Senior Lifetime Wellness Plans and Lifetime Dental Plans Promotions

In honor of Senior Pet Quarter all senior Lifetime Wellness Plan enrollment fees are $50 off. Renewal fees are discounted by $25. The veterinarians and team at West Ridge Animal Hospital believe in preventive care. We advocate that a pet’s optimum wellness is achieved through love, care, routine examinations, vaccinations, good dental health, and continuing education as we learn more about your devoted and loving friend. Our Lifetime Wellness Plans include all of the American Animal Hospital Associations recommendations for basic preventive care for your cat or dog; including twice yearly preventive care examinations, vaccinations, annual lab work, and discounted routine or emergency office examinations.

We had such great client feedback when we started our Lifetime Wellness Program and in response to your request created our Lifetime Dental Plans this year. Periodontal disease is a serious issue found in 85% of pets 4 years and older. If left untreated, your pet can suffer from its ill effects such as inflamed and painful gums, bad breath, bone loss, loose teeth, and infections that can spread to the other parts of the body.

 Through December 31st all senior pets who qualify will receive $25 off the enrollment into a dental health plan.

Don’t Let Your Pet Get Away With Having Dog Breath!

Think about how you felt when you woke up this morning.  Were you fresh and alert?  Were you groggy and uncoordinated?  Did your back ache?  How was your breath?  Chances are your mouth tasted like you licked the bottom of your shoe, and your teeth felt “fuzzy.”  That fuzz is plaque, a combination of bacteria, saliva, and food particles that have made themselves at home on the enamel of your teeth.  Plaque starts forming just four short hours after brushing your teeth.  If left there long enough it can calcify and become tartar, which is a rigid crusty deposit that can only be removed by a professional dental cleaning.

Now, think of how fresh your breath feels after brushing your teeth.  Remember the feeling of how smooth your teeth are when you run your tongue over them?  How often do you brush your teeth each day?  Dogs and cats get plaque and tartar buildup just like humans.  How long has it been since you brushed your pet’s teeth?

Professional dental cleanings are vital in maintaining your pet’s oral health, just as they are for humans. Imagine how your mouth would taste, smell, and feel if you only went to the dentist for cleanings once or twice a year, and did not brush and floss at home in between those visits.  YUCK!  It is the same idea for our pets.  Routine professional cleanings are extremely important, but we don’t want to skip out on home dental care between those.  Ask your vet about how to brush your pet’s teeth, what chew toys and treats are safe and effective for cleaning plaque, and to learn about other great methods and tools for giving your pet that same clean fresh feeling you enjoy after brushing.  Don’t let your pet get away with having dog breath!

If I could, I’d do it myself; 

alas, I have no thumbs.

Dental Quarter Update:

Dental Quarter is in full swing at West Ridge Animal Hospital! According to the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), periodontal disease is the most common, preventable, condition most frequently seen in dogs and cats. Good home care includes: brushing, appropriate chewtoys, and a healthy diet. For pets that are predisposed to dental disease or struggle with their oral health, there are a myriad of additional resources, including: water additives, medications, and oral health wipes. 

In conjunction with proper home care, your pet’s dental health needs to be assessed by a veterinarian on a yearly basis. Usually this is completed at the time of their preventive care physical examination(s). West Ridge Animal Hospital uses a grading system to determine the level of your pet’s periodontal disease. If needed we can complete an American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) approved anesthetized dental cleaning, assessment, and treatment to address your pet’s periodontal disease. To date this year we have performed over fifty anesthetized dental procedures, and have one month remaining in our big push for your pet’s dental health.

Contact us today at (970) 330-7283 to learn more about our at home starter kit
or to discuss your pet’s dental health. 

Click here to read more about AAHA Dental Care Guidelines

FEBRUARY FUN FACT: Why Pet Toothpaste?

A question we often hear from our clients when teaching them how to protect their pet’s teeth is, “Why do they need special toothpaste? Can’t I just use regular toothpaste?” Besides the fact that your pet might not appreciate the strong minty flavor that we tend to prefer, there are a few other reasons we recommend special toothpaste for your furry friend. The primary reason is also why we have different toothpaste for babies; adult human toothpaste contains fluoride, and babies and pets don’t know how to rinse and spit. Ingestion of too much fluoride can cause problems, so we want to avoid this.

