How do I know my pet needs his teeth cleaned?

Dental disease is a BIG issue with our pets. Thankfully, advances in Veterinary Dentistry have made our ability to deal with dental disease light-years ahead of where it was even ten years ago.

When I graduated, I only knew how to scale a dog's teeth. I kind of knew how to probe the teeth and really had no idea how to properly extract a tooth or do a local anesthesia block properly. I'm nearly ashamed to admit it, but honestly I just didn't know any better. It's sad, really, because Texas A&M prepared me in just about every way but that. Dentistry just wasn't a priority back then.

Fast forward to today. Night and day. The equipment available, the training available, dental x-ray - it's all relatively new. I've had to work HOURS and HOURS of continuing education to get to where I am now. Today, I'm pretty darned good at it (if I may say so).

But enough about me :)

We're not terribly concerned about how the teeth "look." Pretty, white teeth are a human thing, but not so much with our companion pets. Periodontal disease is the big problem. I'll post again about the specifics of periodontal disease.

So how do you know? The best way to know is to stop in and have your veterinarian check the teeth. He or She will be able to help you really get a good look and decide if a cleaning (prophy) is necessary.

If you're at home and want to check the first question is: Does your pet's mouth smell like a garbage dump? And secondly: Are there things growing on your dog's teeth that look like they came out of a swamp? If the answer to either of these is yes - see your veterinarian.

If your dog doesn't smell like last weeks leftover chicken carcass that's been out in the sun sealed up in a black bag then the next step is to "Flip the Lip." Merial (a drug company) launched this campaign a couple of years ago and it's a great way to present it. When I'm in the room and look at the teeth, I'll usually show the owner as well. At least 80%, maybe 90% of the owners have never actually looked at the teeth! The answer - Flip the Lip. Look at all of the teeth. Signs that there are problems:

• Red gums
• Exposed roots
• Tartar build up covering the teeth
• Any teeth that move when you touch them. They shouldn't do that :)
• Broken teeth
• Foul odor

Any of these problems and the answer is YES - your pet needs evaluated. At this point, "brushing the teeth" isn't going to fix the problem.

In my next post, I'll talk about what a dental prophylaxis actually involves.

AMH