General pet medicine includes the following:
Just as your own teeth require regular dental care, so do your pet’s. However, it can be challenging to find a veterinarian with the skills to provide your pet with the quality dental care needed to keep its smile looking and feeling its best.
At Hammond Bay Animal Hospital, we’re proud to provide various veterinary dental services ranging from teeth cleanings to gum disease treatment. We look forward to meeting you and your pet and starting a relationship you can trust for years to come.
Whether your pet is visiting us for the first time or has seen us before, we strive to treat them like a member of our own family. Not only do we respect their personal space and boundaries, but we employ fear-free dental techniques to help ease anxiety.
Call us today to schedule your pet’s next appointment with our Nanaimo veterinary dentist!
When you put off getting your pet the dental care they need, minor dental inconveniences can become oral health complications that require costly procedures and treatments to address. If you’re unsure whether dentistry is right for your pet, there are numerous benefits for your pet, some of which include the following:
Eliminating Gum Disease
Like humans, gum disease in dogs and cats can lead to extensive tooth loss and other dental complications if left untreated. Gum disease stems from excess plaque accumulation, a sticky film on the surface of your pet's teeth formed from bacteria. When you bring in your pet for yearly teeth cleanings, we'll remove potentially harmful plaque through scaling and help prevent gum disease from occurring.
Reducing Pain
Various oral complications like cavities can be painful and negatively impact your pet's quality of life. Our veterinary dental team leverages extensive experience to get to the underlying cause of your pet's oral discomfort and address it.
Avoiding Tooth Loss
At Hammond Bay Animal Hospital, we genuinely care about preserving your pet's teeth whenever possible. Regular dental checkups can help prevent cavities, which can weaken your pet's teeth structure and require tooth extraction.
When you bring your pet to our practice for its first dental checkup, our Hammond Bay veterinary dentist will begin with a consultation exam where we ensure that your pet is healthy enough for treatment. During this time, we’ll run bloodwork to determine if your pet is dealing with any health problems that can preclude them from our dental services.
We’ll also ask you a series of questions about your pet’s oral health. Has their behavior changed recently? Have they shown signs of pain or irritation when eating or drinking? Taking the information you provide us, we’ll then conduct an extensive oral exam on its smile.
Once they’re anesthetized, our dentist will use x-ray technology to examine your pet’s teeth, gums, and jawbones. Afterward, we’ll create their personalized dental treatment plan that outlines the offerings we think would be ideal for them. Our practice doesn’t recommend unnecessary services, and we’re happy to adjust their plan at any time. Some of our dental services include:
Eliminating Gum Disease
A dental cleaning is a routine treatment that can help keep your pet's smile looking and feeling great. We recommend your pet visit us for a cleaning at least once a year. However, the frequency of visits can vary depending on factors like your pet's age and overall oral condition. During a dental cleaning, we'll place your pet under anesthesia and use specialized tools to clean and polish the surface of their teeth.
Not only does this help prevent plaque accumulation, but it also reduces the chance of gum irritation.
Tooth Extractions
A crucial component of our Nanaimo veterinary dentistry is saving your pet's teeth whenever possible. However, there may be instances where the tooth is too damaged to preserve and must be extracted. During a tooth extraction procedure, we'll anesthetize your pet and gently extract the damaged tooth. Throughout the process, we'll closely monitor your pet's vital signs to ensure that it's completed safely.
Once your pet's tooth has been extracted, our team will thoroughly clean the area and close it with absorbable sutures that do not require a follow-up appointment for removal.
Our dental team will provide you with detailed after-care instructions. Additionally, we can answer any questions you may have.
At Hammond Bay Animal Hospital, we’re passionate about improving the quality of life of cats and dogs through skilled dental services. From tooth extractions to gum disease treatment, our team is here to make the process as hassle-free as possible. We’ll treat your pet with the compassion and kindness they deserve while respecting their personal boundaries. Our dental staff can’t wait to start improving and protecting your pet’s oral health. Contact us today to schedule your next appointment with our Nanaimo veterinary dentist and their staff!
If you have any questions, or need to schedule a medical visit, please call our office.
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