Pet dental care is an essential yet easily overlooked aspect of pet medical care. The teeth of your pet say a lot about his or her health. Plaque levels are a strong indicator of overall hygiene. If plaque builds up, it can harden and become tartar. The longer tartar stays on the teeth of your pet, the more likely they are to develop various despises (to say nothing of bad breath.) Common pet dental issues addressed by our veterinarian include:
- Gum recession
- Cavities
- Periodontitis
- Rotten teeth
If left unaddressed, these health problems can worsen and lead to more severe conditions affecting the major organs of your animal. Organs susceptible to damage to poor dental hygiene include the:
- Heart
- Liver
- Lung
- Kidneys
What is Open Curettage?
In instances of particularly severe root infection, our veterinarian may need to perform open curettage. The procedure involves our veterinarian lifting or flapping your pet’s gums away from the teeth and surrounding bone. This allows our veterinarian to clean your pet’s diseased root surfaces by scraping or curetting them.
After the smoothening of your pet’s root surface, our veterinarian will return your pet’s root tissue to its normal position, eliminating any extra space that food or other debris could become caught in. Our veterinarian may also need to contour the bone itself to promote proper healing.
When is Open Curettage Necessary?
Our veterinarian will perform a comprehensive evaluation of your pet’s dental health to determine whether or not open curettage is necessary. While it is technically an invasive surgical procedure, the risk of complication is minimal. As with most pet dental work, our veterinarian will place your pet under anesthesia to maximize your pet’s comfort levels. If our veterinarian determines your pet to be a good candidate for open curettage, we will instruct you in measures for caring for your pet following the procedure.
Contact Our Veterinarian for Pet Dental Care in Granbury, TX
At All Creatures Animal Hospital, we have been providing residents of Granbury, TX, and the surrounding areas with reliable veterinary services for many years. This includes pet dental care. If you believe your pet is suffering from an infected tooth and needs our veterinarian to perform open curettage to smoothen its root surface, we are ready to assist you. For more information on root planning or to schedule an appointment with our veterinarian, call us today at (817) 326-6262.