Your cat's dental health is very important when maintaining your cat's overall health. Our Kennesaw vets will provide information on how to clean your cat's teeth and why it is so important.
Why Is Cat Teeth Cleaning Important?
Cat's teeth need cleaning just like humans do. They may not be able to tell you that their teeth are bothering them but they can have issues with oral hygiene. Even if your cat is not showing signs or symptoms, you should bring your cat for a dental checkup at least once a year.
While you should be looking at your cat's teeth yourself, it can be easy to miss the types of problem signs that a trained and experienced vet will notice.
How To Clean My Cat's Teeth At Home?
While cleaning your cat's teeth at home does not sound like an easy thing to do, it can be done quickly and painlessly. What you need to have is pet-friendly toothpaste, a child's toothbrush, or a finger brush, you can even wrap cotton around your finger if you do not have a toothbrush.
Make sure your cat is comfortable when you are going to clean their teeth, this is not going to be their favorite thing to do either. You may need to wrap your cat up in a blanket, like you would a small baby, for your and their protection.
When holding your cat gently open their mouth and brush their teeth and gums, removing anything you can see that is stuck on their teeth.
What Happens During Professional Teeth Cleaning Visit For My Cat?
After your cat's mouth is looked at and any diseased teeth are noted on your cat’s medical chart, tooth scaling will be performed, using both hand and ultrasonic scalers, to remove tartar above and below the gum line.
The tartar below the gum line causes the most significant periodontal disease, so its removal is important.
If periodontal disease has progressed, unfortunately, it may not be possible to save the teeth and these teeth will need to be extracted.
After scaling, the teeth are polished to decrease the rate of plaque build-up.
How Can I Prevent Tartar Accumulation After The Procedure?
Plaque and tartar begin forming about six hours after your cat's dental cleaning. A home dental care plan is essential.
Your vet will provide you with detailed instructions on how to brush or rinse your cat's teeth. Plaque and tartar accumulation can be decreased by rubbing a Q-tip along the gum line daily.