Your pet’s teeth and gums are a window to their overall health and well-being. An unhealthy mouth is not only painful, but can lead to other more serious health problems if not addressed. At Foothill Vet Clinic, our veterinarian and staff work to prevent dental problems altogether with professional cat and dog teeth cleaning services as well as guidance regarding at-home dental care.

Does your pet have bad breath and discolored teeth?
We’ll help restore their fresh breath and pearly whites.

Tips for Preventing Dental Problems in Pets

Keeping your cat’s or dog’s teeth and gums healthy requires a commitment to daily at-home care and routine vet visits.
Here’s how you can prevent dental problems in your cat or dog:

Routine dental evaluations and cleanings
At every annual wellness exam, our veterinarian will perform a dental evaluation to check the health of your pet’s teeth and gums. If we see any signs of disease, we may recommend a full dental cleaning under general anesthesia. A professional teeth cleaning will include:

• Comprehensive dental evaluation to assess for signs of disease such as periodontal pockets
• Ultrasonic and hand scaling to remove hardened calculus (tartar)
• Polishing to smooth tooth enamel and reduce future plaque and tartar buildup
• Tooth extractions of damaged teeth, if necessary

During every dental procedure, we use the same safety protocols that we use for surgery to minimize any risks and ensure your pet wakes from anesthesia in minimal discomfort.

Practice at-home dental care
While brushing your cat’s or dog’s teeth is the single best way to reduce plaque and tartar build-up, we recognize it can also be the most challenging! Not many pets take brushing well, but luckily, there are other options including:

• Using gauze or a finger brush instead of a toothbrush
• Dental chews
• Dental treats like Greenies
• Water additives