Hale Veterinary Clinic

08/21/2025

😺Look at those tiny kitten teeth!

Did you know you can estimate a kitten’s age just by looking at their teeth?

Baby teeth appear by 2–3 weeks, start falling out around 14–16 weeks, and are fully replaced by adult teeth by about 6 months.

We use this in Shelter Medicine to help determine if kittens are old enough for certain vaccines and now you can use this chart to impress your friends with your kitten-age guessing skills!

American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) SAVMA Feline Veterinary Medical Association Humane Society for Greater Lafayette Almost Home Humane Society Purdue University

08/18/2025

😃 In the last video, we discussed the cause, potential clinical signs, and consequences of untreated periodontal disease (PD).
👉 In part 2 of this series, Dr. Hamilton explains how PD is diagnosed, the 4 stages of PD, the treatment required for each stage, and other factors which may affect the decision for treatment.
💻 For a YouTube link of this video to share with your clients or add to your playlist in your waiting area - https://youtu.be/ZLcxLI7WBXQ

08/08/2025

👀 Have you noticed this ‘lump’ on the lingual side of a cat’s mandibular molar?

👉 Although it can be mistaken for a mass or tumour, it is the mandibular salivary gland. This is a normal anatomical feature in all cats, big and small, and can be more prominent or obvious following the extraction of the mandibular molar. This gland is polystomatic, so appropriate closure of the extraction site of the mandibular molar will not affect the drainage of this gland. However, care should be taken not to pull the gland too laterally as this may result in traumatic contact between the gland and the maxillary fourth premolar.

08/01/2025

👀 You may have come across the ads for these at-home ultrasonic tooth scaler/cleaning devices for pets. Although it may sound like a great idea to pet owners, using this kind of device at home is essentially performing anesthesia-free dental cleaning. It not only fails to clean pets’ teeth thoroughly, but it also poses many risks:
⚠ Without cooling with water, it can overheat teeth and cause damage.
⚠ It creates micro-scratches on enamel. Without polishing, the tooth surface becomes rough, and plaque will be more likely to adhere.
⚠ Teeth may look cleaner on the surface, but plaque and calculus are still present underneath the gumline, on the inside of teeth, and in other places where owners cannot reach while pets are awake.
⚠ The device aerosolizes bacteria during use, which will be inhaled by both pets and pet owners (dangerous!).
⚠ When it’s done for patients with painful dental conditions, it causes a significant amount of pain and discomfort. It can damage the relationship between pets and their owners, and in some cases, owners may be bitten by their pets.
⚠ Without proper diagnosis and treatment by professionals, disease can be hidden and will continue to cause pain and discomfort for pets.

07/25/2025

👉Have you seen these indentations on the palatal aspect of the maxillary 4th premolars?
😃Although they can be mistaken for an occlusal issue, these are considered part of the normal anatomy. These are where the cusps of the mandibular 1st molars normally sit when the mouth is closed. They are generally more prominent in medium- to large-breed dogs.

07/08/2025

🎉Congratulations to Dr.Hamilton who is now a diplomate of the European Veterinary Dental College! 🇪🇺🦷
🥳He is one of two boarded veterinary dentists in Canada who are recognized in both North America and Europe as a veterinary dental specialist.
Dr.Hamilton will be attending the European Veterinary Dental Forum in May 2026 in Portugal 🇵🇹! Make sure to say hi to him if you will be there too!

07/03/2025

😢 Periodontal disease (PD) is the most common dental disease in dogs and cats. Almost all the patients walking through your door are affected 😱. Do you really know the cause of it? Do you believe that pets will show signs when they are in pain and discomfort?
👉 Check out this short video of Dr. Hamilton explaining the cause of PD, the relationship between dental calculus (tartar) and PD, clinical presentation, as well as localized and systemic consequences of chronic, untreated PD.
💻 For a YouTube link of this video to share with your clients or add to your playlist in your waiting area - https://youtu.be/iN5lZ3cVHLk

06/26/2025

🐱🐯From cats and small dogs to hyenas and tigers, what's the difference between how their root canal procedures are done? Although the procedure steps are similar, we need to have files of various lengths to accommodate different tooth sizes. Look at the size of the tiger files! They were specially ordered from Sweden to use in root canal procedures for zoo animals.

