Pet dental month reminds pet owners teeth care is crucial to pet health

February is National Pet Dental Month.

What does that mean for you and your pets?

The purpose of National Pet Dental Month is to make people aware of the importance of dental health in our furry kids. What’s involved in caring for the teeth and gums of our dogs and cats?

The first step is being aware of some things at home. Do you notice bad breath? How about a reluctance to eat hard kibble? Shifting food from one side to the other to chew? Swelling of the face? Pawing at the mouth? Any of these things can be a sign of trouble in the mouth.

The second step is having an initial oral exam by your veterinarian. He/she will be looking for tartar, gingivitis, broken teeth and/or discharge around affected teeth. If your veterinarian finds any of these problems, a dental cleaning will probably be recommended.

A dental cleaning is the final step in good oral care for your animals. The only way to get a thorough exam of an animal’s mouth is under anesthesia, because dogs and cats aren’t very willing to hold their mouths open while we poke and prod to examine teeth and gums.

Often, an X-ray of the tooth roots is needed to determine their health. Again, anesthesia is needed for the animal to hold still for this procedure. Of course, there is a risk with anesthesia, but there is no way to perform an appropriate dental procedure without it. You may have heard about “anesthesia-free” dentistry, but there are several reasons put forward by board-certified veterinary dentists advising against anesthesia-free dentals which include:

Under the gum scaling (which is the only way to remove plaque) is not tolerated by pets because it is a bit uncomfortable — don’t we all know that from our own experience?

Polishing teeth after scaling is essential to preventing tartar build-up and is also difficult to achieve without anesthesia.

Anesthesia eliminates the stress of dental procedures for pets. Often more aggressive treatments, such as extractions, are required which obviously can’t be achieved without anesthesia and usually can’t be identified without X-rays and probing gums.

With all this being said, what are the real reasons it is so important to maintain your pet’s’ dental health?

Pain and/or discomfort from broken and infected teeth. Generalized illness in organs such as liver or kidneys that stem from infected teeth. It is much more pleasant to have the smell of a healthy mouth in your face.

So, take a look at your pet and a smell of his or her breath. If you have any concerns, make an appointment with your veterinarian to get the ball rolling for maintaining healthy teeth and gums.

(Dr. Lisa O’Leary is with Bear Paw Veterinary Service in Havre.)