Fresh, Clean Teeth For Your Pet Friends
Everyone loves the sweet smile of their dog. Keep your canine or feline friend’s teeth clean and healthy with dental exams and care from the best veterinary clinic in Charlotte, NC! At West Ballantyne Animal Hospital, we treat your pets as if they were our own. That means compassionate, attentive treatment from our pet dentistry experts and a comfortable environment just for them in our clinic. Your pet’s health and comfort are our foremost concerns — we have dedicated cat-only and dog-only exam rooms to eliminate the potential for interspecies drama and keep your pets calm. We try to make our dental care recommendations simple and easy to follow. After all, the easier it is to enhance the benefits of our pet dental exams with at-home care, the less of a chance you need to spend additional time and money correcting their teeth. Call West Ballantyne Animal Hospital in Charlotte today for sensible, attentive veterinary care for your pet!
We offer a variety of preventive care and treatment services for your pets, including:
- Complete physical exams
- Personalized vaccination and preventative pet care plans
- Adjuvant-free vaccines
- In-clinic dental exams and dental care consulting
- Parasite prevention services
- Weight management and nutrition counseling
- General pet health consultations
Dental Care
Dental care is an integral part of your dog or cat’s wellness, and professional dental treatments are among the most common procedures we perform. We will perform an oral examination during your pet’s annual preventative care exam and determine if a dental cleaning or treatment is needed. In general, cats and smaller breed dogs develop tartar and advanced dental disease faster than larger dog breeds.
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Dental Cleanings
Dental cleanings are done under general anesthesia, allowing for a thorough evaluation of your pet’s mouth and teeth. We recommend a dental cleaning early on when dental tartar and calculus are noticed. Under anesthesia, a complete oral exam is used to determine each tooth’s health and integrity. An accurate chart is made of all teeth checking for mobility, fractures, malocclusion, and periodontal disease. We remove plaque and tartar using hand instruments and power scaling equipment. At the end of your pet’s dentistry visit, all teeth are polished to leave your dog or cat with fresh white teeth.
Oral Surgery
Oral surgery is sometimes necessary for patients suffering from a more advanced dental disease. At West Ballantyne Animal Hospital, we have the trained pet dentistry professionals and appropriate equipment to handle advanced dental procedures. Surgery can be performed to treat periodontal disease, tooth root abscesses, stomatitis, oral masses, crown fractures, and resorptive lesions.
Signs of Oral & Dental Disease in Your Pet
- Bad breath
- Bleeding from the mouth
- Loose teeth
- Discoloration and/or buildup of tartar on teeth
- Loss of appetite
- Weight loss
- Your pet doesn’t allow you to touch him or her around the mouth
- Red, inflamed, irritated gums
- Has difficulty playing with chew toys
Please call us immediately to schedule a dog or cat dental care exam if your pet shows signs of any of the above symptoms.
At-Home Dental Care
Regular home dental care will help prevent the buildup of plaque on your pet’s teeth. Brushing your cat or dog’s teeth daily is the best way to reduce the buildup of plaque on the teeth significantly. Plaque is an accumulation of bacteria that can lead to periodontitis if ignored. Periodontitis causes pain and chronic oral infections that will eventually loosen and destroy the teeth, possibly leading to bone loss. Unfortunately, not all pets are willing to let you brush their teeth. But don’t worry – we have other options, including rinses, chews, and specialized food, that can also help. Just talk to our staff to learn what is best for your pet’s pearly whites!