Your pet’s oral health plays a vital role in their overall health and wellbeing. Healthy teeth and gums are critical for the long and healthy life of your pet. Poor dental hygiene and neglect can lead to risky infections and contribute to heart, kidney and liver problems. Yearly dental check-ups regardless of how healthy your pet appears allows your Braelinn Animal Hospital veterinarian to look for broken or abscessed teeth and screen for diseases of the mouth or other illnesses detectable orally. In addition to thorough examinations of teeth and gums, Braelinn Animal Hospital offers teeth cleaning, repair, extractions and other basic services, as well as instruction on home dental cleaning and care. Your Braelinn veterinarian might also request digital radiography (x-rays) to check for broken or compromised teeth, assess bone health, and look for signs of bite malocclusion, or teeth misalignment.
Regardless of how healthily you maintain your pet’s oral environment, dental problems can still arise between check-ups. If you notice a broken or loose tooth, changes in chewing, appetite or behavior, reluctance to eat or play with toys, audible grinding, facial swelling, drooling, unusual breath odor and, specifically for cats, improper or cessation of grooming, contact Braelinn Animal Hospital. These could be symptoms of oral pain caused by conditions that need medical attention.
If you’re the new parent of a fur baby, early check-ups can ensure that your pet starts out with good oral health. Just like humans, our pet’s “baby” teeth will fall out and permanent teeth will come in. Your Braelinn Animal Hospital veterinarian can check to make sure this cycle is on schedule. They can also look for signs of malocclusion before they cause chewing problems as they age.