Overview

At Tsawwassen Animal Hospital we have dentistry-trained and experienced Doctors and Veterinary Technicians who can discuss homecare and tartar prevention as well as dental cleaning or dental surgery with you.

Dental disease is the most frequently diagnosed health problem in pets. Imagine if you didn’t brush your teeth for days, weeks, or months. Unfortunately, this is the case for many of our dogs and cats, and more than 80% of dogs and 70% of cats have dental disease by the age of 3.

Common signs of dental disease include:

• Bad breath

• Broken or loose teeth

• Excessive drooling

• Chewing with or favouring one side of the mouth

• Pawing at or rubbing the muzzle/mouth

• Bleeding from the mouth

• Swelling under (or in front of) the eye

• Chronic eye infections or sneezing

• Discoloured teeth or gums

• Growths/masses in the mouth

• Reluctance to eat, especially dry food, or to play with chew toys

Even if you do not notice any of these symptoms, we recommend your pet be evaluated for dental disease by a veterinarian at least once a year. In addition to causing pain and discomfort, dental disease can also affect other organs in the body. Bacteria in the mouth can get into the bloodstream and cause serious infections in the kidneys, liver, lungs and heart.

Regular dental cleaning to maintain oral health is recommended as needed. In order to prevent gum and bone loss from tartar build up cleaning under the gumline is important. In addition, the whole tooth, including roots, need to be evaluated. This requires x-rays to be taken of the teeth. General anesthesia is used to allow this procedure. Once advanced dental disease is present, steps are needed to address it, such as extraction (removal) of severely diseased teeth.

The best way to deal with dental disease in our pets is to prevent it from occurring. Preventative care involves brushing the teeth every day and examining your pet’s mouth to pick up signs of early disease. There are numerous other products that can be used in addition to brushing to maintain good oral health, including dental diets, dental sprays, and water additives

• View how to brush your dog's teeth here >

• For dental procedures requiring a specialist, we will refer you to West Coast Veterinary Dental Specialists in Burnaby.