Pet Dental Services

Dental Care For Your Pet

The veterinarians at Three Trails Animal Hospital recommend annual dental assessments, which may be completed during a routine wellness exam.

During a dental assessment, the veterinarian inspects the teeth and gums of your pet for troublesome signs including plaque and tartar build-up, tooth decay, and inflamed gums. Some signs of dental disease can easily be observed at home, including difficulty chewing, lack of appetite, excessive drooling, and most commonly – bad breath.

After completing a dental assessment, your veterinarian may recommend a professional dental cleaning. We recommend annual dental cleanings for our patients, similar to what the human dentist would recommend for you. During the dental cleaning, we remove plaque and tartar build-up from the enamel with an ultrasonic scaler.

All dental cleanings must be performed under general anesthesia. Why? Pets don’t understand the benefits of dental care, and can react by moving, trying to escape, or even biting. Anesthesia makes it possible for us to safely perform the dental cleaning with the least amount of pain or stress to your pet.

In cases of severe dental disease, surgical extractions may be necessary when a tooth is severely affected and causing your pet significant pain.

In between dental cleanings, we recommend a regular at-home dental routine, which can include brushing your pet’s teeth; however, we understand not all pets will remain still for this! There are a lot of other dental health products available, including dental chews, dental toys, and dental rinses that will be sufficient in between visits. If you need advice on a dental routine, consult with your veterinarian for recommendations.