Why is dental care so important?
Think back to a time when you couldn’t brush your teeth for a day. Your mouth felt fuzzy, you had terrible breath and, when you did brush, your gums might have been tender and possibly even bled. Well, now imagine you are a dog or a cat that has never brushed your teeth. Your breath would stop a truck and your teeth hurt every time you chew. In fact most doggie dental experts report that up to 85% of dogs over the age of four have some type of dental disease. Dental Cleaning for Dogs and Cats in Frisco can help your pets avoid gum disease.
In the natural world dogs and cats eat a variety of foods, particularly bones, which scrape against the surface of the teeth and remove the plaque and other strange stuff that sticks in and between the teeth. Our pets don’t eat raw bones and raw foods; rather they eat processed foods and soft foods that are designed to provide high nutritional content but not much scraping action. The result is that our pets now have a greater risk of developing dental problems including gingivitis, gum infections, tooth decay and early tooth loss, all which can lead to serious health problems over time.
How can LazyPaw help?
We offer you a range of dental hygiene options at our Frisco Vet office to help your pet’s mouth stay as healthy as possible. We check the teeth and gums during every exam and we are happy to show you some home dental hygiene practices you can use. However with many pets, particularly older dogs and cats, gingivitis, periodontitis, and chipped or cracked teeth require immediate dental care to correct the problem. Bad teeth or serious damage to the gums typically may require an extraction, which we do in our office using the most advanced and pain free procedures possible.
Are there any risks?
Dental cleaning requires that the pet be put under full anesthesia. There is always some risk involved with anesthetizing any pet, however our advance blood tests allow us to detect any possible concerns and modify our anesthesia protocols to ensure safety for your pet. We will explain any possible risks involved with any procedure we recommend and also provide information on the alternative options that may be available. We will also discuss with you the risk that may be involved in not completing any treatment.
If you haven’t had your pet’s teeth checked, please give us a call or use the webpage to book an appointment. Also give us a call to schedule an appointment if you notice your dog or cat has stopped eating, paws at his or her mouth, has inflamed red gums or has any bleeding from the gums when eating, chewing or playing with favorite toys.
Contact our Frisco office for an appointment today.