Your kitty's oral health is a vital part of their overall health. To help keep their teeth healthy you'll need to keep up with regular hygiene at home as professional cleanings with the vet. Our Picayune vets share more information about cat teeth cleaning, how professional dental care helps, and what to know about continued care.
What is the importance of cat teeth cleaning?
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 Successfully 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 fingerbrush, 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 can I expect during my cat's professional teeth cleaning appointment?
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, and that's it. You will bring your kitty back in a year for their next cleaning.
What can I do to keep my cat's teeth clean and tartar free after their professional cleaning?
The plaque and tartar that the vet clears away during your cat's teeth cleaning will begin to form again in as little as six hours. This makes continued hygiene crucial for ongoing oral health.
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.
Note: The advice provided in this post is intended for informational purposes and does not constitute medical advice regarding pets. For an accurate diagnosis of your pet's condition, please make an appointment with your vet.