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<p><font size="3" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" color="silver">The Animal Dental Center provides the latest techniques in veterinary dentistry and oral surgery to benefit your pet's well being and improve their general health. We are committed to educating our clients to their pet's oral problems and providing the most appropriate treatment in order to restore their "special friend's" health. Our staff offers over 20 years of experience in the clinical practice of Small Animal Dentistry and Oral Surgery.</font></p>
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<p><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="5" color="silver">Taking the Bite out of Dental Disease<br>
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<font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="3" color="silver">By Dr. Ira R. Luskin,<br>
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<p><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2" color="silver">Diplomate, American Veterinary Dental College<br>
Director of Animal Dental Centers<br>
of Baltimore and Annapolis<br>
Founder of the Animal Dental Training Center<br>
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<p><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="3" color="silver">Doesn't it always seem that the most friendly, up-close to your face and personal pets, are those with the worst breath! Why is it that despite us giving our pets crunchy dry food, hard objects and flossing rope chews, they still have breath that can stop a freight train? How often do we hear from our friends "My cat has stopped eating, her breath is very bad and she might have to loose all of her teeth "My dog was just at the Vets and he had ten teeth pulled! "My Vet said that Fifi's bad teeth have probably caused the failure of his kidneys but I told him that I brush my pets' teeth once a week. Shouldn't that have been adequate?"<br>
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<p><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="3" color="silver">Over and over again, more pet owners, unfortunately, are realizing too late the importance of good oral health for their pets. Sometimes, despite their best intentions, they are sabotaging their pet's oral health. Why should our pet's teeth and their care be any different from our own oral hygiene needs? At what age should I be looking at my pet's mouth for signs of oral problems? What should I be looking for and what can be done?<br>
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<p><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="3" color="silver"><b>At the Beginning: "Baby Teeth"</b></font></p>
<p><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="3" color="silver">Puppies and kittens, like people, have a primary or deciduous dentition. These are their baby teeth, which usually are all in place by 6-8 weeks of age and which, by 16-24 weeks, are subsequently replaced by the adult teeth. In this age group we see two types of dental problems occurring: traumatic damage to the baby teeth and oral cavity, and improper eruption of the adult teeth.<br>
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<p><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="3" color="silver">Unlike the adult, or permanent teeth, the primary teeth are very thin and fragile. They are not firmly anchored in place by strong mineralized bone and can easily be broken or pulled out of position. Therefore the most common problems we encounter in this age group are traumatic injuries, sometimes self-inflicted, sometimes inflicted by well meaning owners.<br>
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<font size="3" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" color="silver">Puppies are very oral and like having things in their mouths. We should avoid giving them hard objects, and playing "tug of war" with them. By pulling, we can either fracture or luxate (pull out of position) the primary "canine or fang" teeth of our small furry friends. Since the adult fang teeth are developing under the gums close by to where the baby fangs are, they can also, in turn, be damaged. This can cause them to either never erupt or to come up in an improper position. This improper tooth location can cause injury to the mouth's soft tissue.</font>
<p><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="3" color="silver">Hard objects like "Indestructible bones", "Hooves", sticks and rocks can break teeth. Catching a flying saucer-like play toy in mid-air can also lead to teeth breaking. These types of injuries are very painful and usually result in the tooth dying and causing an infection or abscess of the bone. Signs of a possible oral problem include: difficulty in eating or holding objects, bleeding, or drooling. The bone and overlying gums will be sensitive to the touch, swollen, and the infection can start to drain a condition called a "<b>gum boil"</b>. </font></p>
<p><font size="3" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" color="silver">Pet owners should check the animal's mouth for broken teeth on a daily basis. If any are detected, a veterinarian would immediately extract any of the broken baby teeth.<br>
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<p><font size="3" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" color="silver">Kittens, unlike puppies, usually break their baby fangs by running into doors, steps, and walls. Especially on uncarpeted floors where they cannot stop in time, head trauma is fairly common. In addition to broken teeth, kittens and cats are notorious for chewing on electric cords and ornamental plants-- both of which can cause serious injury to the oral cavity and sometimes death. Poor or no appetite and salivation are often signs of an oral problem. By looking into the kitten's mouth and checking for any smell, redness, or swelling of the soft tissue, pet owners will often see obvious changes.<br>
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<p><font size="3" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" color="silver"><b>Malocclusions: Teeth that don</b><b>'t erupt correctly<br>
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<p><font size="3" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" color="silver">In addition to trauma, the second most common dental problem seen in young dogs and cars are adult teeth, which erupt improperly. This condition is due to either trauma, as previously mentioned, or the presence of persistent baby teeth. Normally, as the permanent tooth erupts, it does so directly under the root of the deciduous (baby) tooth causing it to breakdown, which then allows the adult tooth to push it out. Sometimes the bud of the permanent tooth is not directly positioned under its deciduous counterpart. This improper positioning causes the permanent tooth, during its formation, to glide off the baby tooth root and erupt abnormally. The ensuing malpositioned adult tooth traumatizes the soft tissue in the mouth, causing the pet pain and possible subsequent infection. In addition, food might get trapped between the baby tooth and adult tooth causing the development of gum infections. The golden rule to follow is: there should never be two of the same tooth type occupying the mouth at the same time. By checking your pet's teeth daily between the ages of 14- 24 weeks of age, any double presence of teeth will be detected and can be immediately extracted by a veterinarian. Never wait for the baby tooth to fall out by itself if you see even the slightest protrusion of the adult crown next to it. If the adult teeth are coming in incorrectly then a Veterinary Dentist should be consulted as soon as possible to prevent further complications.<br>
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<p><font size="3" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" color="silver">The teeth that are most often affected by the presence of retained baby teeth are the small front incisors and the canine or fang teeth. The lower fang teeth usually come in towards the inside of their deciduous (baby) counterparts. That means they will erupt into the hard palate if the baby fangs do not fall out promptly and are not extracted in time. This condition, if uncorrected by a Dental specialist, will cause a permanent hole in your pet's hard palate creating a direct connection between the mouth and the nose. To correct this, the specialist will often construct an acrylic incline plane or "sliding ramp" to allow the inward directed lower fang to be forced out into a normal position. This is a very common occurrence in toy breeds but can occur in all animals.<br>
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<p><font size="3" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" color="silver">In order to avoid these common oral-dental problems in young animals, pet owners must be very alert. Avoid dangerous hard chew toys and games that can break teeth! Check your pet's mouth daily for signs of injury and teeth that are not coming in properly. Animals enjoy having their mouths stroked and played with, thus examining them is very easy.<br>
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<p><font color="silver">Excerpt from "Taking the Bite out of Dental Disease" © 2001. Copyright Dr. Luskin<br>
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<p><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="3" color="silver">Dr. Ira Luskin<br>
Diplomate, American Veterinary Dental College<br>
Director of Animal Dental Centers of Baltimore and Annapolis<br>
Founder of the Animal Dental Training Center<br>
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