Maintaining your pet’s dental health is crucial to your pets overall health. Dental disease, in the long run, can affect the heart, liver, kidneys, and overall pet wellness. Most animals will not show signs of discomfort or pain even if they have periodontal disease that may be extreme. At Island Life Animal Hospital, we offer dental procedures in our own dedicated dental suite.

Once we check your pet in for a dental procedure, we make them comfortable and then complete a full oral exam under anesthesia. Next we will take a complete series of digital dental radiographs to further assess periodontal decay at and below gum line. We also look for cavities, fractures, or broken teeth as well as growths, abscesses, and other abnormalities in the mouth. This allows us to determine if extractions of diseased teeth are needed. We will also discuss with you at home oral care that is best for your pet.

Initial signs of dental disease is bad breath and gingivitis (inflammation of the gums) and may also include loss or decrease of appetite. Tartar is the build-up of mineralized plaque on the teeth which typically starts at the gum line. Bacteria from dental disease can lead to heart, lung, liver, and kidney infections.

Good oral health is one of the major keys to overall longevity and quality of life for your pet.

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Each of our dog and cat dental procedures include:

  • Full visual oral exam including gum probing
  • Digital X-rays of the entire mouth and dentition (full mouth panorama)
  • Scaling and polishing the teeth
  • Application of a periodontal medications, if needed
  • Performing extractions, if needed

Cats get dental disease too!

Feline dental disease is often overlooked in small animal medicine. Cats, like dogs, are affected by gingivitis, tartar, and fractured teeth. Felines are also prone to tooth resorption, which is a painful condition where parts of the tooth are destroyed. Sometimes they can be difficult to see since the gingiva can cover some areas. This does cause discomfort, however, cats are usually very good as masking signs of pain.