We routinely examine the mouth of all our patients at every consultation. One of our Vets will make you aware of any disease (if present) and will recommend an appropriate treatment for your pet.

Symptoms of dental disease you may notice at home include:

• Smell from mouth
• Excessive drooling
• Chewing on one side of the mouth
• Dropping harder food when eating
• Swelling around the face, particularly under the eye
• Your pet may appear duller and more listless than normal

Whilst there are “anaesthesia -free” lay people performing “dentistry” on pets, this is entirely inadequate. The only way you can perform a proper and thorough dental treatment and examination on a pet is under anaesthetic. Once an animal is under anaesthetic, the whole mouth can safely and reliably be examined. All teeth can be cleaned (inside and outside of every tooth) and if any diseased teeth are found on the oral examination, this can be dealt with appropriately under the anaesthetic. Anaesthesia free dentistry cannot do this and therefore is wholly inadequate in treating dental disease. Furthermore, anaesthesia free dentistry can be painful and dangerous to the pet.

You will receive an emailed consent form 2 x days before your pet’s procedure. Please ensure you read this and carefully fill out the required fields. Once you have completed and submitted your form, the form will electronically be sent back to us and automatically attached to your pet’s file.

Your pet will be admitted to hospital for the day. Most dentals are admitted between the times of 7:40am-9am. Your pet is to be fasted in preparation for the procedure.

All Dental procedures involve the following

1. Pre anaesthetic blood work – to screen kidneys/liver/glucose/blood protein/red blood cell count/platelet count
2. Intravenous Fluids for the entire procedure and in the post-operative phase for elderly patients.
3. Dedicated anaesthetic nurse
4. Complete monitoring of life vitals (Heart rate / blood pressure / oxygenation / end tidal Co2)
5. Complete clean of all teeth
6. Complete examination of all teeth
7. Dedicated nurse to recover your pet

Some dental procedures involve the above and the following as well if surgery is required

• If disease is found on the oral examination, dental radiographs will be performed
• If teeth need to be removed, nerve blocks and a full surgical extraction will be performed
• Internal stitches may be required
• Pain relief and antibiotics may be sent home with your pet

Your pet will typically be discharged from hospital between the hours of 4pm – 6:40pm.

This is rare. Most of our patients are discharged on the same day in the evening

For most pets who have a dental clean and polish only, you will be able to feed them their normal meal in the evening. We recommend that you put your pet to bed and let them sleep off their anaesthetic. They should be back to normal the very next day.

For animals that have had multiple extractions, you will be sent home with medication. Please follow the instructions given to you by our Vets.

Please do not let dogs go walking off leash on the evening of a dental procedure. They may be disorientated from the anaesthetic and could injure themselves.

If your pet has not had any major extractions or surgery, you should be able to feed them their normal food and stick to their usual routine.

If your pet has had extractions or major dental surgery, it is likely that your pet will need to eat soft food for 10-14 days. Some medications can be placed in the soft food if required.

For most routine prophylactic procedures where there are no extractions, we will not need to see your pet again for a follow up unless you have concerns.

For dental surgery, it will depend on what tooth/how many teeth are removed. Some may not need to be seen again. Others will need to be re-assessed 10-14 days after the procedure. You will be advised by your Vet whether this is required or not.

No. We place dissolvable sutures so we will not need to remove any stitches placed in your pet’s mouth.

This is a difficult question to answer. The frequency of dental procedures is determined by several factors including:

• Genetics
• How well your pet chews their food
• What you are providing at home for dental care (brushing teeth/chewy foods and toys/dental care products)
• Breed
• What type of food you feed your pet Some pets require an annual dental.

Some pets have dental procedures performed more infrequently. Your Vet will help guide you on the frequency of dentistry required in your pet

• Brushing your pets’ teeth regularly (usually applicable to dogs only)
• Providing dental chews and toys
• Providing raw bones / chewy food items
• Providing specialised dental biscuits designed to be abrasive to clean your pet’s teeth as they eat
• Providing powders to foods like Plaque Off

No, you can’t. Unfortunately, your pet will accumulate plaque and tartar no matter what you do. However, with good dental hygiene you can reduce the frequency of your pet’s dental treatments.