Anaesthesia is essential for clean teeth

You may have seen anaesthesia-free dentistry advertised and wondered why we don’t offer this as an option for your pet.

We’d love to be able to say “open wide” but this isn’t possible in the veterinary dental world! Without an anaesthetic it is impossible to perform a thorough examination of your pet’s mouth, and there is simply no way we can correctly diagnose or treat dental problems while your pet is awake.

Any dental procedure done without an anaesthetic can have a negative psychological impact on your pet as it is likely to cause your pet unnecessary pain.

The worst thing is, anaesthesia-free dentistry can potentially mask serious underlying disease and lead to complications in the future.

When a pet is anaesthetised, we are able to look for any hidden problems and potential sources of pain. Radiographs can be taken and the teeth can be safely probed with special dental instruments, a critical part of a dental procedure.

While your pet is asleep, we thoroughly clean their teeth including the area under the gums. It is essential to understand that this cannot be done correctly if your pet is awake. Removing only the calculus that is visible on the tooth (as done in anaesthesia-free dentistry) is purely cosmetic. This technique is ineffective because it does not fix the source of the problem or enable healing and reversal of the dental disease.

You can read more about why anaesthesia-free dentistry is not appropriate for your pet on the Australian Veterinary Association website.

If you have any questions about your pet’s dental health just ask us – we are always here to help.