Dentistry is one of the most important things you can do for your dog, cat or ferret!

Dental Disease Hurts!

Dogs, cats and ferrets often live with painful disease in their mouths.  Our clients often ask why their pet would still eat if their mouth is painful.  The answer is that they are motivated to survive.  They don't know that there is any difference or way to get out of pain.  It is a matter of eat even though it hurts and live or stop eating and die. 

Can you imagine your teeth looking like this...   

OUCH!

The dental team at Companions has gone through extensive additional training to provide dental care for your pets.  We provide services including cleaning, polishing, scaling, dental x-rays, open root planing, extractions, proper surgical extractions, removal of unerupted and crowded teeth, gingival flap techniques, treatment of periodontal disease and dental restoratives.  We refer our patients to veterinary dental specialists for root canals if this is needed and always discuss this option with pet owners.

Dr. Altena is a member of the American Veterinary Dental Society (AVDS)and has attended extensive additional training at the AVDS seminar and through Board Certified Veterinary Dentist, Dr. Tony Woodward. 

Because of her additional training Companions Animal Hospital has digital dental x-rays and performs full mouth x-rays on all animals under anesthesia for dental procedures.  Dental x-rays allow you to see the roots of teeth and the surrounding bone that is otherwise hiddend from view.  Without x-rays you can miss up to 50% of the disease in a pet's mouth.  Many of these hidden problems are painful!