During the annual physical exam, one of the things the doctor is inspecting is the oral health of your pet. Routine maintenance can prevent common problems which left untreated can be detrimental to your pets over all health. Some examples of common problems are as follows:

• Pockets in the gums
• Cavities
• Gingivitis
• Periodontal disease 
• Gum recession 
• Tooth abscess 
• Tartar and bacteria build up 
• Calculus 
• Tooth loss

The dental cleaning or prophylaxis requires that your pet go under general anesthesia. This procedure is performed by one of our trained technicians and supervised by our doctor. Our technicians use the same equipment your dental hygienist uses to scale, polish and check your teeth. The procedure is almost identical to what you experience when having your teeth cleaned except for the fact that your pet is blissfully unaware any of this is happening. Please refer to the "surgery" section under "services" for more information on anesthesia.