What is involved in a dental cleaning?

A dental cleaning (or Comprehensive Oral Health Assessment & Treatment, COHAT) involves:

Once under general anesthesia, a chlorohexidine gel is applied to help decrease the amount of bacteria. At Rouge Valley Veterinary Hospital, we perform all dental procedures while your pet is under a general anesthetic.*
The gross (large pieces) of calculus are removed with special forceps (if applicable).
The teeth are all ultrasonically scaled to remove tartar.
The teeth are then hand scaled above and below the gum line.
Each tooth is examined for periodontal pockets, mobility, gum recession and/or other changes that can occur from dental disease.
All teeth are then polished above and below the gum line.
Dental Radiographs are taken to check for issues not visible by the naked eye (such as bone loss).
If necessary dental extractions are done or remove teeth that cannot be salvaged by cleaning.
A fluoride treatment is then applied as a final touch.

Patient 1, Before

Patient 1, After

Patient 2, Before

Patient 2, After

*Why should I have the cleaning done under anesthetic?

The College of Veterinarians of Ontario, the American Animal Health Association and the American Veterinary Dental College all state that, in short, dentistry done without the use of general anesthetics is malpractice.

A Comprehensive Oral Health Assessment and Treatment (COHAT), unfortunately, is impossible to do properly without the use of general anesthesia. The “anesthetic free” dental cleaning approach is not only painful, unsafe and stressful for your pet, but NOT EFFECTIVE and can actually cause complications. For more information please feel free to ask us.

The truth about anesthetics and pets

Many pet owners are reluctant to pursue a dental prophylaxis due to the fear of anesthesia. Although it is good to understand that, as with any procedure, anesthetics do carry some degree of risk, our protocols in veterinary medicine have come a long way.

A pre-anesthetic blood test is always HIGHLY recommended to check your pet’s organ function prior to GA (general anesthesia). If there are any insufficiencies/concerns Dr.Gotovac will discuss next steps with you. This is to make sure we are making the procedure as safe as possible.