BEWARE OF ANAESTHESIA-FREE DENTISTRY by Dr Hamish Bathgate

Kisses from your pet are better when their breath is fresh! Just like humans, pets need professional dental care to keep their mouths, teeth and body healthy. Good dental care is about more than pretty white teeth—it’s about cleaning below the gum line. These are jobs best left to trained and licensed veterinarians.

Dental disease in pets is serious with four out of five dogs and cats over the age of three years having some sort of dental disease. Pets often won’t show pain and, it’s a shame, but they can’t tell us when they are in pain. Even with sore gums, infected mouths and broken teeth, some pets continue to eat, so it’s tricky for owners to spot the signs.

In recent years, I’ve become aware of an increase in advertisements for pet teeth cleaning using dentistry equipment while animals are awake. This is concerning as I consider performing dentistry on animals while they are awake as painful, stressful and cruel.

Most dental disease occurs under the gum and cannot be identified while the pet is awake. Serious dental disease such as fractures, rotten teeth and extractions must be performed under anaesthesia. To do otherwise is putting the animal’s welfare at risk and is downright cruel.

Pets will not stay still while you are working on their mouths. Using sharp dentistry tools while a pet is moving is dangerous as sharp implements can injure the pet’s soft mouth and gums and cause pain and distress.

I urge all pet owners to do their homework and be cautious of those peddling anaesthesia-free cleaning. The adage applies, if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.

About dental disease

Periodontal disease is easily preventable and yet it’s one of the most common problems that veterinarians diagnose in Aussie pets. More importantly, if it goes untreated, it can lead to other serious health problems such as infections in the kidney, heart and liver.

In its early stages, it’s a disease that is reversible. However, it can also go undetected for years, despite causing pain and discomfort. Pets should have their teeth checked for dental disease by a veterinary professional every six months.

Clinical signs of periodontal disease include: