Tail Talk with Dr. O’Hara

Beyond Bad Breath: Pet Dental Health Decoded

• Dr. O’Hara • Episode 2

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What Are The Benefits Of Professional Dental Cleanings For Pets? 

Dental health is the gateway to your pet's overall wellness – an often overlooked aspect of pet care that can literally add years to your furry friend's life. Dr. O'Hara demystifies why those "doggy kisses" shouldn't come with bad breath, and how that seemingly minor issue could signal serious health concerns.

Diving beyond cosmetics, this episode reveals the shocking connection between your pet's mouth and vital organs like the heart, kidneys, and liver. The progression from harmless plaque to life-threatening periodontal disease happens silently until your pet shows signs of pain or difficulty eating. By then, significant damage may already be underway.

Professional dental cleanings aren't just luxury services – they're essential preventative care. Dr. O'Hara walks through what happens during a veterinary dental cleaning, addressing common concerns about anesthesia with reassuring expertise. Particularly fascinating is the revelation that smaller dogs often need more frequent cleanings than their larger counterparts due to genetic factors affecting tooth crowding and saliva production.

For the proactive pet parent, the episode offers practical home care solutions that fit real-world scenarios. From specialized finger brushes to flavored toothpastes that make the experience more pleasant for your pet, these simple interventions can dramatically reduce the buildup that leads to serious issues. Whether you have a reluctant feline or an accommodating canine, you'll discover approaches that work for your unique situation.

Ready to transform your pet's health starting with their smile? Call Abingdon Animal Medical Center at 276-628-9655 or visit Myabingdonvet.com to schedule a dental evaluation. Your pet's wagging tail (and fresh breath) will thank you!

To learn more about Abingdon Animal Medical Center visit:
https://www.MyAbingdonVet.com
Abingdon Animal Medical Center
19586 Dennison Drive
Abingdon, VA 24211
276-628-9655

Speaker 1:

Welcome to Tail Talk with Dr O'Hara, where eastern Tennessee and southwest Virginia's favorite pets get the spotlight they deserve. He's the heart behind Abingdon Animal Medical Center, combining small-town charm with state-of-the-art veterinary care. Whether your furry friend purrs, barks or just steals your socks, this is the place for tips, tails and a whole lot of tail wagging.

Speaker 2:

Think your pet's bad breath is just a quirky trait? Think again. Dr O'Hara shares why dental cleanings are more than cosmetic they're life-saving. Welcome back everyone. Skip Monty, producer slash co-host, back in the studio with Dr O'Hara and his better half, jenny Guys. Welcome to the show. Thanks for being here.

Speaker 3:

Great to be here, thanks, skip.

Speaker 2:

We're glad to have you and super interested in dental cleaning for dogs. What are the benefits? I know a lot of folks don't even consider that, but what are the benefits of a professional dental cleaning for pets?

Speaker 3:

Well, dental cleaning is important mainly not you were talking about cosmetic, but for quality of life purposes. Right, because dental disease causes pain, trouble eating and things like that. So cleaning helps slow down the progression of gingivitis and, um, periodontal disease. Those are the big things that it does, because what happens, the whole process behind it, is you get plaque. The dog or cat gets plaque in their mouth right and they don't brush regularly, and that plaque hardens and turns into tartar mainly the term used on the human side and the pet side usually use the term calculus, which is like a mineral deposit that gets lodged on the teeth and it's that kind of brown hard stuff you'll see on a dog's teeth that hasn't been cleaned recently. And then that calculus can lead to gingivitis, can lead to periodontal disease, which leads to pain, trouble eating and decreased quality of life, and in severe cases it can cause problems with other organs like the kidney, the liver and the heart too. So it can be a big deal.

Speaker 2:

Wow, well, I was going to ask that question because I know during a past visit to a vet. The vet said that if you don't take care of this pretty quick, it could lead to some serious problems with the heart, liver and kidneys for sure, just like in humans actually.

Speaker 3:

Because your gums are a gateway. Right Gums are a gateway, they bleed and that bleed and then that bacteria can travel into your system.

Speaker 2:

So what's involved in a professional dental cleaning at the vet's office versus brushing their teeth at home? I know you know I don't try to do that, but Right.

Speaker 3:

Well, the first thing is obviously we put them under anesthesia. They take a quick little nap. For us that's really important, because with the dental clinic you have to put a tracheal tube in to protect their airway.

Speaker 3:

It's not like the dog is going to sit there and just say, okay, we have to. There's not an understanding of what they're doing when we go to the dentist. There's an understanding You're cleaning my teeth, this is what you're doing. I'm going to suck on the straw With a dog. Obviously there's not that understanding. So we got to protect them and be able to do a thorough job. So they take a little nap and then it's just we use this little scaler and we'll scale off all the dental calculus, all that tartar that's hard in the heart, and we'll probe and examine each teeth and sometimes some teeth need to be extracted. Why a tooth might need to be extracted is if it's very mobile, that tooth is going to be causing pain on eating. If it's mobile, if abscessed teeth with infection and pockets in there, we'll take those out too. And we'll take out teeth that the roots are really showing and there's a lot of what we call horizontal bone loss on the and the attachment's very poor where the tooth meets the bone there.

