Dental Care

Pet Dental Care & Teeth Cleaning for Dogs & Cats

Proper Dental Care is the MOST important preventative care you can provide for your beloved family companion. Regular dental care for pets is widely known to protect and maintain healthy teeth and gums. However, many pet owners are unaware that regular dental care will significantly reduce the risk of serious diseases including liver, kidney, lung and heart problems. In addition teeth problems are a frequent cause of pain and discomfort and this too can be very effectively eliminated.

VCA Acacia Animal Hospital offers complete dental services including a thorough oral examination, ultrasonic teeth cleaning, hand scaling, tooth charting, digital dental radiographs, tooth extractions, gum surgery, teeth polishing, and even photos taken during the dental procedure which are included in an informational client handout given to you at the time of discharge explaining your pets findings, procedures and future recommendations.

Anesthetic and Non-Anesthetic Dental Procedures

VCA Acacia advises all dogs and cats have a regular anesthetic dental examination and cleaning usually beginning around 2 -3 years of age. It is imperative to evaluate your pet's mouth below the gum line and around the teeth for disease such as hidden deep gingival (gum) pockets and tooth root abscesses that create pain and disease, often with your pet showing no obvious signs.

A complete and thorough full-mouth oral examination including painlessly probing around every tooth and performing dental radiographs to evaluate tooth roots and surrounding bone, tooth extractions and oral growth removal all require general anesthesia.
Pet Dental Home Care

Regular cleaning of your pet's teeth is an important step to a strong dental care program. Learning to brush your pet's teeth may seem a difficult task, but the professionals at Acacia are here for guidance and support. During your Wellness visits, we are happy to instruct you in techniques for home dental care.

Here is a brief list of useful information for Pet Dental Health Care:

WebMD Pet Health website "How to Brush your Dog's Teeth" and the comprehensive article "Ten Steps to Cat Dental Health."

American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) Teeth Brushing article.

Read more about pet dental care at these websites: AAHA, American Veterinary Dental College and the Academy of Veterinary Dentistry.
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