Dog and Cat Care in Tucson

When your dog or cat is in the age range that is considered “adulthood” in pets, usually between the approximate ages of 1 year and 7 years, depending on their breed and adult size-their care will often focus on preventive maintenance to ensure that they maintain their health for years to come. During your pet’s adult years, we offer:

Annual physical exams
Complete preventive care
Dental check-ups and professional cleanings
Diagnostics to uncover hidden health concerns
Exercise counseling
Nutritional counseling
Parasite prevention
Parasite screening
Surgery, if needed
Vaccinations
Weight control
…and more

Some of the most important parts of adult dog and cat care are often the most overlooked. At Rita Ranch Pet Hospital, we emphasize the importance of annual physical exams and dentistry as some of the most critical parts of your pet’s health care.

The Annual Wellness Exam

During your pet’s annual wellness exam, we examine your pet from nose to tail and everything in between. We check to examine:

Ear health
Eye health
Lumps and bumps
Oral health
Proper function of organs, joints, nerves, etc.
Skin and coat condition
…and more

Checking your pet regularly for abnormalities allows us to keep ahead of the game when it comes to your pet’s ongoing health. If we discover areas of concern, we are able to treat them quickly and efficiently, and when we find aspects of your pet’s health that need a little work, we can be proactive about prevention. Pet dentistry is one of these critical areas. A clean mouth is the window to a healthy body while an oral cavity that is filled with tartar and plaque can lead to disease, not just in the mouth but in the rest of the body as well!

Dog and Cat Teeth Cleaning

Your pet’s oral health is one of the most important areas for concern in adult pets. During each annual wellness exam, we will examine your pet’s oral cavity to make basic assessments about their dental health. If we see problem signs in our initial examination, some of which may include bad breath, tartar and plaque buildup, red or swollen gums, or loose teeth, we will prescribe a professional dog or cat teeth cleaning.

During the professional teeth cleaning, your pet will be anesthetized so that we can examine the oral cavity thoroughly. In those annual examinations when your pet is awake, we are not able to delve as deeply into their problems and their needs as we would like. The professional dental cleaning affords us the opportunity to be thorough in our examination.

The Professional Teeth Cleaning

Before your pet receives their teeth cleaning, we perform pre-anesthetic blood work to ensure that your pet is healthy enough to be anesthetized safely. During their cleaning, they will be fitted with an IV catheter and fully monitored with an attending veterinary technician as well as equipment that tracks fluid, blood pressure, heartrate, body temperature, electrocardiogram, and more. The teeth cleaning will consist of:

Full mouth x-rays
Periodontal probing
Removal of tartar and plaque on the surfaces of teeth and below the gum line
Polishing of tooth surfaces
Removal of diseased teeth, if indicated
Home care instructions for released patients

The Importance of Ongoing Home Care

After your pet has been released from their teeth cleaning, it takes approximately 48 hours for plaque to begin building up on their teeth again. Smaller dogs, as well as dogs with more elongated or shorter noses, are even more prone to tartar and plaque development. With smaller dogs who have smaller teeth, loss of the tooth through buildup removal is much more serious as well!

Our team is committed to educating pet owners about proper at-home oral care methods to ensure that the good work completed during the professional teeth cleaning is not lost! We can work with you closely to manage your pet’s oral health, keeping them safe for years to come.