Periodontal Therapy and Surgery

It is important for you to know that not all veterinary hospitals approach anesthesia and periodontal procedures in the same way. Advancements in veterinary medicine and anesthesia make these procedures much safer than ever before. You can be confident that at Pet Care Veterinary Hospital your pet will be provided the highest quality of care with the most compassionate approach. This includes the latest pain management protocols, the safest anesthesia, the most advanced monitoring equipment, a highly-trained staff, and a thermal warming blanket to maintain body temperature during the procedure.

When your pet is admitted to our hospital for periodontal therapy and surgery, several steps are taken before the actual procedure occurs. First, your pet’s attending doctor will conduct an examination to determine if there are any current issues that would prevent us from proceeding. Blood then is drawn for pre-anesthetic testing; this important step tells us if the liver, kidneys, blood count, etc., are within normal limits. If all is well, a licensed technician will administer pre-medications to reduce pain, calm your pet, and reduce the amount of gas anesthesia needed. This is followed by a short-acting injectable anesthetic at which point a breathing (tracheal) tube is placed and a gas anesthesia/oxygen mix administered directly into the lungs. We use the same anesthesia as in human hospitals. Monitors will be attached to your pet showing heart and respiratory rate, body temperature, blood pressure, and oxygen saturation.

Once your pet is under anesthesia, we begin a complete examination of the oral cavity. With the same instruments used in human medicine, we clean, scale, and polish each tooth to remove all the calculus. We also clean under the gum, a technique known as subgingival scaling. Once the entire mouth is cleaned, each tooth is inspected and probed for any deep pockets below the gum line and feline resorptive neck lesions. Pockets are indicators of periodontal disease and bone loss around the root of the tooth. Neck lesions can appear as areas of reddened tissue at the tooth-gum interface or as a “hole” or concavity in the tooth. Full-mouth digital dental x-rays are taken to check for bone loss and other tooth abnormalities. If more than 50% of the bone surrounding the tooth root is decayed, the tooth should be surgically extracted. Without extraction this tooth will become increasingly painful to your pet. If we find that a tooth (or several teeth) needing extraction, we take great care in preventing and controlling pain. In addition to injections of two different and powerful types of pain medication, we also perform a local nerve block in the area around the extraction site.

Your pet is constantly monitored by a licensed technician during the entire procedure and when completed, the anesthesia is turned off and oxygen is administered. Your pet continues to be monitored by our trained staff during the recovery period, and is given additional pain management later in the day if teeth were extracted. Owners are often amazed how great their pet looks when they go home, often with little or no indication that they have been under general anesthesia or had a procedure. To maintain comfort levels for pets that require extractions, they are sent home with a pain medication. We will discuss preventative care to help you maintain your pet’s oral health at home.

At Pet Care Veterinary Hospital, our mission is to provide the highest quality care for our patients with the most compassionate approach. The techniques we use for our periodontal therapy and surgical patients are an important part of our mission.