Dental month is upon us and at least for my clinic it normally spills over into March, then April, and hopefully not May!  You should be thoroughly up to snuff with performing dental exams, but it doesn’t hurt to review. Before you meet the patient and owner:

Dental month is upon us and at least for my clinic it normally spills over into March, then April, and hopefully not May!  You should be thoroughly up to snuff with performing dental exams, but it doesn’t hurt to review. Before you meet the patient and owner:

• Review the patient’s chart and medical history.
• Find out if they have ever had a dental prophylaxis done before, note any extractions or concerns that were addressed the last time.
• Have they had recent blood work or a medical event that is still being dealt with?
• Did they go home with medications? Would those same medications be contraindicated due to any current problems?

Meeting the client and patient:

• If you know the client and pet all the better.  If you don’t, introduce yourself and greet the patient.
• Always remember to ask the owner if it’s o.k. to look at “Sammy’s” mouth, they will likely give you any necessary warnings such as “You may want to be careful…” or “He doesn’t really like his mouth touched.”  Now not wanting his mouth touched may be an aggressive characteristic, but it could be a new issue possibly related to tooth pain or a tooth root abscess, so be sure to ask if the patient normally doesn’t like people touching his mouth.
• If the patient is not inviting you to check out his teeth easily, I suggest you come into the room prepared with either two tongue depressors or long wooden handle Q-tips.  This will facilitate you getting a good view of the patient’s teeth and coming away with all of your digits too.
• I would never suggest an owner reaching into their pet’s mouth to show you their teeth in the off chance that “Sammy” bites the hand that has fed him since he was 10 weeks old.  Not a good scenario for any of the parties involved, especially since a bite from a diseased mouth will most certainly earn them some antibiotics, or visit to the emergency room.

Sammy

• When you can get a good look, wear gloves and check the gum line for any redness, bleeding, tartar, tooth loss or wear, and certainly if you smell an odor.
• Does the patient have a swelling underneath one or both of the eyes? (This would indicate a possible tooth root abscess)
• Ask the owner if the patient’s appetite or eating habits have unchanged in the past couple weeks.  A now finicky eater who was formerly known as a “counter surfer” may be suffering with tooth pain making it difficult to get his meals down.
• Discuss the process of a dental at length with the client.  You would be surprised at how many people don’t know that the patient is put under general anesthesia for the procedure.
• Talk about extractions!!! Even if the client expresses that there is no way their pet is in need of having a single tooth pulled, make certain you go over any possible reasons for a tooth extraction.  Don’t make the mistake of assuming that since the pet is a mere 2 years old that they will not need an extraction.  They may have a slab fracture or other broken tooth due to habits such as excessive chewing or a traumatic injury to a tooth that the owner was never aware of.  Never say never.
• Finally provide a general estimate for the procedure and explain how important dental care is for their pet.  (It has been linked to everything from heart disease to kidney function.)