5 reasons why we use anesthesia for denatls

Ever wonder why exactly we use anesthesia for dental cleanings? Well here we are today to share some great information.  With all the hype surrounding anesthesia free dentals we need everyone to understand that some pets are not good candidates and that anesthesia is important for a complete and thorough cleaning for your pets teeth.  Here are 5 reasons we believe that 

1. Plaque lives below the gumline

Sub gingival plaque is a real threat to your pets oral health.  A majority of the tooth lies below the gum-line and this is the plaque that will break down tissues further progress dental disease.  Plaque by definition is a film of bacteria and sugars.  Plaque is the main cause of dental disease.  Cleaning pets teeth includes cleaning both above and below the gum-line.  Unfortunately anesthesia free dentals only attack the plaque above the gum-line leaving much room for improvement.  This means that every anesthesia free dental is leaving plaque behind unfortunately.  

2.  Training is key

Dentistry is best left to the professionals.  Would you rather have someone cleaning your pets teeth that has hundreds of hours of training and experience of just 4 hours of class time to be able to be certified to clean your pets teeth free of anesthesia.  I expect my dentist to be trained, expect the same from your pets care providers. 

3.  Polish to keep plaque away

Anesthesia free dentals include a scaling with a rough instrument removing large and small debris from the surface of the tooth.  Even the most experienced teeth cleaning technicians and doctors will polish to remove the rough surface in order to prevent further build up quicker that what would have been a potential before the procedure.  To date there has been no polishing included in anesthesia free procedures because pets wont tolerate it. 

4.  X ray vision isn't standard

Unfortunately pets can't tell us when it hurts so we have to use diagnostic tools such as oral radio-graphs to get to the root of any dental troubles.  When practicing anesthesia free dentals problems can be easily missed by even the most experienced anesthesia free dental provider.  This is why we complete full mouth radio-graphs with all of our dental procedures.  

5.  Comfort is key

Your pet needs to be comfortable and anesthesia can help with that.  Anesthesia free dentals require your pet to lay on their back with a stranger for an extended period of time.  Some pets may be okay with this but many are not.  Dentals completed in clinic are much more suited for the masses as pets are completely anesthetised for the entire procedure following your pets intial exam and sedation. 


These are just a few of the reasons we do not support anesthetic free dentals.  Ever wonder what we do for your pet when they stay with us for a dental?   Stay tuned for a day in the life posts.