06/04/2025
🦷 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/
Original Post Credit to Hale Veterinary Clinic
