What actually takes place during the dental?

So here we are...another beautiful day today! We have discussed dental disease and the ways in which it may adversely affect the health of our pets. Most people do not understand what actually takes place during the dental procedure so I thought we could discuss it today!

A dental prophylaxis is pretty much the same in your pet as it is in you. As you can imagine your pet is not likely sit still in a dental chair for the dental technician to clean his/her teeth. To perform a proper dental pets must be under general anesthesia.

Anesthesia of any kind is generally a risk just as in humans. It is important, before venturing into anesthesia, to have the patient examined by a veterinarian. Often pre-anesthesia blood work to identify any underlying problems or risks that my interfere with anesthesia will be performed.

Now that we have all of that out in the open let us discuss what will actually happen the day of the procedure.

Upon arrival your pet will immediately begin to be prepped for the procedure. This means that blood samples for the pre-anesthesia screen will be obtained, if not done already. Pain medication will be administered so it can get into the system and be effective once the procedure begins. Some patients, on the discretion of the Doctor, will have an I.V. catheter placed for fluid and drug administration before, during and after the procedure. The patient then is bedded down for the time being to rest and relax before the procedure begins.

When it is time to perform the dental the patient is taken out to have the chance to eliminate before the procedure and will return to the surgical prep area. An intravenous injection (I.V.) of anesthesia will then be administered which will make the patient get very, very sleepy. This is similar to having an outpatient procedure completed at the human hospital.

A tube, called and endotracheal tube, is placed in the airway. This tube will protect the airway and will be used to administer oxygen and anesthetic gas during the procedure. The patient is then transported to the dental suite and will lay on a soft pad that circulates warm water to maintain body temperature. The I.V. injection of anesthesia lasts for only about 10-15 minutes and will wear off after the gas anesthesia begins. The gas anesthesia is a very safe gas anesthetic that is processed mainly by the lungs leaving the liver and kidney function relatively unharmed. After the procedure, once the gas is turned off, the pet will wake very quickly.

The anesthesia technician is with the patient during this entire process. An ECG monitor is connected, oxygen concentration probe is attached, a blood pressure cuff is attached and body temperature is monitored. In addition to electronic monitoring devices the technician also monitors manually as to not only rely on equipment. The monitoring parameters are noted on the anesthesia log during the procedure.

The dental technician examines each tooth for pockets around the root. Checks the gums and overall health of the mouth. All abnormalities are noted. The next step is to remove the hard tartar (calculus) with a hand scaler. Once each tooth is cleaned the dental technician will use an ultrasonic scaler that uses ultrasound waves and water to further clean each tooth above and below the gum line. The veterinarian in charge of the case is then called on to examine the oral cavity and will make a decision regarding teeth that need to be removed due to severe disease. The veterinarian will perform the extractions necessary.

Using the scalers on the teeth will create microscopic scrapes on the surface of the teeth which will act as a scaffold for more tartar to form if not corrected. The dental technician will then use a polishing compound (that smells like fresh mint) to polish the surface of each tooth and remove the microscopic scrapes. The mouth is then rinsed well and a fluoride foam is applied to all tooth surfaces and will harden the enamel and hopefully help the teeth maintain their strength. The mouth is then rinsed thoroughly and the patient is transported to the recovery area where the anesthesia technician will stay with them until they are standing, swallowing and alert.

Once the patient is up and around the Doctor will call the owner to inform them of how the procedure went and let them know when the patient can be discharged. It usually takes 2-6 hours for the patient to be awake enough to walk out the door and jump in the car.

Upon discharge the owner will be advised on how to prevent the dental disease from returning so quickly. There are a number of preventatives on the market today and we carry several in our office.

Dental disease is inevitable and some patients may need one professional dental prophylaxis in their lifetime while others could have one every 3 months and still have problems. Just as in people a great deal depends on preventative maintenance of the mouth and also depends on genetics.

Needless to say this is quite a day for your pet but they will come home with a fresh, clean smelling mouth.

If you have further questions or concerns regarding dental prophylaxis feel free to contact us anytime.