Dental disease is the most commonly recognized health problem in companion animals. Dogs have 42 and cats 30 teeth to try to keep healthy. When these teeth develop dental disease and are left untreated it is possible for it to lead to heart, liver and kidney problems. Pets get painful teeth just like us, but do to their stoic natures usually do not cry or let us know they are in pain. It is our job to keep their mouths and bodies healthy and pain free.
Veterinary dentistry is currently undergoing tremendous modernization. Practice standards dictate a higher level of oral care for our patients, and dental radiology is a vital part of those standards. In fact, it is not possible to provide good quality dental care without utilizing radiographs. Most dental pathology lies underneath the gingival margin, and cannot be visualized. Without radiographs, most of the oral problems will be missed in dental patients, possible leaving them in pain. Dental x-rays are needed to diagnose tooth resorption (very common in cats), fracture or broken roots, cysts, early tumors, or un-erupted teeth. Cumberland Animal Hospital offers high quality digital dental x-rays to all of our dental patients.
We recommend brushing your pet’s teeth on a regular basis. There are also dental chews, diets, and water additives available that can help reduce dental disease.
We provide oral examinations as part of every annual wellness exam. When a dentistry is needed we can perform this pain free under anesthesia using the safest anesthetic plans and equipment available.
Our dentals include ultrasonic scaling, polishing and digital dental X-rays. We can perform extraction using our high speed drill when needed. We can also perform many oral surgeries, such as mass removals and oral nasal fistula closures