She drank a cupful of water when she got home after anesthesia, but mom and dad did not give her more water for 30 minutes, to let stomach settle. If Sweetie ate or drank too much right when she got home, she might start vomiting and not stop for hours!
This Maltese Baby Avoided Major Infection
Sweetie, a 3-year-old happy Maltese wiggled her tail and smiled at Doc Truli.
“She’ll need the tartar removed from her molars,” said the Doc.
“Okay,” said Sweetie’s folks. “We know keeping the teeth healthy will add years to her life. At three, it’s about time we had her teeth cleaned.”
“Just so you know, we always take full-mouth dental x-rays with every dental cleaning,” said Doc Truli.
“Oh, good! But why? She’s so young, why does she need that?”
She drank a cupful of water when she got home after anesthesia, but mom and dad did not give her more water for 30 minutes, to let stomach settle. If Sweetie ate or drank too much right when she got home, she might start vomiting and not stop for hours!
This Maltese Baby Avoided Major Infection
Sweetie, a 3-year-old happy Maltese wiggled her tail and smiled at Doc Truli.
“She’ll need the tartar removed from her molars,” said the Doc.
“Okay,” said Sweetie’s folks. “We know keeping the teeth healthy will add years to her life. At three, it’s about time we had her teeth cleaned.”
“Just so you know, we always take full-mouth dental x-rays with every dental cleaning,” said Doc Truli.
“Oh, good! But why? She’s so young, why does she need that?”
Dogs have six lower incisor teeth. These are the little lower teeth in the front in between the big canine or eye teeth on the four corners of the front of the mouth.
If your dog is missing one for no reason, get it checked out!
Can you spot the root fragment?
Another Good Example of Why You Need Full Mouth X-Rays Every Patient, Every Time
GiGi was a five-year-old female spayed black and tan Yorkshire Terrier. Her parents could see the tartar build-up on her teeth, so they scheduled an anesthetic dental exam the same day as her annual check up. Good thing they did!
It does not matter how many times I advise people to brush their dogs’ teeth. Most people can’t be bothered. People love the idea of their dog much more than the reality of another living being. A little accomodation and learning on your part will keep your dog’s teeth healthier and can add Years – YEARS – dog your dog’s too short lifespan. Years.
GiGi’s x-rays showed a retained incisor root overlapping an incisor that was loose and sitting in an infected tooth socket. Probably, the crown, or top enamel part, of the broken tooth snapped off, the gums healed over, and then the festering root caused the early demise of the neighboring tooth. (In the picture, the lower right middle incisor is missing, there is a gap in the teeth, and a little overlapping root fragment sticks out.)
Imagine your tooth snapping off and you never tell anyone or complain. Doesn’t seem possible, does it? Dogs suffer silently exactly like this all the time. Continue reading “Where Did This Yorkie's Tooth Go?”
Periodontal Disease refers to problems with the bone, gums, tough little fantastic periodontal ligaments inside the sulcus (tooth socket), basically everything around the tooth itself.
Doc Truli fills us in,”A careful exam of each tooth and 6 points of the gingiva around each tooth, and dental radiographs (x-rays) reveal hidden periodontal disease. There is no other way to find out what is wrong with your pet’s teeth. This examination requires general anesthesia, every time, every pet.”
Doc Truli declares Earth Pet Dental Health Month. Everyone is welcome to help their pet feel better, look younger, and live longer! The Doc will devote a series of posts all month long just to pet dental health.
Proper dental care adds 2-4 healthy years to a pet’s expected lifespan. And old-age diseases like arthritis delay for 2-4 years, too.
Would you like your Chihuahua to live to be 18, instead of 14? Of course you would!
Removal of dental tartar on the visible surfaces of the teeth has little effect on a pet’s health, and provides a false sense of accomplishment. The effect is purely cosmetic.
Puggie's Tongue Hangs Out Ever Since He Lost His Right Mandibular Canine Tooth
I’ve noticed many people are looking for dentistry information for their pets. There is one board certified dental society, the American Veterinary Dental College in the United States, and a second Academy of Veterinary Dentistry, which has less stringent membership requirements. Both are sources of official information about dentistry.
There is a practice which concerns Doc Truli greatly, so-called Non-Anesthesia Dentistry. This is an evil wrong perpetrated on pets, sometimes under the roof of an animal hospital. The American Veterinary Dental College has issued a position statement speaking out against this practice. I have included the text at the end of this post, in its entirety, or you can go to the Academy site and read it there.
Here’s how Doc Truli first learned of this “practice:”
“I know I should have had his teeth looked at years ago, but I was afraid because he’s so old and he’s on 2 kinds of medicine for epilepsy.”
Antonio was a 17-year-old grey and white epileptic Italian Greyhound. He walked into my office with the right half of his face so swollen, he looked like he tried to swallow a sausage and it got stuck lengthwise in his mouth! His big brown eyes looked miserable. Continue reading “17-Year-Old Italian Greyhound Needs 17 Teeth Removed!”
“Before her tooth surgery, she never played tug of war. Now it’s her favorite game!”
Look at that smile!
Abandoned on Interstate 95, Bella was a surprisingly healthy 2-year-old Maltese in need of a good home. No one had registered her microchip number and the pet shop she came from was out of business.
“She’s yours!” I told her ecstatic rescuer.
Her new mom brought Bella for a check up and we found she had lots of dental tartar. When Bella came for her deep dental cleaning, even though her teeth looked sparkling, her dental x-rays showed a tiny black spot in her jawbone under her premolar. Continue reading “Bella Learns Tug of War”
