July, 2010 Pet Spotlight

"Murphy" Woods

"Murphy" Woods, our amazing pet of the month, is a 7 year old Dachshund who came in for his annual wellness examination and vaccinations. 

Upon, examination, Dr. Gary Lackey noted advanced plaque and tartar buildup on most of his teeth.

Not only was this causing bad breath, Murphy was also suffering from periodontal disease which is bacterial infection that attacks the gums and bone that surround the teeth.  The condition can become very serious, causing multiple problems such as tooth abscesses, tooth loss, heart, kidney and liver disease.  Pets can also have pain in their mouths involving the gum and teeth.

A dental cleaning and polishing with x-rays was then set up for Murphy.

Pets must be anesthetized with gas anesthesia for this procedure so we can do the deep cleaning and other dental procedures that may be needed.  We take care in carefully examining pets undergoing anesthesia and strongly recommend pre-anesthetic laboratory evaluation.  After Murphy's lab work was complete, and his physical condition evaluated, a tranquilizer and pain medication was administered for his comfort.  During the procedure, he received fluids and the rate was regulated by Carla, the surgery nurse.  Carla also used a monitor that checked his heart rate and blood pressure as well.

Now that Murphy was safely under anesthesia, x-rays were taken of his teeth.  It was important to do dental x-rays so that we could see if Murphy had dental disease that we could not see in his mouth such as root abscesses which are not uncommon and very painful in our pets.

In fact, several abscesses were found on Murphy's x-rays.  Dr. Lackey decided which teeth needed attention and carefully extracted several, after which he x-rayed Murphy's mouth again to make sure all the tooth extractions were complete.  We then cleaned and polished Murphy's teeth.  When the procedure was finished, Carla and Dr. Lackey allowed Murphy to wake up from the anesthesia, still monitoring vital signs and making sure Murphy was warm and comfortable.  Murphy was kept in the treatment room all day so that he could be continually monitored.  Murphy now has healthy gum and teeth with no bad breath and no pain in his mouth.  It is important that his owners brush his teeth with special dog toothpaste on a regular basis. 

Please don't hesitate to call (979) 776-8996 if you have any questions about your pet's dental care or wish to make an appointment.