Clean Teeth - cost effective way to meet your pet's dental needs

Did you know that puppies have 28 small sharp baby teeth and kittens slightly less with 26.  These are replaced by adult teeth over the first few months of life - 42 in total for dogs and 30 in cats - that is a lot of teeth!

Dental Health
We know that good dental health is an important part of your pet's overall health and welfare.  As owners and veterinary staff, we want all our pet's to have clean teeth, healthy gums and fresh breath.  Without a good dental hygiene routine (primarily brushing and regular examination of your pet's mouth), a build up of plaque - the sticky film of bacteria that forms on teeth - will harden into tartar.  Without intervention, such as a a dental procedure to remove the tartar (also know as scale) followed by a finishing polish and a good homecare routine of daily brushing - this condition becomes worse and can make your pet very unwell.  The developing severe tartar build-up will cause painful swollen gums and in many cases tooth loss or the need for tooth extractions during a dental procedure.  It can also lead to the development of tooth root abscesses or bone infection of the jaw.  Bad breath or halitosis will accompany all these dental problems as the early sticky plaque takes hold.

Dental disease can be the cause of much more.  The high level of bacteria in the pet's mouth and oral tissues enter the bloodstream and travel to other areas in the body causing harm to vital organs and tissues.  This is a major concern for pet's with pre-existing conditions and in the older vulnerable pets - dogs over 8 years old and cats over 7 are senior pet's and become more susceptible to the development of a range of serious conditions.

We want to help prevent the development of dental disease and act either preventatively with tooth brushing (like us - its the best way to clean our pets' teeth) or to get those dirty teeth clean first so you can brush more effectively and prevent further build-up.

Dental Fees
We offer a fixed fee approach to descale and polish dog and cats' teeth under general anaesthesia - this offer is available all year round and requires a veterinary examination. 
The fixed fee includes: premedication, intravenous cannula placement, general anaesthesia, intra-operative fluids if required, post-operative meal and a nurse consultation a few days after the procedure. **  At this point we will advise you on homecare to help reduce the development of future dental disease.

Cats                        £275
Dogs under 10kg   £275
Dogs 10 - 25kg      £335
Dogs over 25kg     £375

** Separate fees apply if:  any extractions are needed; if you would like pre-op blood tests; if your pet is of a pug/frenchie/bulldog type and requires the brachycephalic anaesthetic surcharge or if a course of pain relief is needed.

The fees above only apply to pets who have been examined by one of our vets and have been advised they qualify for our fixed fee descale and polish under general anaesthesia.   This is for preventative care and to prevent further development of dental disease.  The fixed fees do not apply to pets that have already developed more advanced dental disease, where dental extraction/s are likely and their treatment is more involved.  If this is the case your vet will give you an estimate of fees for the necessary treatment.

Please note: all procedures requiring anesthesia are undertaken at our Braintree site.

Signs of Dental Disease

It is not uncommon for owners to miss the signs of developing dental disease in their pet's.  And it is important to note that even if your pet is still eating and their appetite doesn't appear to have changed they can still be masking the presence of dental disease.

Homecare - Brushing teeth and Diet
Well yes brushing teeth can be done in our pets!  Our nurses are here to help guide you with dental homecare.  They will discuss this with you briefly when your pet is discharged from their dental procedure and then in more detail at their post-operative appointment.
Diet choices can also be reviewed.  Where tooth brushing can not be carried out we can discuss the benefits of a special complete diet with specifically designed dental benefits, packed into each kibble.  We stock the Hills Vet Essential and Veterinary Prescription Diets.

During our dental awareness month we are offering £10 off your first bag of Hills dental diet and 10%!

Help is always here!
Our vets will assess your pet's dental health during routine annual vaccination visits as part of their general health examination.  This is repeated again 6 months later, when their 6-months health exam is due (only available as part of the MVP Care Plan).   
For further information or to book an appointment please contact us using petsapp, reception@millenniumvets.co.uk or 01376 325511