As pet owners we do our best to make sure our furbabies are happy and healthy. That is why we buy them the best food recommended by vets, make sure they get plenty of exercise, spoil them rotten with loads of toys, set up standing grooming appointments so they look and smell good, give them all of our attention – and of course, take them on regular check-ups to the vets. For dog owners, we even go the extra step by making sure that they have regularly scheduled teeth cleanings.
But what if we were to find out that we’re actually not doing even for our dogs in terms of oral care? Unfortunately, one loving dog owner made this painful discovery after finding out that the regular teeth cleanings their dog was undergoing, were virtually ineffective.
After one dog owner brought in her dog for a teeth cleaning, a couple of Arizona-based veterinary dentists were the whistleblowers who began spreading the truths behind the dangers of non-anesthetic teeth cleaning. Non-anesthetic teeth cleaning is the practice of using a scaling instrument to scrape the plaque off a dog’s teeth – and it doesn’t involve putting them under anesthesia. Hence why a lot of dog owners go for that option thinking that there is no difference between anesthetic and non-anesthetic cleanings.
Vets will often refer to this non-anesthetic teeth cleaning practice as NAD or NADS. However, the procedure is a little misleading in terms of cleaning. While most pet parents assume that their pets have received a full dental clean, it’s actually not a proper dental cleaning because the NADS procedure will not clean below a dog’s gum-line – the place where the bacteria behind periodontal disease happens to build up. If dogs aren’t getting a proper gum-line cleaning, then the bacteria will build up and cause root damage to the teeth.
This dog had a non anesthetic teeth cleaning every year for 5 years. The teeth looked very clean. The dog came to our…
Posted by Veterinary Dentistry Training on Sunday, December 18, 2016
The Arizona Veterinary Dental Specialists posted on their Facebook, “This dog had a non anesthetic teeth cleaning for 5 years. The teeth looked very clean. The dog came to our clinic when the teeth were noticed to be mobile. After full mouth radiographs, the real problem was revealed…and it was below the gum-line!!! Poor dog had 18 teeth extracted. Look at all that tartar on the root. This demonstrates the pitfalls of non anesthetic teeth cleanings. Without being able to clean below the gum-line or take dental X-rays, cleaning just the crown is useless. Spread the word!”
That is why proper dental cleanings are so important for your dogs. In order to keep up with your dog’s oral health between cleaning visits, you can learn how to brush your dog’s teeth in order to help control the build-up of plaque.
As always, the more you know the better informed you can be to make proper decisions about your dog’s oral health, so share this with the other dog owners in your life!
