dog dental
dog dental
should my dog get blood work before anesthesia for dental cleaning?
My vet just told me that my dog is very healthy, but he needs his teeth cleaned. He suggested blood work, but he said it’s optional. I just want to hear what you think. He is 2.5 yrs old. He did go under a few times before (in a very short period due to emergency) w/o any problems. I would like to know what kind of dog (age, breed, etc) are more in ‘need’ to check blood before getting anesthesia. Thanks.
Generally, dogs under five do well with anesthesia and routine procedures like dentals without having blood work done. I choose to have blood work done for dentals if my dogs haven’t had recent blood work. It’s a good precaution and gives you a history that can be looked back at for comparative reasons. I had blood work done when my young Chihuahua was spayed and don’t regret it. You can either have a CBC (complete blood count) done or a blood chemistry profile. I’ve included a site here that you can read…if you scroll down, it talks about the necessity of annual blood work on older animals that appear to be healthy. You might ask if your vet does the blood work predental inhouse. Usually, those tests that do not go out to a lab are less expensive. I think it’s very important that you ask if they are planning to use one of the safer anesthetics like Isoflorane. I’m not a big fan of Ketamine being used on any of my animals and have instructions in their files to never use it. Good luck! You sound like a marvelous dog owner!!
Givign Your Dog Dental Care At Home
Home dental care is to be given more emphasis nowadays because of the fact that the dental diseases are emerging in the case of pet animals like dogs to a greater extent. Though you are giving home dental care, if you suspect on the extension of the dental diseases, then immediately approach the veterinarian for intervention.
Try to provide bone materials without very sharp points to the dogs and they may love to chew them and then swallow the bitten products. Such activities help them to go for the development of strong teeth structures in a natural manner.
Mind that the breeds of dogs like Pekingese, etc. are more prone for the development of teeth diseases because the teeth are closely crowned in the oral cavity be to the small size of the these dogs. Hence, these dogs need to be checked up for the excessive plaque formation in the home itself.
Recreational raw beef bones are wonderful materials to keep the teeth structures of your dog clean and free from formation of plaque with build up of bacterial organisms. Teeth brushes are available for use with care in case of dogs and one has to be careful during the usage of these brushes in dogs. Teeth brushes are to be used with special kinds of pastes recommended by the veterinarians for home use in case of dogs.
Specially prepared food materials are available in the pet shops to remove the tartar and the plaque materials from the teeth structures. Dry dog food and toys that are specially made to add strength to the teeth structures are often used at home for better teeth cleaning.
The plaque materials are intermittently to be removed at home to avoid any occurrence of the periodontal diseases, which are more common among the dogs. Dental wipes are available in the pet shops and they may be used carefully in the home. This helps to remove more plaque and the tartar like materials that are loosely attached.
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