Dog Dental Care - Bad Breath, Teeth Cleaning, Dog Dentist in Bluffton, SC

It is important to realize that your dog will never tell you when it is experiencing dental pain. All dogs will endure some level of dental disease and dental pain during their lives. The best way to minimize these issues is for your dog to start out with a great dental health routine at home. This should be supplemented with regular dental cleanings. Fetch A Vet is able to provide high-quality dog dental cleanings in Bluffton, SC.

Proper dental care at home consists of daily brushing. Just as with humans, dogs need the plaque and biofilm removed from their teeth on a daily basis to avoid dental disease. The vast majority of dogs will accept daily brushing by their owners. We are here to teach you how to brush your dog's teeth and provide you with the best brush and dental paste according to your dog's size and flavor preference. It can be a bonding experience for owners to brush their dog's teeth, and your dog may come to really enjoy the process. However, not every dog will tolerate it, and not every person is willing or able to brush their dog's teeth. We can work with you to find the next best solution for home care.

The Veterinary Oral Health Council (VOHC) lists many dog diets and treats that can be helpful if your dog will not tolerate brushing (vohc.org). These approved diets and treats provide some supplemental veterinary dental care. However, just as humans require regular dental care to maintain proper dental health, it takes more than a chew toy to properly care for your canine companion's mouth, gums and teeth.

During your regular veterinary visits, we will examine your dog's teeth and will show you any obvious lesions that need to be addressed. We are most concerned with signs of gingivitis, broken teeth, periodontal disease and other painful dental and oral lesions. Our doctors may recommend a veterinary supervised dog dental cleaning.

Dog Bad Breath, a Sign of Things To Come

Some people think that dog bad breath is a trait inherent to the canine species. This is a myth that dogs themselves have contributed to over the years through behaviors including drinking from the toilet, eating feces, and self-grooming habits. However, these practices alone do not account for dog bad breath. Dog bad breath is generally a result of the bacteria that live in the infected gum and dental tissue in your dog's mouth. This odor is a sign of progressive dental disease. It will not get better without a thorough veterinary cleaning and a proper home care plan. Fetch A Vet is able to provide high-quality dog dental cleanings in Bluffton at any time.

Signs and Symptoms of Dog Dental Issues

The best way to prevent dog dental issues is to be proactive. Part of this process includes periodic dog teeth cleaning, but the other part requires vigilance on your part as the dog's owner. If your dog displays any of the following symptoms, you should schedule a veterinary appointment ASAP:

Bad breath / Halitosis
Problems eating, loss of appetite (only in the most severe cases)
Red, swollen, bleeding gums (usually the molars in the back of the mouth)
Loose, broken, missing teeth
Blood in saliva or nasal discharge
Lesions in mouth

Should you notice any of these symptoms, schedule a veterinary appointment right away.

What We Are Looking for During a Dog Dental Examination in Bluffton

During an oral exam, the veterinarian looks for any signs of abnormality or ill health. We are trained to spot many different symptoms, including:

Overbite, underbite, malocclusion, teeth that don't fit together
Gingivitis and periodontal disease
Facial swelling
Tartar buildup
Fractured or broken teeth
Cavities
Abscesses

Our staff will develop a customized plan of prevention or treatment based on what is found during the doggie dental exam.

Dog Dental Treatments

The dog dental care services provided here at Fetch A Vet begin with an examination by the veterinarian. If dental issues are found in your dog's mouth, our team will explain the situation to you and recommend the appropriate dental procedure. During this procedure, once your dog is sedated, our team is able to conduct a more thorough exam including visualizing the entire oral cavity and throat area, probing gingival pockets to assess periodontal disease, and performing dental x-rays. It is important to remember that half of the tooth is under the gum line. Therefore, it is imperative that x-rays are performed to completely assess the teeth. Quite often a tooth may look completely normal but the roots are abscessed, creating a great source of pain for your dog. We utilize all the tools necessary to make sure your dog is completely free of dental disease and pain.

Oral Surgery for Dogs

If oral surgery is necessary, it can provide your canine companion with a new lease on life. In these cases, your dog is dealing with significant pain and is compensating for it in a variety of ways. Our staff is capable of resolving a variety of oral maladies, including:

Gingival surgery - including tumor removal and removal of excessive gum tissue secondary to periodontal disease
Extensive extractions of impacted or damaged teeth
Oral tumor removal

Our dog dental facility in Bluffton allows our team to precisely perform whatever oral surgical procedure is necessary, in order to help your canine companion live, or regain a healthy and happy quality of life.

The Harsh Reality of Periodontal Disease in Dogs

Periodontal disease in dogs is the most common clinical condition occurring in adult canines. By three years of age, most dogs have some evidence of periodontal disease. Unfortunately, other than bad breath, there are few signs of periodontal disease in dogs evident to dog owners and professional diagnosis often comes too late to prevent extensive damage. Periodontal disease in dogs, if left untreated, will lead to infected, non-viable teeth and significant dental pain.

However, we cannot overstate the fact that periodontal disease in dogs is fully preventable. The way to successfully do so is to schedule semi-annual dog dental exams and dog teeth cleaning appointments with us, your vet dog dentist in Bluffton. By doing so, you are ensuring that your canine companion remains at a low risk for developing periodontal disease.

How To Schedule Your Dog's Dental Appointment

Scheduling an appointment with our team is as easy as picking up the phone, or sending us an email. Our veterinary staff in Bluffton is here to help make your dog's dentistry appointment easy for you while making it as painless and pleasant as possible for your canine companion.