Pictured here is a dog with heavy dental calculus and plaque. Buildups lead to mouth infection and even absorption of bacteria and toxins into the circulation. Absorbed products may damage remote organs like the kidneys and heart, leading to even more serious disease.

Dental plaque may produce caustic residues which can become so irritating that painful ulcers (black arrows) form on the adjacent oral tissue.

Treatment consists of a multi-staged procedure, performed with the animal under general anesthesia. The first step is dental scaling of accumulated calculus and plaque. Here these materials are removed using an ultrasonic scaler.

Often harmful adhered debris must be removed from below the gum line by using instruments to curette the deep soft tissue adjacent to the tooth, or to plane the deep root of the tooth itself.

Depth of pockets around diseased teeth are measured to prognose degree of expected problems, or to recommend additional oral health treatment to limit future damage or minimize reoccurrence.

The final step, polishing and rinsing, smoothes the tooth surface to delay reoccurrence and helps to flush harmful material from below the gum line.

Immediately Following the treatment procedure the teeth are clean and smooth, harmful plaque and calculus have been removed, and bacteria and their products have been flushed away. Sometimes antibiotics will be recommended to facilitate healing of dental pockets and abscesses.