Additionally, human toothpaste is foamy, and we don’t want our pets ingesting the agents causing the foam.  We still need a product that can clean their teeth and not cause harmful effects, so pet toothpaste is made to help dissolve plaque, and it comes in flavors that your pets will appreciate.  Flavors can include malt, poultry, beef, or vanilla mint. A common ingredient in human toothpaste is xylitol, also found in gum, which is highly toxic to dogs and cats. The sodium level in our toothpaste is also much higher, which can be harmful when swallowed by pets. Do your pet a favor and brush their teeth with toothpaste specially formulated for their needs and which tastes good to them!

Read More Dental FAQs

Keeping Your Pet's Mouth Healthy, Dental Grades

These figures depict how the doctors grade your pet's teeth.

Periodontal Disease and Its Treatment, Part I

PART I: What is it?

We’ve all heard the term Periodontal Disease, but do you know what it really is and how it forms?
Periodontal literally means “around the tooth”; periodontal disease, then, is infection and inflammation of the gums, ligaments, and bones surrounding the teeth.  Gingivitis is the less severe form; if left untreated it progresses into periodontitis and tooth loss.

It all starts with a sticky substance called plaque which is made up of saliva, bacteria and tiny bits of food.  Plaque is easily removed through brushing and flossing.  Areas of plaque that are left on teeth eventually harden into tartar; once formed, tartar can only be removed with ultrasonic tools and special instruments during a dental cleaning.  To further exacerbate the situation, tartar has a rough outer surface to which even more bacteria likes to attach.  This buildup irritates and inflames the gum, causing a pocket with ideal conditions for-- you guessed it-- even MORE bacteria and tartar.  Thus, a vicious cycle forms of bacteria accumulation and additional inflammation until eventually the result is tooth and bone loss.  On top of the risk of tooth loss, bacteria can separate and travel through the bloodstream to the liver, heart, and/or the kidneys.

Knowing our pets can’t brush their teeth and remove plaque, it is easy to see how animals’ mouths are so susceptible to disease!

Feline Odontoclastic Resorptive Lesions

Our beloved cats (and some dogs, too!) commonly fall victim to Feline Odontoclastic Resorptive Lesions (aka FORLs or, simply, Resorptive Lesions).  These cannot be prevented, meaning that (1) if your cat gets them, you are not guilty in any way, and (2) cats must receive dentals performed by a veterinarian regardless of how well their teeth are cared for.

Resorptive Lesions originate in the cementum which covers the root of the tooth.  They work their way to the pulp, then move either down or up the inside of the tooth; sometimes going both directions at once.  By the time any external signs are visible, your pet’s tooth already has a painful end-stage lesion.  Signs that your cat has a lesion which has progressed to the crown include: not eating, eating only soft items, general malaise, and drooling.

Diagnosing a Resorptive Lesion requires both oral radiographs and dental probing- both of which can only be performed while the cat is under anesthesia.  In every one of our comprehensive dental exams, a veterinarian probes the gums and gets full-mouth x-rays to ensure all issues, even those under the gums, are discovered.

If a Resorptive Lesion exists in a tooth, that tooth must be extracted.  Treatment following an extraction includes pain management and antibiotics.  Your cat will need to come back in for the DVM to monitor healing.  Unfortunately, any cat that has had one Resorptive Lesion is likely to have subsequent lesions.

Of course, we all would prefer to completely prevent any chance of pain in our furry friends but the good news is that, with careful treatment by a licensed DVM, Resorptive Lesions are completely treatable!

AAHA Standards: DE02c

In the days leading up to this year's accreditation renewal with the American Animal Hospital Association, we will be highlighting some of the standards we must uphold.  Here's today's:

"DE02c: Dental services provided include Radiography"

Here at West Ridge, our dental services don't just "include" radiography, we take full mouth radiographs on every dental procedure.  Why?  Teeth are very similar to icebergs in that the majority of the tooth is hidden under the surface of the gum.  It is not uncommon to go into what looks like a routine procedure, only to find through x-rays that a root is bad and must be extracted.  Not only would a diseased tooth root be extremely painful, but the inflammation and bacteria involved can also cause many issues throughout the body.

