Dentistry

Regular brushing and dental cleanings can help prevent gum disease. Contact us to learn more.

More and more is known about the importance of dental health and its powerful influence on a pet's overall well-being. Dental disease is one of the most common health issues seen in cats and dogs, and it can affect far more than just the mouth. Left untreated, bacteria from dental infections can spread through the bloodstream and impact major organs such as the heart, liver, and kidneys. This makes regular dental care a vital part of your pet's preventive health plan.

Advanced Dental Technology

At Bellevue Veterinary Hospital, we are fully equipped to provide comprehensive dental services to keep your pet's smile bright and their body healthy. Our hospital offers digital dental x-ray capability, which allows us to visualize the details of oral health below the gum line. This is especially important since more than half of dental tissue, and the disease that can affect it, lies hidden where it cannot be seen during a routine oral exam. With this advanced technology, we can accurately diagnose issues like fractured teeth, root infections, or bone loss, and create a tailored treatment plan to address them.

Comprehensive Dental Services

Our dental care services include professional cleaning and polishing to remove plaque and tartar, as well as extractions and oral surgery when needed. Every dental procedure is performed under general anesthesia with state-of-the-art monitoring to ensure your pet's safety and comfort throughout. We also provide guidance on at-home dental care, such as brushing techniques, dental diets, and safe chew options, so you can help maintain your pet's oral health between visits.

Supporting Lifelong Health

By making dental health a priority, you are giving your pet the best chance at a longer, healthier, and happier life. If you would like to learn more about how we can support your pet's dental care, or if you're concerned about signs of dental disease such as bad breath, difficulty eating, or drooling, please contact our team to schedule a dental exam today.

Dentistry FAQs

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    Dental health has a significant influence on the rest of the body. When not kept in check, bacteria in the mouth can invade below the gum line, cause dental decay and affect deeper tissues and cause chronic infections. Sometimes these infections can travel further to other organs through the bloodstream. Our veterinarians recommend maintaining your pet’s dental health through annual check-ups. Some pets will require more frequent cleanings and dental exams than others, depending on age, breed, and individual variation.

     

    Potential Consequences of Not Maintaining Dental Health:

     

    • Gingivitis
    • Periodontal disease
    • Foul breath
    • Discomfort
    • Infection
    • Tooth loss
    • Systemic disease
    • e.g. heart, kidneys

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    A close exam of the entire mouth, including the roof of the mouth, between teeth, & below the gumline, plus full mouth xrays, and thorough cleaning, requires the patient to be under general anesthesia.  These things cannot be performed without it.

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    Dogs & cats have much longer dental roots than those of humans. Not all tooth extractions are the same. Some teeth are simply ready to fall out! Some have three roots and only one of the roots is diseased (so two are holding strong!) Some teeth have very little root left and others have huge roots (sometimes almost twice the size of the crown!) So they are not all treated exactly the same.

     

    But along with general anesthesia, most extractions also require local anesthesia (similar to the “freezing” that you get at the dentist). In veterinary dentistry, this decreases the amount of anesthetic gas required to keep the patient anesthetized. It also improves the patient’s comfort level during recovery and beyond. Other analgesics are given during and post-operatively as well as following the procedure for 2-3 days, depending on the patient (and on the extraction).

     

    Extractions of multi-rooted teeth usually require cutting them into their individual root/crown sections. This allows each piece to be manipulated separately. Many extractions also involve making a “flap” of tissue (gingiva & periosteum) and then suturing that closed (with dissolvable suture) after the tooth is out. 

  • We are very attentive to our patient’s comfort level – in response to chronic pain, or the post-operative period after a surgery or a dental extraction. Good pain control, given prior to, and during, a procedure, decreases the amount of anesthetic required to keep the patient “asleep” for a surgical procedure. Various methods of surgical and medical analgesia (pain control) are used in our hospital:

     

    Pre-anesthetic medications: Before the patient goes under general anesthesia, a sedation is given that also includes some pain control medication. If pain control is dealt with before it’s really needed, the patient experiences less discomfort to begin with and will require less pain medication overall.

     

    Local anesthesia: This is when lidocaine or bupivicaine is instilled locally around a nerve that influences the site of the procedure or surgery. A good example of this is when we use dental nerve blocks during a tooth extraction in veterinary dentistry.

     

    Intra-operative pain medications: Often medications are given intravenously just prior or during a procedure to add pain control to our anesthetic protocol.


    Post-operative analgesics: These medications include injectable drugs given in the clinic after the procedure, as well as meds that go home with the pet for a few days after a procedure. Some patients are on long term analgesics for ongoing conditions, such as arthritis.

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