DENTISTRY

We offer high-quality dental services at Tongass Veterinary Services. General anesthesia and monitoring are described in the surgery section. At Tongass, we prefer the term dental evaluation to the outdated concept of a dental cleaning or a pet receiving a “dental”.

All patients receive an oral exam and full mouth radiographic evaluation by a veterinarian. This is not an optional service, it is an essential part of an animal’s visit. We consider it the standard of care. Without this, a proper assessment cannot be made. In many cases, diseased teeth can be easily overlooked without imaging all teeth. We believe it is a waste of time and money to clean diseased teeth. Without full mouth X-rays, you cannot make an accurate assessment of a patient’s oral health.

A dental evaluation at Tongass includes a preoperative physical exam, bloodwork prior to anesthesia, intravenous catheter and fluids, general anesthesia, full mouth x-rays, ultrasonic scaling, and polish of all teeth. If the evaluation reveals pathology for which tooth extractions or other treatments are recommended, the owner is educated on the situation, and given estimates of associated costs before treatment is provided.

If your dog or cat is seen at our hospital for a dental evaluation, you can be sure a veterinarian of Veterinary Medicine experienced in evaluating dental X-rays will examine your pet, and only a veterinarian will be performing any oral surgery or tooth extractions.

Dental extractions are performed after regional nerve blocks are administered and post-operative radiographs are obtained to ensure proper extractions have been performed.