Dental care is vital to the overall health of any pet. Dental disease can lead to health issues with the heart, liver, and kidneys and has the potential to seep into your pet’s bloodstream. In fact, 80 percent of dogs and 70 percent of cats over three years of age suffer from some form of dental disease, making it the most common pet health issue among our pet population.
The most effective way to protect your pet from dental disease is through professional cleanings. We perform thorough cleanings here at Brickell Bay Animal Hospital, including the area beneath the gums that you can’t see or access at home.
If your pet has brown/yellow teeth, bad breath, or is having difficulty eating, these could all be signs of dental disease. Please call us at (786) 231-1111 today to learn more or to request your pet’s dental cleaning.
Digital Dental Radiographs:
Our goal is to provide our patients with a pain-free and healthy mouth. Dental disease is the most common and frequently diagnosed medical condition in our pets. In dogs and cats, more than 50% of the actual tooth is below the gum-line. The visible part of the tooth gives us less than half of the information we need to make the best decisions about your pet’s oral health. BBAH has been proud to offer digital dental radiographs to help us evaluate the health of your pet’s teeth by identifying the following problems not always seen with a regular oral exam:
- Tooth root fractures
- Retained deciduous teeth (baby teeth that failed to erupt at the proper time)
- Tooth root abscesses or infections
- Areas where teeth appear to be missing (broken roots or parts of teeth may be hidden under the gumline)
- Impacted teeth (teeth that are wedged in and cannot erupt normally)
- Feline Resorptive Lesions (painful holes or erosions on the surface of the teeth found mainly in cats)
- Bone or soft tissue tumors
- Height of the bone below the gum line
- Bone changes and degree of bone loss due to periodontal disease or other causes
- Size of the periodontal ligament space
- Presence, or disappearance, of the “lamina dura,” the bone bundle attached to the periodontal ligament
These last four diagnostic statistics help us determine the degree of possible periodontal disease, predict future tooth and bone loss, and allow for a full treatment protocol to be recommended for your pet. Also, post-extraction radiographs allow us to ensure the entire tooth and root has been completely removed.
If you have any questions about digital dental radiology, don’t hesitate to contact us today at Brickell Bay Animal Hospital.