Expert Veterinary Dental Care in Huntington, NY

Dentistry For Pets

Just like humans, all pets, especially cats and dogs, need dental exams and professional dental care to maintain their oral health. This includes regular brushing of their teeth, providing dental chews or toys, professional dental cleanings by one of our veterinarians, and monitoring your pet for signs of dental disease.

Why is Pet Dental Care Important?

All pets, especially cats and dogs, need dental exams and professional dental care to maintain their oral health.

Prevents Dental Disease: Regular dental care helps prevent conditions like periodontal disease, gingivitis, and tooth decay, which arc common in pets. Dental disease can lead to pain, diiliculty eating, and even tooth loss.
Prevents Bad Breath: A buildup of plaque and tartar can cause bad breath in pets. Proper dental hygiene keeps your pet’s breath fresh.
Protects Your Pet’s Overall Health: Your pet’s oral health is closely linked to their
overall health. Bacteria from dental infections can enter the bloodstream, potentially affecting your pet’s heart, liver, and kidneys, leading to more severe health problems.
Improves Quality of Life: Pets with healthy teeth can enjoy eating, chewing, and playing without discomfort. Regular dental care ensures they have a higher quality of life.
Early Detection of Health Issues: Regular dental checkups allow a veterinarian to detect early signs of oral health issues, or even systemic health problems that can manifest in the mouth, like tumors or infections.

Pet Dental Care at Huntington Animal Hospital

Dental Exam

During your pet’s wellness exam, we evaluate your pet’s oral condition to the best of our visual ability. Depending on your pct ‘s age, history, and medical conditions, we may also recommend pre-anesthetic bloodwork. This helps us form a complete picture of your pet’s overall health and their candidacy for anesthesia. We will provide you with a treatment plan, which will cover the estimated cost of treatment.

Professional Dental Treatment

While your pet is under anesthesia, we will perform a comprehensive exam of your pet’s mouth, gums, and teeth. We utilize Intraoral X-rays to visualize under your pet’s gum line and identify any occult disease we cannot see with our eyes, for example, tooth root abscesses, and evaluate the severity of bone loss around roots (periodontal disease).
We will perform a thorough professional teeth cleaning and polishing using advanced dental equipment, making your pet’s teeth more resistant to plaque retention, as it is difficult for plaque to adhere to a smooth tooth surface. After polishing, we will rinse your dog’s teeth and mouth thoroughly.
After cleaning, we will assess for bone loss, using a probe around each tooth to find pockets of periodontal disease. An abnormal probing depth indicates that periodontal disease is likely present. Additional treatment may be necessary.
If there is any change to the treatment plan because additional issues were discovered during the procedure, we will call you to discuss and obtain your authorization for the additional treatment and its corresponding cost.
We will perform any approved treatments necessary, including local blocks to assist in pain control. to restore your pet’s mouth lo a healthy and comfortable status.
We will contact you once the procedure has been completed, and while your pct is
recovering. During this call, we will schedule their discharge appointment, during which we will explain how to administer any medications or perform any treatments that you may need to provide at home, what to feed and what to avoid, what you should look out for in the post-op period, and schedule any follow-up appointments that are required.

Preparing for Your Pet’s Dental Visit in Huntington Station

General Anesthesia Is Required For Pet Dental Care

General anesthesia is required to fully evaluate your pet’s oral health and to obtain fullmouth dental radiographs so that we can visualize, clean, and treat any existing dental disease, both above and below the gum line. Our surgical team is fully trained and experienced to care for your pet while under anesthesia. We work as a team to minimize your pet’s anesthesia time and take the best possible care of your pet.

We are highly experienced in pet anesthesia and use only the safest anesthetic protocols, including IV fluids and monitoring equipment. Your pet’s anesthesia will be individualized to their specific needs and your pet will be fully monitored throughout the entire dental process.
Few pets will permit a thorough oral evaluation without anesthesia, which means that only the outside surfaces of the teeth can be examined. Significant diseases can be missed, including periodontal disease, oral tumors, and dental abscesses. Additionally, while anesthesia-free dentistry may help to remove some visible tartar from easily accessible surfaces of the teeth, there is no way to remove tartar below the gumline or between the teeth without anesthesia.

Dogs and cats need regular professional dental exams and cleanings. Many people are surprised to find out that dogs and cats have dental and oral problems similar to what we experience, and require many of the same types of dental treatments we do. In fact, just like in humans, your pet’s oral health is a key component to their overall general health and happiness. Your pet may have dental issues that are causing them oral pain or health problems.

What are The Top Five Questions Pet Owners Ask About Pet Dental Care:

Why is dental care important for pets?

Pet owners often want to know why dental cleanings and oral health matter. The answer: untreated dental disease can lead to pain, tooth loss, and even problems with the heart, liver, and kidneys due to bacterial spread.

How can I tell if my pet has dental problems?

Signs include bad breath, red or bleeding gums, yellow/brown tartar buildup, difficulty eating, pawing at the mouth, and drooling.

Do pets really need professional dental cleanings?

Yes. Professional cleanings under anesthesia allow the veterinarian to thoroughly scale, polish, and assess below the gumline-where most problems begin.

How often should my pet get a dental cleaning?

Most pets benefit from annual dental cleanings, but this can vary depending on age, breed, and oral health status. Small breeds and older pets may need more frequent care.

What can I do at home to maintain my pet's dental health?

Regular toothbrushing with pet-safe toothpaste is best. Dental chews, water additives, and veterinarian-recommended diets can also help reduce plaque and tartar buildup.