Dental Health

The quiet (but smelly) disease

Dogs and cats keep their dental problems to themselves. In contrast to a hurt paw, our pets try to act like nothing is wrong with their teeth, even when they are painful.

One of the most common complaints about dog’s teeth is that they smell bad. The bad smell is usually from bacteria that are trapped in tartar or from decomposing food or hair that is trapped in the teeth. In other respects, everything may seem fine, but usually this level of tartar is slowly eating away at the attachment of the teeth and leading to further problems like tooth root infections, jaw infections, and even chronic nasal infections.

Dogs also frequently fracture their teeth. A dog’s jaw muscles can generate more force than the teeth can actually handle. If they bite down on something hard like a bone, or even a yak-milk treat.

Cat breath is usually not as bad, even with severe disease, so our clients are often unaware of problems until their annual wellness visit. However, many cats suffer from tooth resorption, which is usually very painful. Sometimes the only sign of it is aloofness. People tell us that cats become much more outgoing after addressing their dental issues.

We use high-quality digital dental x-rays to diagnose and treat these problems and do the best we can to save teeth. We have the same equipment that you find in a modern human dental office. After cleaning and addressing problems, we recommend hygeine plans to help prevent future issues.