We know that your pet is an integral member of your family. As a pet owner, you deserve to know every step that goes into your pet’s health care. To keep you fully informed, here are the standard steps we follow when your pet comes in for a dental cleaning.
When your pet arrives for a dental operation, we first:
- Examine your pet
- Place an IV catheter
- Administer pre-anesthetics
Then, when your pet is ready, we:
- Administer anesthesia and an antibiotic due to the high amounts of bacteria released during dental procedures
- Prepare IV fluids, which will be given throughout the procedure
During the procedure, we:
- Conduct a thorough oral exam and take full-mouth dental X-rays
- Provide pain-relief medication
- Clean teeth with an ultrasonic scaler
- Polish teeth and apply fluoride treatment
- Warm pets from above and below with a Bair Hugger, a heating unit that surrounds your pet with warm air, and a circulating warm-water blanket
- Monitor and record blood pressure, heart rate, blood oxygen level, temperature, respiratory rate and anesthetic depth every five minutes
If we determine that your pet needs teeth extracted, we:
- Call you to discuss the procedure
- Create gingival flaps and use a dental drill to properly remove the alveolar bone so that the infected tooth’s full root can be lifted out
- Close the gingiva with a sterile suture
- Take dental X-rays after extraction to be sure that the tooth was fully removed
After surgery, when your pet recovers from anesthesia, we:
- Provide a second pain-relief injection if needed
If you suspect that your pet may need a dental cleaning, call 303-557-7686 to make an appointment with your Littleton Veterinary Clinic veterinarian.
Dental Before
Dental After