06/20/2025

🤔 When you look at a radiograph of a tooth following root canal treatment, you might see a ‘puff’ at the apex. What does that mean? Is it a bad thing?

😃 It depends on the type of sealer used for the root canal procedure. There are tiny ‘channels’ at the apex of a tooth (apical delta). When the pulp chamber is filled with an endodontic sealer, it can leak out through these ‘channels’, creating a ‘puff’, especially when chronic inflammation is present with endodontic disease. Newer generations of materials, such as the bioceramic sealer we are using, are biocompatible, and the sealer will be absorbed over time. 👍When there is a ‘puff’, it is an indicator that it’s a good fill of the pulp chamber. When a post-op radiographic recheck is performed, we will see a reduction of this ‘puff’ due to the body resorbing the material.

06/16/2025

👀 We are a dental specialty clinic. Why are we seeing a patient with an eye issue? Because sometimes, what looks like an eye problem might be caused by dental disease!

🐶 This is a 4-year-old MN Coton De Tulear. Before he was presented to us, he had a runny and inflamed right eye for months. He had been through all kinds of diagnoses (routine ophthalmic tests, biopsy, culture, herpes virus testing) and treatments (oral antibiotics, bottles of eye drops, nasolacrimal flush, puncta enlargement), but with no improvement. Eventually, a CT scan revealed marked periapical pathology surrounding his right maxillary fourth premolar (108), which had a fracture with pulp exposure. The fracture site was covered by calculus, so it was not obvious at a glance. We suspect the marked inflammation from this area may have affected his nasolacrimal duct, which resulted in his ocular issue. This tooth was extracted, and the debris surrounding his right eye was gently removed. Two days after his procedure, his owner reported his eye was already looking much better!

🦷 If you see a patient with a chronic, unilateral eye infection (or more commonly a draining tract under the eye) which is unresponsive to treatment, make sure to look into the mouth and rule out dental disease.

06/01/2025

🦷 You have probably seen signs advertising anesthesia-free pet dental cleaning services at your local pet store. This kind of service not only has no medical or health benefits for pets’ dental health, but can also be very dangerous. Unfortunately, most pet owners are not aware of the risks involved, ranging from masking signs of advanced periodontal disease, aspiration pneumonia, and even fracture of the jaw 😱

🐶This is Gemma, an 11-year-old Sheltie. With the good intention of providing her with a clean mouth, her owner had been taking her to a local anesthesia-free tooth cleaning service twice a year. By the time she presented to us, although her teeth looked relatively clean on the surface (likely because the calculus on the crown was removed during those visits), 12 of her teeth exhibited advanced periodontal disease with severe bone loss and gingival recession! All these teeth, as well as 3 retained tooth roots and a tooth with tooth resorption, required extraction. All the remaining teeth were scaled and polished both above and below the gumline. After a 2-week healing period, daily tooth brushing and the use of VOHC-approved products should be introduced. As with all small dogs, annual professional assessment and cleanings by veterinary teams are recommended to delay the development of periodontal disease.

👉 Check out the American Veterinary Dental College’s website for the risks of anesthesia-free pet dental cleaning - https://afd.avdc.org/risks-of-anesthesia-free-pet-dental-cleanings/

05/26/2025

🦷 Vital pulp therapy is frequently performed for young pets with acute tooth fractures or following crown reduction in certain malocclusions. Do you know how this procedure is performed? Do you know why we recommend a radiographic recheck in six months, and what we are looking for on the radiographs?
👉 Watch this short video of Dr. Hamilton answering these questions.
💻 For a YouTube link of this video to share with your clients or add to your playlist in your waiting area - https://youtu.be/V54IRhBqK-M