(Click on the image above for some dental health facts from the Pets Need Dental Care, Too campaign)
For existing Knollwood primary care clients, our Nurses perform complimentary (yes, that means FREE!) dental assessments. At this appointment, our Nurses will tell you if your pet just needs more complete home dental care, or if a professional dental cleaning is in order. If all you need is home dental care, our Nurses will make sure that you have appropriate supplies to provide good home care and can send you home with any care items that you don't have.
And if your pet DOES need the benefits that a professional dental cleaning brings, your Nurse can schedule an appointment for you with Dr. Niznik for a brief exam. At that appointment, she'll be able to assess your pet's teeth, gums, lymph nodes, heart and lungs. Dr. Niznik will tell you what needs to be done to restore your pet's mouth to good health, and will give you a detailed treatment plan so that you are prepared in advance. If you plan to schedule your pet's dental procedure soon, our Nurses can even collect the necessary pre-anesthetic blood sample that will tell us about which anesthetic is safest for your pet.
Dental cleaning at our AAHA-certified hospital is very much like the care you receive from your own dentist. We carefully examine and chart each tooth, assessing for periodontal pockets, tooth enamel chips and excess enamel wear, missing or cracked teeth, and any other abnormalities. We take full-mouth dental x-rays when needed, and then carefully clean all surfaces of all teeth and provide complete periodontal treatment as needed. We flouride the teeth and apply a dental sealant when indicated.
Safety is monitored at all times throught each dental procedure in our hospital by your pet's personal anesthetic Nurse who remains with your pet, from start to completion of anesthesia. Your Nurse will even call you at the completion of your pet's dental procedure, just to let you know that everything is fine, at your request. For more information on our dental services, including our comprehensive approach to pain management, please click our "Services" tab and then the "Surgical Services"tab.
According to the American Veterinary Dental Society, more than 80 percent of dogs and 70 percent of cats develop symptoms of oral disease by the time they're three years old. Periodontal (gum) disease is the most common dental condition affecting dogs and cats, so it's very important that you take good care of their teeth.
