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Board Certified Veterinary Anesthesiologist Available


The team with Animal Dentistry Referral Services pays close attention to your pet during anesthesia. While the risk during anesthesia is generally very low (0.5-0.11%), some patients would do best to have a board-certified veterinary anesthesiologist involved in their pet's care. This service is available upon request and scheduled in advance which can help in providing some additional care with specific cases and procedures. Please let us know if you are interested in this additional opportunity.

 

Comprehensive Anesthesia Planning For Your Pet


The team with Animal Dentistry Referral Services will create an anesthesia plan that is tailored to your pet. We take a number of factors into consideration, including your pet's age, current health condition fear and anxiety levels, as well as their pain level.  We'll evaluate the best choice of medications, and fluids needed. Your pet will be monitored throughout the procedure, and adjustments will be made as necessary. Should the need arise, we're prepared to intervene if complications arise. 

 

Why We Practice Increased Anesthesia Safety


A 2017 research article of over 2 million dog and cat anesthetic events showed the chance of death during or after anesthesia to be 0.05 to 0.11%. Interestingly, more cats died after minor procedures than other types of anesthetic procedures. This may be related to the fact that some pre-anesthetic testing is declined or overlooked for what is planned to be quick sedation. While our office has not seen this sort of minor procedure resulting in anesthesia problems, we work to do anesthetic testing and close monitoring to improve the outcomes. Patients get IV catheters and fluids to help recovery as well as provide an emergency port. The blood pressure, heart rate, oxygen level, temperature, and most importantly expired carbon dioxide are monitored to provide good medicine and improve safety as shown in a study by Brodbelt with 177,000 dogs and cats.

 

The typical patient we treat has a concurrent illness. While no anesthesia is 100% risk-free, we are used to dealing with involved anesthetic cases. The benefit of treating hidden painful dental problems that are known to affect the rest of the body far outweighs the risk in almost every case. Age is not a disease. A pet is not too old to have anesthesia. Patients with diabetes have less insulin resistance with good oral health. Treating pets that have dental problems is shown to reduce the risk of kidney problems by 23%. Another study showed pets with poor oral health was 6 times more likely to have heart issues. The increased systemic (whole-body) inflammation noted with and potentially a result of oral disease in pets leads to further illness. A 2019 study of 2 million pets showed that those with annual anesthetic dental procedures lived 20% longer.Treatment and prevention through complete professional anesthetic dental procedures with intraoral x-rays is the key to helping patients live longer, healthier lives. 

8 Reasons To Say No To Non-Anesthetic Dentistry

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A 2018 study showed dogs receiving hand scaling without anesthesia had much worse mouths and hidden pain than those with no dental care

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Dental X-rays must have anesthesia to view almost 2/3 of each tooth that is below the gumline. Studies show only 14-28% of pets have no x-ray changes.

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A dental cleaning above the gumline without anesthesia easily reveals no problems when actually there is hidden disease providing a false sense of security.

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Plaque-containing bacteria & bone loss begin within the gingival sulcus (the space between the gum and the tooth). This area cannot be treated adequately without anesthesia.

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Pain Persists: Though there are usually no outward symptoms of dental pain, pets have the same receptors as people. Pets should not have to cope with pain, yet do not know they could get relief by showing that pain to their owners.

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Systemic Inflammation: There is a strong link between chronic oral disease and systemic inflammation. With chronic disease there is an increased susceptibility to more disease. Pets with annual dental care have been shown to have a 20% increased lifespan over pets with less/without.

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Cosmetic at Best: The crowns of the teeth look better and whiter but bacteria and problems persist in the sulcus or deeper.

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It is Below the Standard of Care: the American Veterinary Medical Association's position statement and many more organizations state: Anesthesia with all dental procedures is the standard of care.

 

Pet Owners - Schedule a Consultation Now

Dr. Mathis will carefully evaluate your pet's case, offering personalized options and thorough discussions on the procedure and post-operative care. 

 

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