Dentistry

We believe that dental care is a very important aspect of a pet’s overall health. Undetected and untreated dental disease can lead to more severe issues like lung, heart, and kidney disease. We perform routine dental exams as part of annual physical examinations, and we often recommend a professional dental cleaning if it is needed. These recommendations are based on your pet’s current dental status as determined by our evaluation. Our veterinarians provide in-house dental care, cleanings, dental surgery, and more. We’re committed to excellent oral care for your pet.

Our Dental cleaning procedures can range in price depending on your pets oral health grade and if extractions are needed. We tailor estimates for each patient so giving out estimates over the phone would not be accurate or in your pet’s best interest. Our best advice is to have an oral exam with every wellness visit and stay on top of your pet’s oral health.

A thorough oral exam includes probing all the teeth for infection, examination for oral and throat tumors.

IV catheter and fluids during anesthesia

IV catheter to administer anesthesia, fluids and most importantly to administer lifesaving drugs in the case of an anesthetic emergency. These help your pet process and clear anesthesia quickly. It preserves and maintains blood pressure which often decreases secondary to anesthesia.

Full mouth x-rays

We x-ray all teeth down to the roots. Many painful root fractures have been diagnosed in perfectly normal looking teeth. X-rays also allow us to determine the extent of dental disease so that we can make educated decision on whether a tooth needs to be extracted. Many suspicious teeth are actually quite healthy below the gum line, while other healthier looking teeth have significant root disease. This is impossible to determine without dental radiographs.

Scaling and polishing

High speed dental equipment is used in order to effectively remove dental tartar and polish tooth surfaces.

Local anesthesia

In the event that your pet needs dental extractions, a local anesthetic (similar to Novocain) will be administered directly to the nerves associated with the diseased tooth to reduce post-operative pain.

Oral Surgery if necessary

Oral surgery is charged based on the time required to perform needed extractions. Teeth are surgically extracted utilizing a high speed drill to enable complete and precise extraction of diseased teeth. Extraction sites are closed with dissolvable suture to help speed the healing process. Non-surgical manual extraction of multi-rooted teeth and canine teeth is not recommended and can lead to retained root fragments and eventual abscess formation.

Antibiotic gel (Doxyrobe)

Is for mild gingival disease and inflammation by applying this antibiotic gel into mild infection pockets we can often preserve teeth in the early stage of periodontal disease and reduce the number of extractions necessary.

Interesting fact: The teeth are the only non-shedding surfaces in the body, and bacterial levels can reach more than 1011 microorganisms per mg of dental plaque.

Periodontitis is the inflammation of the periodontal tissues- the tissues that surround and support the teeth. This process begins with bacterial deposits on teeth, known as plaque, and escalates to the surrounding tissues. Periodontitis not only leads to bad breath and tooth loss, but it may also have more serious effects on distant organs such as the heart, liver, kidneys and joints. This disease often starts early in both cats and dogs and its severity increases as the pet gets older.

THIS CAN BE AVOIDED…LET US SHOW YOU HOW!

What are the signs of periodontal disease?

  • Red inflamed gums (gingivitis)
  • Bad breath (halitosis)
  • Tartar (calculus)
  • Bleeding from the mouth
  • Reluctance to eat due to dental pain (NOTE: a common mistake is to assume that because your pet is still eating, that it doesn’t have periodontal disease. For many animals, by the time they decide it is too painful to eat, infection, bone loss and tooth loss is inevitable. The goal is to PREVENT this from happening!)

During your pet’s procedure, he or she is under constant supervision by our doctors and veterinary technicians. We pride ourselves on providing the safest anesthesia and patient monitoring systems available today.

We Perform Molar Extractions

We utilize dental x-rays as part of our oral examinations because they help us with early detection of dental problems. We are able to identify bone loss, the formation of pockets or abscesses, cancerous growths, and abnormal pathology. These dental images also help provide us with a baseline for future medical issues.

At home dental care is a very important aspect of keeping your pet healthy. Our team is always willing to help you by showing you home care techniques. Regular at home oral care can help eliminate the need for frequent professional cleanings.

Contact Us

We invite you to check out this great veterinary resource to learn more. Give us a call at our Newnan location (770) 253-3416 today.

What's Next

  • 1

    Call us or schedule an appointment online.

  • 2

    Meet with a doctor for an initial exam.

  • 3

    Put a plan together for your pet.

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