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EVS Pet Urgent Care Dental Services
Comprehensive Oral Health Assessment and Treatment (COHAT) Process
Overview
Our Comprehensive Oral Health Assessment and Treatment (COHAT) is more than just “a dental”. We evaluate each tooth individually as well as the whole oral cavity to fully assess for pain, infection, discomfort, congenital abnormalities, etc.
The Hidden Challenge
The tip of the iceberg. The crown-to-root ratio in dogs and cats (1:2 - 1:3) versus humans (1:1) means the majority of a pet's tooth is not visible to the naked eye. Radiographs are important to fully evaluate the teeth for disease and pathology.
While scaling and polishing can make the teeth appear nicer, without taking radiographs we are not able to be complete.
Appearances can be deceiving. While these post-cleaning teeth may seem smooth and polished on the surface, there's more than meets the eye. Hidden issues like retained roots and unseen tooth abscesses underscore the importance of dental x-rays for a comprehensive assessment.
Anesthesia and Preparations
Initial Examination
The process will start by getting a complete physical exam of your pet by one of our veterinarians. Here we will make sure that your pet is the best anesthetic candidate possible by addressing any underlying conditions. We will make sure that the internal organs are functioning properly by getting pre-anesthetic blood work as well.
Pre-anesthetic Protocols
Once your pet is cleared for anesthesia, a personalized anesthetic protocol will be created. This will include:
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Pre-visit anti-anxiety medication, if needed.
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Preanesthetic medication is used to make your pet more sleepy, and to allow a reduction of intraoperative anesthetic.
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Induction medication to put your pet in an anesthetic plane of anesthesia, and then be maintained on a gas inhalant.
Monitoring and Support
Your pet will have an endotracheal tube to allow safe delivery of oxygen and an anesthetic agent to keep your pet asleep and not feel any pain or discomfort during the procedure. They will have an IV catheter to allow emergency access to their veins in case of an emergency. But will also be given IV fluids to maintain blood pressure and internal organ support.
One veterinary technician will be solely dedicated to your pet from the time they are premedicated, to the time they wake up from anesthesia. Once your pet is anesthetized they will be hooked up to our anesthesia monitoring machine. This will monitor their heart rate, EKG, blood pressure, breathing, and oxygenation. The veterinary technician and veterinarian will be there the whole time to record and interpret these results and act if changes in the protocol need to be made.
Dental Radiographs and Evaluation
Radiographic Examination
Once set up with anesthesia, the dental radiographs will be taken. Depending on the size of the pet anywhere from 6-30 images will be captured. The images will then be interpreted and a plan for each tooth will be made.
Retained roots: extremely painful, only visible with x-rays, and require extraction for relief.
On the crown, this tooth appears normal, but when an x-ray is taken, the arrows are actually pointing to an abscess, which requires a tooth extraction.
Scaling and Polishing
Then the teeth are scaled and polished. Once the cleaning is completed, the veterinarian will chart each tooth which includes all of the gingival tissue findings as well. They will extract any teeth that are infected, mobile, fractured, or if there is a great percentage of bone loss. All surgical extractions will be closed with an absorbable suture. A post-extraction radiograph will be taken to ensure complete removal of the affected teeth.
Post-Operative Care
Post-extraction Care
If extractions were done, your pet will be given pain medication prior to waking up, as well as will go home with pain medication to ensure healing is as pain-free as possible.
Healing Process
Soft food will be recommended for a few days post-operatively to make eating more comfortable for your pet.