Dental FAQs

Board Certified Veterinary Dentists™ are veterinarians who have completed a doctorate in veterinary medicine and surgery (a 4 year medical degree) after years of college (often 4 years) and then complete a formal training program (a residency) in veterinary dentistry under the direct supervision of a Diplomate Residency Director. Before they are called a veterinary dental specialist they must complete all AVDC training requirements and pass the AVDC examination.

A Diplomate of the American Veterinary Dental College (AVDC) is a veterinarian who has been certified by AVDC as having demonstrated specialist knowledge and expertise in veterinary dentistry.

AVDC is recognized as the specialist certification organization in veterinary dentistry in North America by the American Board of Veterinary Specialties. AVDC diplomates are veterinary dental specialists.

• We extract teeth for a variety of reasons. Some of these reasons include: endodontic disease (example: tooth abscess), periodontal disease (aka: gum disease), tooth resorption, fractured teeth, and even immune-mediated diseases. Our goal in performing extractions is to remove pain, relieve infection, and reduce pain.
• We do not expect your pet to have a reduced appetite or ability to eat after extractions. It is our goal that our patients have an improvement in the quality of life after undergoing dental extractions.
• With that said, depending on the constitution of the patient, some patients recover quicker than others. Please allow your pet a few days to return to normal appetite.

It is normal for your pet to feel some discomfort following surgery. We have taken great measures to manage their pain with pre-medications, general anesthesia, regional anesthesia (local nerve blocks), and post-operative pain medication. The pain prevention medication you take home will help to keep your pet comfortable.

• It is not unusual for your pet to have lingering effects from the anesthesia and sedation, typically for the first 24 hours after surgery.

• Your pet should be able to walk to use the bathroom outside or use their litter box. If you feel their sedation is excessive, we may need to adjust their pain medications. Please call or email us if you would like to adjust their medications.

• Some bleeding can be expected, but it should be minor.

• Patients with nasal involvement may have minor bleeding or nasal discharge. Some sneezing may occur, and as result, some blood clots may be expelled from the nose.

• A gentle, cool compress may be used for bleeding or swelling.

• If there is active/consistent fresh bleeding, or you feel that it is excessive beyond what we described, your pet should be evaluated.

• A member of the surgical team will advise you if your pet needs to be on a soft diet and oral restrictions. If your pet had extractions, this will be necessary for proper healing.
• Most owners achieve a soft diet by "soaking" (adding warm water to) their normal food for a few hours prior to meal time. The goal is to provide a form of food that has no "crunch." We recommend a consistency similar to that of oatmeal or mashed potatoes.
• You can offer your pet a small portion of food when you get home, but do not be alarmed if they are disinterested. If they eat the small portion, you may offer another small portion about an hour later. We do not recommend exceeding more than half their normal meal amount the first night home.
• Minor GI upset in the form of nausea, constipation, or soft stools can sometimes be a by-product of anesthesia and/or medications. We have given your pet a Cerenia injection to combat nausea. Sometimes it can take several days after a procedure for your pet to have a bowel movement. Please call us if your pet is straining to have a bowel movement or if it has been more than 4 days since their last bowel movement.
• Any patient with an incision +/- extractions should not receive a raw diet until their mouth is healed.

Yes, the bandage should be removed the evening you return home. Please be mindful that your pet does not ingest the bandage material!

• In almost all cases, there will be some sort of oral restrictions set in place for a recommended amount of time, which will be detailed on your pet’s surgery papers.

No, all sutures inside the mouth are designed to dissolve over time.

• Your pet received intravenous (IV) fluids today, so they are going to come home well hydrated! However, they may need to urinate more frequently for the first 24 hours.

• Most pets require a soft/wet diet for several weeks after surgery as part of their oral restrictions. Due to the higher moisture content in soft/wet food, it is not unusual for your pet to drink less water while consuming this diet.

• A mild cough is not unusual in some patients due to the irritation from the endotracheal (breathing) tube used during the anesthetic procedure. If it persists, please give us a call.

• If a more severe coughing occurs with shortness of breath, or the gum tissues/tongue are not pink, they should be evaluated immediately.

• In most cases, the area of infection has been removed either with a cleaning, extraction, and/or root canal therapy. Post-operative antibiotics are rarely needed.

• We recommend antibiotic therapy for patients who are immunocompromised. Examples include a patient with Cushing’s disease, poorly controlled diabetes mellitus, and FIV+.

• If antibiotics were prescribed prior to the procedure and there are some remaining doses, resume administration the morning after the procedure.

• If there is a discharge or odor, please give us a call. Following oral surgery, some swelling is anticipated.

• Some pets will whine or whimper after a procedure as a side-effect of anesthesia or as the numbing medication wears off. We are sending home pain medications and will have outlined their pain medication protocol in their surgical discharge.

• If you feel your pet needs additional pain medication, please call prior to making any changes to the prescribed medication dose, or adding medications.

• Please count the number of breaths your pet takes per minute, while deep asleep. This number will likely be ~20-25 breaths per minute. Please compare this to the resting respiratory rate you obtained prior to surgery. If it is consistently higher, please call.

• If your pet is not eating or develops a new cough, please let us know immediately.