Speaker 2:

Wow, well are there. You mentioned taking a little nap. Are there any risks with anesthesia for animals?

Speaker 3:

Not really for me in that the pet parents, they worry about that. That's the first thing they always bring up. But you know, we do it all the time. We do it very safely. We can monitor the heart rate, what their heart's doing, their oxygen, the whole time. So I basically know how they're doing right and I always tell people it's usually the older dogs that get get more dental problems. But anesthesia is more tailored to older dogs. Um, it really is, because, besides, like the spay and neuter when they're young, most dogs that go under anesthesia are older. You know what I mean.

Speaker 2:

So and cats, so it's kind of designed for them. Yes, same thing with cats. As far as the cats.

Speaker 3:

We kind of call it a scale, a clean, a polish, and then everything is kind of check to see if it's it's good, stay and you know, and can give them a brand new mouth well and how often should pet owners get their dogs or animals teeth cleaned?

Speaker 3:

That's a great question because it varies per animal. Teeth in some ways, I think, are highly genetic. Some dogs like bigger dogs. They can have almost perfect teeth their whole life, but a lot of times smaller dogs. They have more cramming, they don't produce as much saliva, they don't chew on things as much and they need dentals much more often. It could be every year, it could be every couple of years. I usually try and assess with every yearly exam I do and appointment of where I think that patient is at Nice.

Speaker 2:

Are there for folks like me that don't know what we're doing? Are there some early signs of dental disease that we need to watch for? If you've not been to the vet in six months or something and you're not due for your annual, what should we look for?

Speaker 3:

Well, I would definitely. If you ever see trouble eating especially hard things or dropping food, kibbles and stuff like that, that might be a sign. And, honestly, if you just lift up your dog's gum line, if you're starting to see that brown calculus on there, it's probably a sign that you might want to go to the vet there and have it checked out. Might need to get all that cleaned up.

Speaker 2:

Well, what can? If we do see that, what can we do at home, between cleanings, to maintain positive dental health?

Speaker 3:

Okay. So one, if you're seeing plaque can be removed. Okay, Plaque is what can be removed. That's when you brush your teeth. It's just that film, you can see it. That's what brushing teeth is. So when you, if you could brush your dog's teeth every day or two with a little finger brush, where that, especially where the gum meets the tooth, you can really help prevent that calculus or tartar from forming. As soon as the tartar or calculus is formed, you got to use a little specialized crystal, you know little machine, to kind of get that off there. So but I would say brushing Brushing is important but not all dogs, I understand, are going to let you brush their teeth.

Speaker 4:

So it kind of is what it is, or cats, not all dogs, I understand, we're gonna let you brush their teeth so or cats, like online on Amazon.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, anyway, you can do some dogs don't like the brush. You can use a finger brush. You can even use just your your finger, if they'll let you do that, and just get in there and kind of wipe that black off before that plaque sets into tartar now that the finger brush you said is available online.

Speaker 4:

You can find them online on Amazon. Or if you just even use a search engine to search canine or feline finger toothbrushes, a lot of options come up, so you can find them anywhere.

Speaker 3:

And they make their own flavor toothpastes too. You know, that makes chicken.

Speaker 2:

Well, now your friend there that's Bowie. Is that what you said? His name is Bowie.

Speaker 3:

Have you brushed Bowie's teeth lately? No, we haven't. He's got really good teeth still, though, huh, bowie, you want to see him real nice and white and good. Yeah, only two years old, but no. I should probably, you know, do more of what I say.

Speaker 4:

but she's good, you're only two years old, but no, I should probably do more of what I say, but she's, I think, in his back pocket. He thinks I'll just take him in and give him a cleaning when he needs one. Yeah, oh yeah.

Speaker 2:

You can do that. That's the cool thing about being a vet, dr O'Hara. Jenny, thank you so much for your insights and to help us keep the tails wagging and the teeth sparkling of our beloved pets, and we'll catch you next time on Tail Talk.

Speaker 4:

Thank you so much for having us.

Speaker 3:

And thanks, Skip. And just like we were saying, dental health is important for quality of life with dogs and cats. It really is.

Speaker 2:

You heard it here on Tail Talk. All right, guys, see you later.

Speaker 1:

Thanks for joining us on Tail Talk with Dr O'Hara. If your four-legged family member needs a checkup, a stylish groom or just a cozy place to stay, give us a call or text at 276-628-9655 or visit myabingdonvetcom to book your appointment. Abingdon Animal Medical Center a small town feel with state-of-the-art care and plenty of belly rubs.