Many of you have good questions about the non-anesthetic dental procedure. I'll describe that here, as well as give you tips on how best to care for your pet's teeth at home. We all want to do what's best for our pets, and a little education and guidance goes a long way!
The dental procedure:
Before we start, I need to know the basic health history of the pet. I have a health status form for you to fill out that alerts me to any pre-existing conditions or injuries I should be aware of. I will want to know if your pet is on medications currently and why. After that, it's just me and the pet. Rarely is it a good idea for the owner to be present for the dental procedure, as the pet wants only to be "saved" by mommy of daddy, or picks up nervousness from the owner, and consequently, also becomes nervous. So off you go, and I'm free to begin the dental.
I first wrap small pets in a towel, like a little papoose, and sit on the floor with the pet in my lap. Taking the mobility away from the dog or cat is important; they figure out they aren't going anywhere and usually just decide to cooperate. Dogs larger than a cocker spaniel don't need a wrap - I sit with them on the floor and basically have them in a position that is comfortable to them - lying on their right hip and front paws outstretched. I put none of my weight on them, but they pretty much can't get up. It's a good position to learn if you have trouble cleaning ears or putting in eye drops, etc. I'll be happy to show it to you if you want to learn it.
I do an oral exam before beginning the procedure. If I find a condition beyond my scope of work, like necessary extractions, or other signs of severe periodontal disease that must be addressed under anesthesia, I will stop and show you the problems and you can discuss that with your vet. Think of it just like you going to your dentist. You go in for teeth cleaning; other times you need a cavity filled or a crown, etc., which is much more involved that the teeth cleaning. It's the same here. I'm just cleaning the teeth.
I use dental scalers just like those used in your dental office. About the 3rd tooth in, the dog figures out that I'm not going to hurt him/her - that it's not that bad and they're comfortable, so why not just roll with it. If they just won't settle down, ok, they win. I'm not going to put undue stress on your pet. On average, 95% of dogs and about 80% of cats cooperate for this procedure. I scale every tooth surface. Following that I polish with a veterinary prophy paste (ok for them to swallow), and finish with a veterinary oral rinse that kills bacteria in the mouth - (again, ok to swallow.)
This entire procedure takes between 30 and 40 minutes, depending on the condition of the mouth. Following the procedure, I fill out a 'Dental Report Card' for you to let you know what I found, and recommend home care appropriate for you pet.
The average price for the non-anesthetic procedure in LA and Orange counties is $155.00. I will offer the procedure this weekend for $100.00. A portion of the proceeds goes directly back to RainbowRV. It's great to give our club a helping hand!!
Home Care:
I will always recommend you brush your dog's teeth. Won't recommend that for your cat, as I'm sure you want to live to see another day. Unless brushing is begun early in life, it can be very hard to introduce that to your pet - after all, he already has you trained just the way he wants you. But brushing is the best thing you can do -and frequently, but 90% or more of us do not do that on a regular basis (myself included). I can give you steps to introduce brushing to your dog if you'd like.
Second best thing to do at home is to use a chlorhexadine oral rinse in the mouth daily. It's easy, fast, affordable and very effective! The important thing is that the rinse contain .1% chlorhexadine. This is what kills the bacteria that causes gingivitis and the resulting bad breath. The oral rinse is usually bought at your vet's. Several brands are available: Hexadent by Vet Solutions, CET by Virbac, or Nolvadent by Ft. Dodge. I like them in the order listed, basically because of price. They all have the same ingredients. Most oral rinses or sprays found in pet stores claim to "soothe" the gums. No, we need it to kill the source of the problem, and it takes the chlorhexadine to accomplish that. I am happy to say that I recently did find a chlorhexadine oral rinse that is acceptable at Walmart, of all places! It's called Dental Cleansing Liquid, by Pro-Pet. An 8 oz. bottle is under $4.00! Here's the bad news about the oral rinse - the dog will not like it. Period. It tastes to them like Listerine tastes to us. They do not like the momentary "zing" of the anti-bacterial action. And by the way, I don't recommend using this product on cats. Their mouth Ph is different from dogs - and they really react negatively to the oral rinse.
Put the oral rinse in a small spray-pump bottle, like a travel hair spray size. To apply it, place your hand over the dog's muzzle and lift the lip on one side, revealing the gums, teeth and tongue. Give a good squirt of the oral rinse onto the teeth. As long as you mist the gums, teeth or tongue, that's fine. The oral cavity is wet inside, and the rinse will spread throughout the mouth. Your dog can't stop it from spreading. No need to try to mist the insides, back of mouth, etc. On toy breeds, one squirt is sufficient. Larger dogs, repeat the procedure on the other side of the mouth as well. Done! Now that took about 10 seconds but made a world of difference! You just killed millions of bacteria, and your dog's breath will be much better, and gums healthier...well worth the minor distaste the pet has for a few seconds following the rinse application. If you'd like, give him a treat afterwards. To avoid drama over the rinse, just don't apply the rinse at the same time every day. Pets can tell time better than we do, I think. Keep him unaware of rinse time - sometimes before bed, other times after work, sometimes in the morning. Just keep from making a big deal out of it and it will go quickly and smoothly. And remember, they will never start to like it, sort of like us with the Listerine. Use this product independently from other things you do for your pet, like brushing the coat, for instance. We don't want the dog to associate the oral rinse with other grooming activities. Leave at least 5 minutes between using the oral rinse and other activities to make sure he doesn't associate the rinse with anything else.
And finally, the 3rd best thing to help keep teeth clean at home is abrasion. This means playing tug of war with a rope toy - acts like dental floss, and can be thrown in the washer now and then, and chewing on appropriate dental 'sticks/bones' or toys. Basically, it scrapes the plaque off the tooth surface before it can harden into tartar. Give nothing for your dog to chew any harder than a Kong toy - durable plastic with some 'give' to it. Greenies and products like them are ok, but not every day. Nylabones that are labeled 'Flexible' are fine. Those labeled 'Durable' can break teeth. Anything hard like a cow hoof, antler, prefab hard fake bones, etc. are all absolutely terrible for your dog's teeth!! They frequently result in serious damage in the form of slab fractures to the major chewing teeth. Basically, this is a vertical break from the chewing surface of the tooth up to the gum line. Many times the tooth splits exposing the nerve, resulting in terrible pain for the pet and requiring a very serious surgery to remove the fractured tooth. The dog's jaws are much stronger than the teeth are able to withstand. A hard object, the pressure exerted in the dog's bite and the tooth combined will result in oral trauma. Lots of pain for the dog and lots of money for you to fix it!
So that's it! Looking forward to meeting lots of you and your pets this weekend! I will be available to do dentals Fri afternoon through Sunday. Maybe a couple on Monday AM is necessary. Del and I will be in site C-12. Drop by!!