27 Jan Annual dental check-ups are essential part of pet wellness
February is Pet Dental Health Month.
Dental health is an important part of your animals’ overall health. In fact, periodontal disease is the most common clinical condition in cats and dogs even though it is completely preventable. Whether your animal of choice is a cat, dog, rabbit, horse, or donkey, annual dental check-ups by your veterinarian are of utmost importance in your pet’s overall health.
Signs of dental problems include bad breath, teeth that are discolored or covered in tartar, abnormal chewing, drooling or dropping food from the mouth, reduced appetite or refusal to eat, pain in or around the mouth, and bleeding or swelling around the mouth.
Animals can develop many of the same dental issues as people, such as broken teeth, abscessed teeth, misalignment, and even cysts or tumors in the mouth. To prevent such issues from becoming larger problems, an annual dental exam and cleaning is recommended by the Tennessee Veterinary Medical Association (TVMA) and the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA).
Pet owners are invited to join TVMA and AVMA on social media during the month of February to share photos of their animals’ beautiful teeth — dogs, cats, horses, bunnies, ferrets, goats, cows – on TVMA’s Facebook, Instagram and Twitter with the hashtag #PetDental.
Please contact your veterinarian with specific questions and concerns. If you don’t yet have a veterinarian, TVMA’s “Find-A-Vet” page can assist you.