Veterinarians Warns Dog Owners About The Dangers Of No Sedation Teeth Cleaning

Any pet owner will tell you that their animals’ wellbeing is of utmost importance. However, sometimes, some owners can be completely unaware that they’re not actually doing enough in terms of care. That is what one owner painfully discovered after they learned that their dog’s teeth cleanings were virtually ineffective.

As a result, Arizona-based veterinary dentists were ardent about spreading knowledge about the dangers of non-anesthetic teeth cleaning. Non-anesthetic teeth cleaning is the practice of cleaning a dog’s teeth using a scaling instrument to scrape the plaque off their teeth – and it doesn’t involve putting them under anesthesia.

Vets will often refer to this non-anesthetic teeth cleaning practice as NAD or NADS. However, the procedure is a little misleading in terms of cleaning. While most pet parents assume that their pets have received a full dental clean, it’s actually not a proper dental cleaning. That is because the NADS procedure will not clean below a dog’s gum-line, where bacteria associated with periodontal disease happens to build up. If dogs aren’t getting a proper gum-line cleaning, then the bacteria will build up and cause root damage to the teeth.

Arizona Veterinary Dental Specialists posted on their Facebook, “This dog had a non anesthetic teeth cleaning for 5 years. The teeth looked very clean. The dog came to our clinic when the teeth were noticed to be mobile. After full mouth radiographs, the real problem was revealed…and it was below the gum-line!!! Poor dog had 18 teeth extracted. Look at all that tartar on the root. This demonstrates the pitfalls of non anesthetic teeth cleanings. Without being able to clean below the gum-line or take dental X-rays, cleaning just the crown is useless. Spread the word!”

That is why proper dental cleanings are so important for your dogs. In order to keep up with your dog’s oral health between cleaning visits, you should learn how to brush your dog’s teeth – it will help control plaque build-up. And of course, knowledge is power, so share this with the other dog owners in your life!