Maggie, a lovely (almost) 10 year old Miniature Schnauzer, was in recently for a dental procedure. Maggie’s mum had noted that her breath was smelly and she was not enjoying her dry food as much as she usually does.

Initial Consultation

After an initial consultation where Maggie was identified as having dental disease, an appointment was made for Maggie to have a general anesthetic and a dental procedure. Prior to her procedure, our customer care team emailed out a consent form to Maggie’s mum that included important information about the procedure and some information on pre-anesthetic blood testing, as well as an estimate of cost.

Dental Day

On the day of Maggie’s dental, she came to the clinic bright and early for her admission appointment with the vet, Dr Clem. Dr Clem let Maggie’s mum know about what the day would involve and answered any further questions she had about the procedure. Maggie’s mum had some queries about pre-anesthetic blood testing, which Dr Clem was happy to answer. Maggie is a well dog but, because she is older, it was recommended that she have bloods run, primarily to check her liver and kidney function, prior to her anesthetic. These blood tests can all be run in clinic and on the day of the procedure, enabling our team to tailor Maggie’s anesthetic specifically to her requirements.

The Surgical Procedure

Maggie’s dental went really well. Her anesthetic went very smoothly with all her vitals being monitored closely by one of our nurses throughout her procedure. She had dental radiographs performed to see which teeth needed to be extracted. Dental radiographs allow us to see what is going on under the gum line and are the only accurate way to identify periodontal disease. The teeth are held in by strong cement. When this cement breaks down, it results in an unstable tooth and significant disease around the tooth root. This can be impossible to see just by visually examining the oral cavity and makes dental radiographs a vital part of the procedure. From the dental radiographs, we could see that Maggie needed 8 teeth removed. A local block was performed with local anesthetic and the teeth were extracted. The sockets were then flushed and stitched closed to help them heal. The remaining teeth were then given a scale and polish to remove all of the tartar from every surface of the tooth and from just below the gum line. This is not something that can be done in a conscious animal, and can only be performed when the animal is fully asleep by a trained professional. Maggie then recovered from her anesthetic under the watchful eye of one of our nurses, rolled up in a nice warm blanket on a heat mat to keep her warm and comfortable.

Post Surgery

Dr Clem rang Maggie’s mum to give her the good news that everything had gone well and scheduled an appointment with the nurse that performed the dental with Dr Clem to discharge Maggie later that afternoon. At the discharge appointment, Maggie’s mum was given the details of the procedure (including before and after pics of the dental, and viewing the dental radiographs). She was also given aftercare instructions (including written notes) about how to care for Maggie, what to expect, and what medications Maggie needed in the upcoming days. Our customer care team then scheduled a free of charge recheck in clinic for Maggie for 1 weeks’ time, to ensure all of her sockets had healed and that Maggie was recovering well.

If you think your pet needs a dental.

If you think your pet needs a dental, don’t hesitate to give us a call and discuss it with our customer care team or make an appointment with one of our wonderful vets. Animals can be very good at hiding dental disease, and it can be hard to spot without close examination. If you aren’t sure, we are always here to help! Contact at the clinic with your questions, or make a booking here.