Pet Dental Health Month is the perfect time to focus on an essential but often overlooked part of your pet’s overall wellness: dental health. Healthy teeth and gums allow pets to eat comfortably, stay active, and feel their best. At our veterinary clinical and cat specialty center, dental care is considered a foundational part of preventive medicine and lifelong health for both dogs and cats.
Why Dental Care Matters in Pets
Over time, bacteria associated with dental disease can seep below the gumline and release toxins into your pet’s bloodstream, potentially affecting other organs throughout the body. Regular professional dental care, combined with consistent at home oral hygiene, plays an important role in helping prevent these issues. Preventing plaque and tartar buildup supports not only your pet’s oral health, but their overall comfort, wellbeing, and quality of life.
After your pet receives professional dental care, our team can provide education and guidance on at-home dental care. We review proper oral care techniques and help pet parents feel confident maintaining their pet’s dental health throughout the year.
Dental Care at Faithful Friends
Veterinary medicine continues to evolve, and dentistry has become an increasingly important focus in modern pet care. Dental health is a key component of your pet’s overall physical wellness at Faithful Friends.
As part of every annual wellness exam, our veterinary team performs an examination of your pet’s oral cavity. If dental disease or other concerns are identified, a professional dental cleaning may be recommended.
Our office is equipped with a dedicated dental suite designed to support thorough and comprehensive dental care. This space allows our team to perform advanced diagnostics and treatments in a controlled, well monitored environment.
Dental Care for Dogs
Canine dental health plays an important role in your dog’s comfort, appetite, and general health. Dental disease is very common in dogs and often progresses quietly, which is why routine exams and early intervention are so important.
Common Signs of Dental Disease in Dogs
Dogs often show dental pain in subtle ways. We recommend contacting your veterinarian if you notice any of the following:
- Bad breath
- Difficulty eating or chewing on one side of the mouth
- Reduced appetite
- Pawing at or rubbing the mouth or face
- Excessive drooling, sometimes tinged with blood
- Swollen or bleeding gums
- Behavioral changes such as irritability or withdrawal
- Facial swelling
Some of the most common dental conditions diagnosed in dogs include periodontal disease, fractured or traumatized teeth, gingivitis, retained deciduous teeth, and benign oral growths.
Professional Canine Dental Care at Faithful Friends
When your dog needs professional dental care, our veterinary team is fully equipped to provide this service while they are safely under anesthesia. A professional canine dental procedure at Faithful Friends includes:
- Pre anesthetic blood work to help determine whether your dog is healthy enough for anesthesia and to guide proper dosing
- Anesthesia administration
- Complete surgical monitoring throughout the procedure
- Dental x rays to evaluate tooth roots and underlying structures
- Scaling to remove tartar and plaque from the teeth and below the gumline
- Extraction of diseased teeth, if necessary
- Polishing to help discourage future plaque buildup
This comprehensive approach allows us to identify and address dental issues that cannot be seen with the naked eye.
Dental Care for Cats
Dental disease is one of the most common health issues in cats, yet it is frequently underdiagnosed. Cats are very good at hiding pain, which can make dental problems difficult to detect until disease has progressed.
Conditions such as gingivitis, periodontal disease, and tooth resorption can cause significant discomfort and negatively impact a cat’s quality of life. Ongoing dental disease has also been associated with systemic health concerns, including kidney disease.
Signs of Dental Disease in Cats
Clinical signs that may indicate dental disease in cats include:
- Bad breath
- Drooling
- Visible tartar buildup
- Swollen or bleeding gums
- Difficulty eating or reduced appetite
- Teeth chattering
- Pawing at the mouth or face
- Weight loss
- Reduced grooming
- Decreased activity
Feline Dental Care at the Faithful Friends
Feline dentistry is an important part of the comprehensive care provided at our Cat Specialty Center. A thorough oral examination is the first step in identifying dental disease, infection, or abnormalities. Performing a dental cleaning under general anesthesia is the safest way to allow for a complete evaluation of a cat’s mouth, obtain dental x-rays, and perform extractions when needed.
Every anesthetized patient at the Cat Specialty Center is monitored by a skilled, licensed veterinary nurse, and we follow published veterinary anesthesia guidelines from the AAHA and Feline VMA. Our team is experienced in caring for high-risk patients, including cats with advanced kidney disease, heart disease, and diabetes.
When extractions are required, patients receive a customized pain management plan that may include local anesthetic nerve blocks, injectable pain medications, and oral or transdermal medications to continue at home.
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If you have questions about your pet’s dental health or would like to schedule an oral examination, our team at Faithful Friends is here to help. Together, we can support your pet’s comfort, health, and happiness for years to come.
Call or text us to set up your pet’s next appointment. We’d love to see you soon.
📲 614-389-0997
