Preventative Dental Care Will Keep You Both Smiling

There is an association between oral health issues and systemic general health issues affecting your pets’ kidney, heart and metabolic systems. That is why Parksville Animal Hospital includes a dental exam with every annual wellness exam. We also carry a variety of preventive diets and treats.

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Pets have the same dental concerns as you do. When their teeth are unhealthy, they feel pain just like us. Common dental concerns for pets include gum disease and hard dental tartar. Signs that your pet may need help with their teeth include:

• Bad breath
• Bleeding gums
• Difficulty eating/decreased appetite
• Excessive panting

Gum Disease

Gum disease is an infection resulting from build-up of soft dental plaque on the surfaces of the teeth around the gums. The bacteria in dental plaque irritate the gum tissue if plaque is allowed to accumulate, which often leads to infection in the bone surrounding the teeth.

Tartar

Hard dental tartar (calculus) consists of calcium salts from saliva deposited on plaque. Tartar starts to form within a few days on a tooth surface that is not kept clean, and provides a rough surface that enhances further plaque accumulation. Once it has begun to grow in thickness, tartar is difficult to remove without dental instruments.

Parksville Animal Hospital has a full line of dental products to keep your pets teeth clean and healthy including:

• Hills® t/d® diet
• Royal Canin Dental diet
• Enzymatic chews
• Toothbrushes & paste

Dental Procedures for Your Pet

Even with careful preventive treatment, there may be a time when your pet needs more invasive dental care. We are equipped to perform many dental procedures, such as ultrasonic scaling and polishing, difficult and surgical extractions of abscessed or fractured teeth, and treatment of infections. All dental procedures are performed with complete anesthesia to provide optimal safety for your pet. As with other surgical procedures, great care is taken with monitoring of the anesthesia and pain management.