We recommend screening blood work prior to any pet going under anesthesia because of the risks associated with anesthesia. Your pet can have underlying condition such as kidney or liver disease that can greatly increase the risk of anesthesia. These conditions are often not apparent without blood work.

Animals cannot tell us when they are not feeling 100%, and instinctually hide their illnesses as long as they can; and because many clinical signs do not develop until late in the disease process, early detection can add months or years to a pet’s life by allowing you to treat the disease before it reaches a critical stage. Blood work can help your veterinarian determine if your pet has certain diseases including diabetes, kidney failure, liver failure, and thyroid disease.

We recommend performing blood work on an annual basis once a pet is over 5 years of age. Even if your pet has been healthy throughout its life, your pet will become more susceptible to illness or developing a chronic condition as it ages and becomes a senior.

Doing blood work on an annual basis allows us to establish a baseline, and then track changes and trends over time. For example, if your pet’s kidney values are gradually increasing over time, this could alert us to a potential problem before it becomes a critical issue, even if those values are still normal.

In addition to making a diagnosis, it is important to monitor the progression of a disease or the effect of a chronic medication on your pet’s system. There are many medications that have the potential to do harm when given chronically or at the wrong dosages. Performing periodic blood work allows us to adjust dosages or change medications if necessary before it becomes a critical issue for your pet.

Nsaids such as Rimadyl, Previcox, and Metacam have the potential to damage the liver or kidneys so we recommend doing periodic blood to check these organs.

Other medications including seizure and thyroid medications require periodic blood work to make sure the drug is at a therapeutic level in the system.

Most of us have routine dental cleanings every 6 months. Unlike most of us, pets will not sit still long enough to have their teeth thoroughly cleaned, which is why they need anesthetic dental cleanings.

During a dental cleaning the teeth are scaled and polished using an ultrasonic scaler that cleans both above and below the gum line.

Once the teeth have been cleaned, we apply a thin layer of OraVet to add a protective barrier to the teeth. This initial application will last 2-3 weeks, and you will be sent home with an easy-to-use kit to reapply this protective barrier once weekly thereafter.

A complete dental cleaning also includes full-mouth dental x-rays. 90% of the tooth is below the gum line, and there may be changes in the bone structure that are not apparent without seeing x-rays. This allows us to catch some problems while they are still fixable.

Sometimes there are teeth that we are unable to save. These diseased teeth need to be surgically extracted, which relieves the pain and discomfort the pet was feeling. All patients receive a nerve block at the extraction site to help reduce the pain associated with the extraction.

The prevention of dental disease is important for overall good health. As the new saying goes, “It’s good to chew, better to rinse, and best to brush.”

Brushing daily is the number one way to prevent dental disease in your pet. If your pet has never had its teeth brushed, start slow and don’t force the issue if they get scared. Make sure to use a soft-bristled toothbrush and veterinary toothpaste. By introducing them to brushing a little each day, your pet should eventually become used to the process.

Another effective way to prevent dental disease is to use Hill’s Prescription Diet t/d. T/d is designed to remove the plaque and tartar from the teeth by scraping the tooth surface as the pet bites into it. This kibble is specially designed not to shatter like ordinary kibble. A fun experiment you can try at home shows you how effective the t/d is in cleaning your pet’s teeth. Simply coat the pointed end of a small screwdriver with whiteout and push the screwdriver into the center of a piece of t/d kibble until it breaks. The t/d scrapes the plaque and tartar off of your pet’s teeth the same way it scraped the whiteout off of the screwdriver.

Tartar Shield is another product that is available in our hospital. Available products include soft rawhide chews, dog biscuits, cat treats, and dissolveable tablets for your pet’s drinking water. These products have been proven to reduce the formation of dental plaque, calculus, and gingivitis when used regularly.

Another way to help prevent the buildup of plaque and tartar is a product called OraVet. After a dental cleaning, you will be sent home with a supply of OraVet that you will apply to the outside surface of the teeth once weekly. This gel will provide a protective barrier against plaque as well as providing a barrier against harmful bacteria.