. One option for those who don’t is enzymatic rawhide chews for dogs, or dental chews for cats.
Professional dental cleaning is the best way to remove any tartar built-up on the teeth. While under anesthesia, a professional cleaning begins with accessing the amount of tartar, pocket formations, and the amount of inflammation present. At this time, we also evaluate the integrity of the teeth (visually and by taking digital dental x-rays) to see if any extractions are necessary. Simple extractions are usually performed before the cleaning process begins. If no extractions are needed, we proceed directly to the cleaning process. Ultrasonic scaling of the teeth is performed to remove plaque and tartar from the teeth. After all the tartar has been removed, the teeth are then polished and a chlorhexidine rinse is applied. Professional dental cleanings are recommended once yearly for most patients as this greatly reduces their risk of developing periodontal disease.

