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Dental Health

Oral hygiene is very important in animals

Your pet’s mouth should be checked at least once a year by a vet to inspect the teeth and gums for early signs of dental disease. Oral hygiene is very important in animals, just as it is in people. Dental problems can be a sign of other health problems and can also cause ill health in other areas of the body.

Signs of dental disease can include

  • bad breath
  • drooling
  • chewing on one side of the mouth or dropping food
  • swellings around the oral cavity
  • discoloured or loose teeth
  • tartar covering the teeth
  • reddening of the gums (gingivitis)
  • bleeding from the mouth
  • pain when the mouth is touched

Dental treatment available at Cherry Tree can include cleaning the teeth with an ultrasonic scaler, polishing the tooth surface, examining the oral cavity for soft tissue abnormalities and tooth extraction. These procedures are carried out by a veterinary surgeon whilst your pet is under general anaesthetic. This minimises stress and discomfort whilst dental treatment is taking place and your pet will usually be able to go home later on in the same day. To ensure your pet is comfortable after the procedure, we provide a free of charge post-operative check the day after.

Prevention of dental problems is helped by frequently brushing your pet’s teeth with a toothbrush and animal toothpaste, both of which are available at Cherry Tree. Patience and training is usually required to allow regular brushing and we recommend that this training is started when your pet is young. Brushing the teeth every day is the gold standard recommendation but two to three times a week is also very effective.

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