Don’t worry, we are animal dentists and we are here to help! Our veterinarians will likely recommend that you start with a full dental cleaning and oral assessment for your pet. This is a procedure that is performed under anesthesia to allow us to carefully check every little space in your pet’s mouth.  We start with an ultrasonic scaling, which uses heat and vibration to remove tartar from the teeth. Next, we apply a temporary stain to the teeth to help highlight any microscopic plaque which may still be adhered to the surface of the tooth. We finish up with a fluoride treatment which helps strengthen the enamel.  Your veterinarian will also perform a full evaluation of the mouth. Any damaged teeth that may require further treatment can also be addressed while your pet is under anesthesia. While putting your pet under anesthesia may seem risky, we take many steps to ensure that this procedure is as safe as possible. First, we will recommend pre-anesthetic blood testing, which tells us how well your pet’s internal organs are working. The liver and kidneys are very important in getting anesthetics filtered out of the body, and are the primary focus of this bloodwork.   A pre-anesthetic physical exam also ensures the heart is healthy. The medications we use for sedation and maintaining anesthesia are some of the same medications used in people for surgeries – the safest available! We also use advanced monitoring equipment during the procedure, measuring oxygen saturation, pulse rate, ECG, blood pressure, CO2 levels, and temperature to ensure your pet is as safe as possible.   Please do not hesitate to ask if you have any questions regarding the oral health of your pet!