Keeping Your Pet's Mouth Healthy, Part 3

As seen in this picture, Bhaer presented to us with a Dental Grade 3 mouth on the morning of January 12th, 2012.
Before doing any treatments, the veterinarian will perform a pre-surgical exam, including bloodwork, to ensure the animal is healthy. Pre-anesthetic medication is given to make the patient sleepy then we intubate him/her.

Doing this allows us:
• unlimited access to the mouth,
• the ability to perform all the actions necessary during the procedure,
• to prevent any fluid and bacteria (loosened from the teeth) from
going in to the lungs,
• to keep our patient pain-free throughout the entire procedure by
utilizing inhalant anesthesia.

While anesthetized, all patients are closely monitored; we watch their temperature, blood pressure, heart rate, ECG tracing, respirations, blood-oxygen saturation, and carbon dioxide levels. We also place a catheter and administer fluids.

Here, you see our technician scaling Bhaer’s teeth to remove the plaque and tartar.

As you can see, we need to reach far into the mouth to get to all the teeth. Can you imagine your pet sitting still and permitting a technician do this while awake??

Then we progress to probing the gums. This tells us about the health of the gingiva; we measure pocket depth and furcation (the space between the roots). This is another action that patients do not allow if they are awake for the dental.

Once that is finished, the mouth is sprayed and cleaned out, then each tooth is polished. Aside from making the teeth pearly-pretty the polish serves to smooth the tooth surface, removing any divots where bacteria can adhere.

Every dental prophylactic procedure here at West Ridge Animal Hospital includes full-mouth digital dental radiographs. Teeth are a little like icebergs in that so much of them is hidden under the gums. Radiographs allow the veterinarian to see the roots and pinpoint any previously undetected issues. It is not uncommon for pets to present with what seems to be a good dental grade, only to find problems lurking in the roots.

Finally, the veterinarian checks over the entire mouth, assessing the teeth and performing any necessary extractions, mass removals, or other oral surgery. Bhaer, fortunately, did not require any of these procedures.

See the difference a dental prophylactic procedure makes!

Please note: You may notice the shape and color change to B's upper fang. This was from years of cage chewing before he was adopted. The brown color change is not 'dirt' or 'stain" but restorative dentin. When worn down slowly the tooth tries to heal and protect itself from invasion of the pulp chamber by putting a layer of thicker dentin over the chamber. In Baher's case, the radiographs and dental probing confirmed that the crown was intact and safe. We see similar changes in dogs who fetch tennis balls year after year.

Keeping Your Pet's Mouth Healthy, Part 1

So many people think of dental care for their pet as tedious and unnecessary, but if one thinks about it one will realize just how disgusting a mouth can get if not brushed and cleaned regularly. Shoot, if I forget to brush my teeth just one morning, I feel gross all day- I can only imagine what our pets feel like! Even more than that, though, is the fact that good dental health lends itself to better overall health as well. Dental disease can lead to issues with the kidneys, lungs and even the heart. So now we’ve established the WHY on dental health, but HOW does one go about it?

Starting when your pet is just a puppy/ kitten, your veterinarian will want to inspect the teeth. He/ she will be checking for problems with the deciduous (baby) teeth, placement of teeth, and looking for any abnormalities or swelling in the mouth. This is a great time to ask your doctor to demonstrate proper teeth-brushing technique. If started at an early age, your pet will accept it more readily, making it easier on everyone to maintain good dental health in the years to come. West Ridge Animal Hospital carries a variety of animal-specific toothbrushes, toothpastes, and oral rinses to better accommodate each household and their pets. Please note: it is not safe to use human toothpaste on a pet, it could cause poisoning from the fluoride since animals don’t spit and rinse.

At each wellness examination, your vet will again look in the mouth and inform you of your pet’s dental “grade”. Don’t worry, they’re not grading your ability or skill; all animals have different dispositions when it comes to their mouths, just as we humans do. This number, 1 through 4, refers to the amount of plaque and tartar, and signifies whether periodontal disease is present and, if so, its severity. This creates a consistent chart for all doctors who might see your pet.

Stay tuned for further posts regarding dental health….