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The Dental Procedure

Due to severe neglect, the puppymill rescues, who have a lifetime of accumulated tartar on their teeth, require dentals that go far beyond the typical dental of scaling and polishing. Many have severe periodontal disease that often results in the extraction of most, if not all, of their remaining teeth. This is especially true of the toy breeds.

  • The accumulation of tartar on their teeth results in periodontal disease wherein the gums begin to recede and the peridental supporting ligaments that hold the tooth to the jawbone and the bone break down and cause bone recession. Deep pockets of infection with pus result in bleeding, pain, toxemia and bacteremia.

  • Infection accelerates in the mouth, resulting in gingivitis, tonsillitis, and pharyngitis.  Whereas antibiotics may temporarily suppress the infection, if the tartar is not removed from the teeth, infection will return quickly. 

  • Infection within the mouth is picked up by the blood stream and carried to other parts of the body.  Kidney infections, as well as infections involving the heart valves and muscle, frequently begin in the mouth.

Periodontal diseases have been linked as a secondary factor in systemic diseases/disorders, such as unstable diabetes, heart diseases, kidney disease, liver disease, cachexia, strokes and premature births.

Treatment of Periodontal Disease

The treatment of periodontal disease includes a variety of techniques including: supragingival and subgingival scaling and curettage, root planing, polishing, extractions, etc.

  • Supragingival Scaling: the removal of dental calculus above the gingival margin. Gross calculus is gently removed with an extraction forceps by gently closing the forceps across the calculus. Power scaling with units such as a "cavitron" is the primary means of calculus removal, while hand scalers are used for hard to reach areas.

  • Subgingival Scaling & Curettage: Subgingival scaling removes the debris that has accumulated below the gingival margin which causes inflammation of the supporting structures of the teeth. Failure to remove subgingival calculus promotes the progression of periodontal disease.

Subgingival curettage is the removal of diseased soft tissue from the periodontal pocket. While one edge of the curet engages the root surface, the other edge engages the soft tissues of the periodontal pocket, removing the diseased soft tissue portion. Root planing removes placque and calculi and smooths the root surface. Thorough root planing leaves the tooth less susceptible to accumulation of debris, permits adaptation of the gingiva around the tooth and thereby reduces mechanical retention areas where calculus may become lodged.

  • Polishing: After the removal of all calculus, the teeth are polished. This smooths the rough areas of the tooth so that future placque has less purchase to reestablish. After polishing, the gingival sulcus is irrigated which removes loose calculus, prophy paste and debris and reduces the bacterial counts.

Removal or any Tumors or Oral Warts: Oral warts, called Epuli, are frequently associated with the gingival areas surrounding the teeth. Epuli can increase the sulcular area and trap bacteria, food, and other debris such as hair. They are surgically removed.

 

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