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Dental Cleaning

Here at NSAH we offer different levels of treatment options dependent on the stage of your pet’s periodontal disease. Our routine dental includes:

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  • Pre anesthetic exam 

  • Pre anesthetic bloodwork (to make sure the patient is able to handle the anesthetics given)

  • IV catheter placement and IV fluids (to keep blood pressure nice and stable)

  • Pre anesthetic medications and pain medications (to ease them into anesthesia and to help control pain)

  • We place them under anesthesia and use equipment and tools to maintain body temperature and monitor vitals.

  • The doctor, along with two technicians perform the dental.

  • While under anesthesia we do full mouth dental radiographs (x-rays), so that we can determine if the tooth roots under the gum line need attention. X-rays, are vital for diagnosis, treatment planning, follow-up evaluation, and medical record information for a pet's dental health.

  • We probe, clean, and polish the teeth.

Stage 1; No bone loss on dental x-rays and normal periodontal probing.
Stage 2; 0-25% bone loss, Periodontal probing demonstrates furcation          
              exposure (F-1).
Stage 3; 25-50% bone loss, probing demonstrates deeper furcation 
              exposure (F-2).
Stage 4; 50% or more bone loss and probing demonstrates deeper
              furcation exposure (F-3).

If your pet has more serious periodontal disease, we may have to:

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  • Doxirobe: Doxirobe is a gel placed in a pocket that can reduce periodontal pocket depth, increase reattachment (of gum tissue back to the tooth), and reduce gingival inflammation. It is applied to any teeth that have a periodontal pocket depth greater than 4mm.

  • Bond or Seal Teeth: fractured teeth with exposed dentin and no pulp exposure. Bonding and sealing fractured teeth mitigates pain and minimizes the potential for bacterial migration.

  • Gingivoplasty: remove excess tissue around the teeth due to gingival hyperplasia. Gingival hyperplasia creates a deeper than normal periodontal pocket (“pseudo pocket”). This deeper pocket traps debris and bacteria that can lead to inflammation and periodontal disease.  Sometimes the overgrowth can be so severe that the pet will start to chew on their own tissue.  This is painful for the pet and could lead to infection or decreased appetite. Gingivoplasty restores a more normal gingival margin and helps control infection.

  • Extraction: any teeth that we can’t save due to abscessing, 50% or more of bone loss, tooth death, fractured teeth with pulp exposure, malocclusion, migration, etc. Additional pain management is provided by a local nerve block, to maximize pain relief post-operatively.

Anesthesia Free Dental

Here at North Scottsdale Animal Hospital we do not perform nor recommend anesthesia free dentistry. Anesthesia free dental procedures have no way of cleaning beneath the gum line and make it impossible to do x-rays. Radiographs are vital in detecting dental problems. Learn more about the risks of anesthesia free dentals at www.avdc.org/afd

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