Greetings friends! How is everyone’s 2013 going so far? How about those New Year’s resolutions? One of mine was to simmer down the sarcasm a bit but then I remembered that I’m a cat! It’s part of my natural charm. My 2013 has been OK so far though I am recovering from being a bit under the weather. Thankfully my staff takes pretty good care of me and can tell when I’m not feeling my best! I know you want your pet to feel their best, so let’s talk about your pet’s dental health and signals that something may be wrong. Today’s main objective however is to go over with you what to expect when your pet does need dental care.
Let’s say that Fido is 8 years old and has a broken tooth with a significant amount of tartar buildup. Fido’s parent had noticed a decrease in his appetite and then he didn’t want to eat at all. He had also become lethargic and didn’t want to play or go on walks which concerned the parent even more since walks were pretty much the best darn thing ever created. So Dr. Mason has now determined that Fido needs dental work. What now? He recommends extracting the broken tooth and doing a complete dental at the same time. The doctor gives them the pre-dental instructions. Due to Fido’s graceful aging and passing 7 years, pre-anesthetic blood work is mandatory so he goes ahead and takes care of that during the exam. Dr. Mason will determine based on the blood work whether or not he thinks Fido will be a good candidate to undergo anesthesia. Other things to remember: 12-hour fast (no food or treats however water is OK), and what time Fido should be admitted the day of the procedure. You need to make sure that you tell the front desk at check in if you gave any medications that morning so they can relay that to the doctor. And if you do accidentally give your pet a treat or feed them even a little breakfast, let the front staff know since that could affect whether or not your pet should go under anesthesia.
Fido needs to be fully anesthetized, because the doctor needs to be able to fully examine his mouth and the licensed veterinary technician needs to be able to perform a thorough cleaning. While Fido is anesthetized the doctor may find other teeth that need to be extracted and possibly need to take x-rays to look for further decay. The doctor went over Fido’s post dental care. Taking into consideration Fido’s medical history and having at least one tooth extracted, the doctor plans on sending him home with a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAID) for pain and an antibiotic. Every case is different so make sure you pay attention to what the vet says and follow any pre and post dental instructions! Follow ups are usually not necessary as long as your pet’s eating and drinking normally and they are not showing any other signs of distress.
My doctors and staff will handle any questions or concerns you may have so don’t hesitate to ask! You can come in and ask me but then people might think it’s a bit strange asking a cat medical advice… No one’s supposed to know just how smart I really am. They wouldn’t believe you since it’s so rare to have some cat this handsome be this intelligent… On that note, my brain needs food as does my tummy so I am off to soak in some smart… in the form of dinner!
Purrs,
Mason
