Dentistry

The oral health of your pet is more critical than you realize.  We all know dental disease can cause bad breath and yellowed teeth, but it can also lead to pain, infection, abscessation and even negatively affect a pet’s overall systemic health.  Dental disease is the most common disease in dogs and cats but also one of the most preventable.  We’re dedicated to assisting pet parents in increasing their involvement in proper dental care at home to maintain your pet’s oral health.

At Metrowest Veterinary Associates we recognize that each pet is different, and our veterinarians will develop a dental plan for each individual pet. For cases that a professional dental cleaning under anesthesia is recommended, you can expect the following:

• An anesthetic plan that is individually tailored to each pet’s age, breed and health status. This plan includes pain management, medications and use of local anesthetics (lidocaine nerve blocks) when indicated.
• A complete oral exam of each tooth, the gum line, tongue, hard and soft palates.
• Full mouth dental x-rays to determine the level of disease below the gum line and if there are retained teeth or tooth root tips not evident on oral exam.
• Removal of dental tartar and calculus from each tooth and below the gum line with an ultrasonic scaler.
• Full dental charting to measure gum recession or evidence of pockets that indicate infection is present.
• Extraction of diseased, infected, or fractured teeth and excision or biopsy of oral masses.
• Polishing of all teeth to slow the progression of future tartar build-up.

If you have any concerns about your pet’s oral health, give us a call to set up their exam. Our veterinarians will do an evaluation and discuss the right plan for your pet.