Why Pet Dental Care is So Important

Providing good, proactive pet dental care is one of the most important things you can do for your pet’s health. Proper pet dental care can add years to your dog’s or cat’s life expectancy as well as greatly improve overall quality of life. Any good dental procedure will include a thorough oral examination and an in-depth scaling of any plaque and tartar. Beyond this, however, excellent dental health care includes dental radiographs, or x-rays. This safe, non-invasive procedure allows your pet’s veterinarian to gain more information about your pet’s oral health. Digital dental radiographs allow us to:

  • See problems hidden below the gum’s surface or inside the tooth that may not be visible to the naked eye.
  • Evaluate areas where teeth are not visible in order to assess if any action needs to be taken.
  • Confirm proper tooth extraction.
  • Evaluate for and perform endodontic procedures as needed.
  • Follow and monitor progression or resolution of dental disease.

Digital dental radiographs (digital x-rays) allow us to quickly and accurately obtain information about the state of your pet’s teeth below the gumline in order to provide the best possible outcome. For instance, this information may help us decide that a tooth which appears normal on the outside should be extracted, due to disease that is not outwardly visible. This prevents the need for another procedure down the road.

Dental radiographs are fast and extremely safe. The pictures can be enlarged and manipulated in order to see small changes and can even be emailed in order to facilitate faster communication. Dental radiographs have become a vital part of excellent pet dental care.  Make sure that the next time your pet has a dental procedure performed, your veterinarian is looking at what lies beneath.