Small Animal Services
ORAL SURGERY At Companion Dentistry and Oral Surgery, we take the utmost care to ensure your pet’s comfort and safety throughout the treatment, just like with cleanings. Oncological surgery (tumor removal), dentigerous cyst removal, cleft palate repairs, and jaw fracture/trauma repair are the four main areas of oral surgery. The sort of surgery or repair required depends on the patient as well as the tumour or injury. If you have a patient who requires oral surgery, get in touch with us for further information.
PERIODONTAL PROPHYLAXIS Regular dental cleaning and oral examination are just as important for your animal companions as they are for you. The general health of your pet is intimately correlated with their oral health. Bad breath; missing, broken, or yellowed teeth; red, swollen, or bleeding gums; trouble or pain when eating; pawing at the mouth; and excessive drooling are all indications of dental illness. Please contact us if you observe any of these abnormalities for your companions.
PERIODONTAL SURGERY Periodontal disease can occasionally leave us with no choice but to extract teeth when there is attachment (periodontal ligament between the alveolar bone and tooth root) LOSS. To obtain soft tissue attachment (RP), new alveolar bone, or periodontal ligament attachment, however, in less severe cases, therapies like Root Planing and Guided Tissue Regeneration (GTR) can be performed. (GTR). These methods enable the preservation of strategically significant/functional teeth and are analogous to those applied in human periodontal therapy. These operations are very thrilling and fulfilling. They need follow-up and pet/owner adherence to at-home dental hygiene practises for the optimum results.
DIAGNOSTIC DENTAL IMAGING We take the importance of dental X-rays making accurate diagnoses to guide effective, ideal therapy for your pet’s oral health very seriously. Similar to how your dentist takes them for you, these intra-oral X-rays are taken with tiny plates that are inserted within the mouth. Animals require anesthesia because they cannot safely and successfully retain things in their mouths when awake. Full mouth x-rays are essential to evaluate the health of relevant dental tissues that are not visible above the gum line such as the tooth roots, bony tooth sockets, and jaw bones.
ENDODONTICS For broken, damaged, or otherwise non-vital teeth, this alternative enables pets to KEEP these teeth WITHOUT experiencing ongoing agony or pain. The methods, materials, and tools are the same as those applied on humans only LONGER. Because their dental roots are 3–10 times longer than ours, our pets need unique or altered equipment. The advantage of a Root Canal Treatment (RCT) is that it is LESS intrusive than extraction, allowing the pet to preserve their tooth for function and resulting in a far quicker recovery! The documented success rate for RCT with dogs and cats is 95%, but follow-up is still necessary. Vital Pulp Therapy: Vital Pulp Therapy is another typical endodontic technique. (VPT). As the name suggests, this surgery is carried out on teeth that are VITAL and whose pulp tissue (blood vessels and nerves) have been exposed in order to save the tooth. Since pulp tissue will get inflamed (pulpitis), which is uncomfortable, and eventually die (pulp necrosis), which will result in tooth death, teeth with exposed pulp NEED to be treated. The two indications for this surgery are INTENTIONAL pulp exposure following a crown reduction procedure for the treatment of traumatic malocclusions and ACUTE pulp exposure from trauma. After the exposed/inflamed pulp has been eliminated, the pulp chamber is sealed with a pulp dressing before a two-layer restoration is applied. As the purpose of this operation is to KEEP the tooth alive, follow-up is also necessary. (in addition to removing pain). Dental radiographs are the only way to establish that dentin deposition has proceeded. (dentinogenesis).
ORTHODONTICS Cosmetic orthodontics is not available. Our pets do not require a flawless grin, but they do have the right to a pain-free mouth. In veterinary dentistry, there are two types of orthodontic equipment: passive and active force appliances. Passive force occurs when the pet has control over the quantity and frequency with which pressure is applied. Active forces occur when an appliance has a continuous force that is regulated by the appliance.
PROSTHODONTICS When teeth are damaged, their strength and hardness characteristics change. Damaged teeth can be prone to future injury. Prosthodontic therapy involves crown placement to protect weakened, brittle teeth to preserve them for comfort and function. They are cemented over an existing tooth. They might help to reinforce and cover up any cosmetic flaws like chips, cracks, or discolouration. When fillings are insufficient to restore a tooth, crowns are frequently used. Crowns can be made of a variety of materials, including metal alloys and zirconia. Crowns need to be strong and long-lasting since they experience a lot of pressure.
DENTAL EXTRACTIONS Next to scaling and polishing, tooth extraction is one of the procedures that we conduct as part of our COHATs. With surgical extractions, there is no “one size fits all” solution. The decision to extract a tooth depends on several factors, including the affected tooth, the severity AND kind of the disease, the general health and behaviour of the pet, and the owner’s capacity for and willingness to provide follow-up care and at-home oral hygiene. Each of our patients has their own treatment plan because they are “42 and 30 tiny patients” (dogs have 42 permanent teeth and cats have 30). There are a variety of situations where a tooth may need to be extracted, including severe periodontal disease, fractures, non-vitality, persistent deciduous (baby) teeth, and traumatic malocclusions (see Endodontics and Orthodontics for additional treatment options). All patients also undergo a local/regional nerve block prior to surgery and a postoperative radiograph to confirm full extraction in addition to systemic analgesics (painkillers).