Healthy Smiles at Independence Veterinary Clinic
Does My Pet Need a Dental?
When your pet gives you a kiss, do you notice a strong odor coming from their mouth? If so, your pet may need a dental cleaning. Additional signs can be but are not limited to, broken teeth, discharge or irritation from the mouth, excessive drooling, and a reluctancy to eat. If your pet is presenting any of these symptoms, it is important to schedule an examination with their DVM. It is possible for a pet to need a dental procedure and not show their owner any symptoms. For this reason, we are devoted to assessing your animal’s dental status. At Independence Veterinary Clinic, our veterinarians check their patients’ teeth during their thorough yearly exam; however, if there are concerns following their examination please call to schedule an appointment.
Pre-operation Preparation
After determining if dental is right for your pet, our clinic staff will walk you through the next steps based on your pet’s medical history. Independence Veterinary Clinic requires lab work every 3 months for any patient undergoing anesthesia. This bloodwork can be drawn by our Veterinary Technicians. Following the lab work, our team will discuss which medications are recommended for your pet prior to surgery. For most patients, our veterinarians will prescribe a medication for anti-nausea, which is to be administered the night before the scheduled procedure. Some pets may require additional pre-operation medication, such as calming drugs. If your pet is on daily medications, please ask our staff for directions leading up to and following their dental. Our vet staff will be happy to determine which medications will be right for your pet.
Additionally, the night before the dental procedure we ask owners to withhold food after 10pm; however, water can be left out for your pet’s pleasure. Our receptionist will call the patient’s owner the business day before their appointment to remind them of these surgery protocols. Dropoff times for dental procedures will vary based on the day of the week. Please see the chart below for our clinic’s required times. We recommend allowing up to 15 minutes when dropping off a patient for surgery. This time will allow our staff to check-in your pet, confirm contact information to keep you updated throughout the day and go over all paperwork and questions related to the procedure.
Surgery Drop Off Times
Monday-Tuesday & Thursday-Friday: 7:30-8am Dropoff
Wednesday: 9am Dropoff
During the Dental
Once your pet arrives for surgery, our clinic staff will perform an EKG to check the patient’s heart prior to sedation. Once cleared by the doctor for anesthesia the pet will be sedated, and the dental procedure will begin. Our highly trained staff will perform dental radiographs of the whole mouth. This will serve as a further diagnostic tool and allow the pet to receive the best care. Next, the doctor and surgery team will perform the dental work needed on the patient. Once the pet is waking up from the procedure a member of the surgery staff will call the owner with an update and an estimated pickup time for their furry baby to come home.
Following the Procedure
After the dental work has been completed, the surgery patient will be monitored throughout the afternoon by our hospital staff. Our clinic ensures all cages are padded appropriately for their patients. Each pet will receive top notch care and all the love they request. We treat each patient that enters our facility as if they are our own pet. With this, we allow time to thoroughly go over each treatment plan and discharge instructions with the owners. Upon pick up, we recommend allowing up to 20 minutes to go over surgery discharge information and any medications. This will be a great time to ask questions you may have! The following business day, owners can expect a call from our office to check in on their patient. Patient health is important to us, and we want to ensure all surgery candidates are doing well after their procedure.
Conclusion
Our patients’ dental state is an important part of their overall wellbeing. At Independence Veterinary Clinic, we strive to provide excellent patient care. One example is checking a patient’s teeth at their annual examinations and as needed throughout the year. Our experienced surgery team is available to answer questions or concerns prior to the patient’s procedure, throughout the surgery and after the dental work has been completed. Please give our clinic a call with any questions relating to our dental procedures at 704-841-1313. We hope to bring happy and healthy smiles to the faithful companions of Charlotte.
Citation:
https://veterinarypartner.vin.com/default.aspx?pid=19239&id=4952516
