Healthy Teeth, Happier Cats

Compassionate dental care that helps your cat feel their best — from checkups to cleanings and beyond.

Why is Cat Dental Care Important?

Just as we humans are susceptible to serious gum and other diseases caused by poor dental care, the same holds true for your cat. Why? True for dogs, humans and cats, food particles combine with saliva that forms plaque which adheres to the teeth and gets under the gums. Plaque is a bacteria magnet. The bacteria then attacks tooth enamel, gum tissue and bone sockets that hold the teeth. Enter gingivitis, periodontal disease, tooth loss, jawbone abscesses and sometimes even infections that spread to the major organs.

How Can I Tell If My Cat Has a Dental Problem?

Cats are secretive, and especially when it comes to pain. They try to hide their discomfort so as not to show weakness, which is how they instinctively protect themselves in the wild. This means you have to do the legwork

If your cat’s behavior suddenly changes, check his or her mouth for:

  • Red or swollen gums
  • Painful gestures when eating
  • Pus
  • Foul breath
  • Strange lumps

All of these require immediate treatment by our Las Vegas veterinarian.

Dental Cleaning and Evaluation

Prevention is the name of the good health game and that’s why we do a thorough evaluation and cleaning on all our patients.

A visual inspection of the entire mouth where we evaluate all the teeth and gums.

A complete set of dental x-rays of all the teeth at no additional cost to you, this service is usually extra charge at other hospitals.

A thorough cleaning to remove the tartar which attracts bacteria. If we find any damaged teeth or dental decay, we will then perform the necessary treatments required to treat the problem.

Dental Anesthesia

In order to give your cat the dental treatment he or she needs, our Las Vegas veterinarian must use anesthesia to keep him or her still and comfortable. We understand many owners have concerns about the use of anesthesia on their pet, but rest assured, we use the very safest, cat-proven anesthesia product and we monitor your cat’s condition closely throughout the entire procedure.

Preventative Dental Care: Your Role

Good dental health requires more than a yearly cleaning by our vet. You also play a big part in keeping your cat’s teeth healthy. We strongly recommend purchasing a toothbrush and toothpaste especially designed and formulated for cats. In fact, we can give you advice on the best products as well as show you the easiest technique for brushing your pet’s teeth. We can even recommend certain cat foods and treats that are specially designed to prevent dental tartar.

As the Las Vegas cat veterinarians who treat only cats, we have the experience and expertise to give your cat the best available dental care. Contact us for an appointment for us to evaluate your cat’s dental health!

Cat Dental FAQs

Since your pet cannot brush his or her own teeth, every time your pet eats food or chews on something, tiny food particles and bacteria can build up along your pet’s gum line. While at-home care can help keep your cat’s teeth clean into between checkups, this is not a substitute for an annual dental cleaning.

Gum disease occurs when plaque deposits along the gum line harden into tartar, pushing away the gums and creating pockets that are susceptible to bacterial infection. Gum disease is a common problem affecting cats as well as dogs. The most common symptoms of gum disease include swollen gums, bleeding, tooth loss and foul breath. Your cat may also be reluctant to eat hard food or to play with toys due to mouth pain. Since the early symptoms of gum disease are not always obvious, in general it is a good idea to have your cat’s gums and teeth checked every year as part of an annual oral health exam.

Gum disease is sometimes called a “silent disease” because it can cause serious damage to your cat’s mouth without any obvious warning signs being present until more advanced stages. As the disease progresses, your cat can suffer from eroded gums, missing teeth and jaw bone loss – all painful conditions that can have a serious impact on your cat’s quality of life. Worse, since gum disease creates “pockets” along the gum line, these pockets are susceptible to bacterial infections that may even enter the bloodstream, harming your cat’s internal organs.

During a cat dental exam, our cat veterinarian will first check your cat’s gums and teeth for signs of disease and decay. If initial inspection indicates dental disease, a full dental evaluation and cleaning will be recommended. This procedure is performed under general anesthesia in order to safely clean your cat’s teeth removing plaque and tartar build up from the gum line. We take dental X-rays of all the teeth to screen for disease hiding under the gum line. Finally, we will polish your cat’s teeth to resist future plaque deposits.

The best way to care for your cat’s teeth and gums is with regular brushing. Brushing your cat’s teeth even once per week can help reduce plaque build-up. If you are not sure how to brush your cat’s teeth, talk to our veterinarian about scheduling an in-office demo session. We will show you the proper technique for safely cleaning your cat’s teeth.