We often see cases, such as Darcy in the video here, where a pet has chipped or fractured a tooth and requires a dental procedure for extraction. Dentistry isn’t just for fractured teeth, however, it is a really important aspect of your pet’s healthcare! A huge component of how your furry family member will do healthwise is dependent on their teeth. Their  liver, kidney, heart and lungs amongst other internal organs are all impacted by quality of dental health! An infection in the mouth can affect all of these organs, increase white cell count and make the body work much harder. 

You can become familiar with your pet’s oral health at home too by looking for buildup of matter on their teeth and signs of inflammation along their gumline. Both of these can indicate potential issues, as can smelly breath! Change in eating behaviour is another indicator of poor oral health - usually, animals will keep eating, but if they have a really sore mouth this can hinder their ability to eat well. 

At Ripley, for dental procedures your loved pet will go under anaesthetic and undergo a full oral examination. It’s not just about cleaning teeth - we check for fractures, foreign bodies, any other changes in the mouth (such as lumps). We will always run a blood test first, to ensure the kidneys and other organs are functioning well, and your pet will be on IV fluids for the day. In the dental procedure, we clean and scale their teeth first, examine the mouth and run dental x-rays. X-rays give us additional insight into what is occurring beneath the gumline. If you have any concerns, please give us a call and we can get your pet in for a consultation to assess their oral health.