Pet Dental Care: What Hills District Pet Owners Need to Know
Dental health is an important part of your pet’s overall health and comfort.
At Dural Veterinary Hospital, we see dental disease every day in dogs and cats from Dural, Glenhaven, Castle Hill and across the Hills District — and it is often more advanced than owners realise.
At Dural Veterinary Hospital, we want to help your furry family members live long, healthy, and pain-free lives.
Maintaining your pet’s teeth and gums is just as important as regular vaccinations and parasite control. Dental disease is one of the most common medical conditions seen in adult dogs and cats, often with very few symptoms in the early stages
What Happens Below the Gumline
What you can see when you lift your pet’s lip is only part of the picture.
Plaque and tartar build-up can lead to inflammation of the gums and periodontal disease. Much of this disease occurs below the gumline, where it cannot be properly assessed during a routine examination.
Periodontal disease affects not only the mouth but also vital internal organs.
Top Signs Your Pet Has Dental Pain
Dogs and cats can be remarkably good at continuing to eat despite significant dental disease. Signs to look out for include:
- Persistent bad breath
- Increased drooling
- Showing a preference for softer foods
- Dropping food while eating
- Chewing on one side of the mouth
- Red, swollen or bleeding gums
- Pawing or rubbing at the mouth
Sometimes there are no obvious signs at all.
Looking After Your Pet’s Teeth at Home
There is a lot you can do at home to help prevent dental disease, particularly if good habits are started when your pet is young.
Daily brushing with pet-safe toothpaste is one of the most effective ways to reduce plaque build-up. Appropriate dental diets, treats and chews can also be useful, depending on your pet.
Our veterinary team can help you work out which options are appropriate and, importantly, which products are actually likely to make a difference.
When Does My Pet Need a Professional Dental Assessment?
Home dental care is excellent for prevention, but it cannot remove established tartar or treat disease that has developed beneath the gumline.
If you’re unsure about your pet’s teeth, Dural Veterinary Hospital offers free dental health checks year-round. One of our veterinary team can examine your pet’s mouth, assess the visible teeth and gums, and discuss whether a professional dental procedure is recommended.
Once your pet is under anaesthetic, we can perform a much more thorough examination. This allows us to assess every tooth individually, examine below the gumline and look for periodontal pockets, loose or damaged teeth and other problems that may not have been apparent while your pet was awake.
Why Are Dental X-Rays So Important?
A large proportion of each tooth lies below the gumline, which means some significant dental problems simply cannot be seen from the outside.
Dental X-rays allow us to assess the tooth roots and surrounding bone, identify hidden infections or abscesses, detect bone loss and determine whether a damaged tooth can be saved or needs to be extracted.
They are an important part of thoroughly assessing dental disease rather than simply cleaning the parts of the teeth we can see.
What Happens During a Pet Dental Procedure?
Professional dental cleaning and treatment is performed under general anaesthesia.
Beforehand, we perform a thorough physical examination and may recommend pre-anaesthetic blood testing to assess your pet’s overall health.
During the procedure, your pet is closely monitored throughout their anaesthetic. We examine each tooth, scale above and below the gumline, take dental X-rays where indicated, treat any diseased or damaged teeth and polish the teeth at the end of the procedure.
Our team continues to monitor your pet closely throughout recovery until they are awake, comfortable and ready to go home.
Pet Dental Care for Dural, Glenhaven & Castle Hill
Dural Veterinary Hospital provides dental care for dogs and cats from Dural, Glenhaven, Castle Hill and throughout the Hills District.
Whether you’ve noticed bad breath or tartar, have concerns about a particular tooth, or simply aren’t sure whether your pet needs a dental procedure, a dental health check is a good place to start.
Our free dental health checks are available year-round, giving you an opportunity to have your pet’s teeth assessed and discuss what, if any, treatment is recommended.
Special August Offer: 10% OFF all dental procedures
August is Pet Dental Health Month or as we like to call it – Jawgust!
This is a profession-wide initiative to promote the importance of good dental health for our pets.
Pet Dental Health Month is a profession-wide initiative that helps raise awareness of the importance of dental health in dogs and cats.
To support Pet Dental Health Month, throughout August Dural Veterinary Hospital is offering 10% off all dental procedures.
If you already know your pet’s mouth needs attention, August may be a good opportunity to have their dental treatment done.
And if you’re not sure, start with a free dental health check. We can examine your pet’s mouth, explain what we find and talk you through the options so you can make an informed decision about their care.
Book a Free Dental Health Check
Dental disease is common, often painful and not always obvious from the outside.
If your pet has bad breath, visible tartar or red gums, or it has simply been a while since their teeth were checked, book a free dental health check with our team at Dural Veterinary Hospital.
