If you have a pet at home, you may have taken them for a dental checkup. That’s right, animals—especially pets and zoo animals—often need dental care.
Periodontal disease is one of the biggest reasons animals lose teeth. This is particularly true for pets and zoo animals in captive who decidedly live longer than they would in the wild.
Over the last forty years, veterinary dentistry procedures have evolved from simple tooth extractions to endodontic therapies and treatment of jaw infections.
Veterinary dentistry provides certain challenges that don’t exist with most human cases. Animals cannot express the issues causing them pain and must be treated under sedation. Many animals actually attempt to hide any injuries, including dental disease, as they are signs of weakness. Health problems in an animal—oral or otherwise—must first be spotted by their caretaker.
Veterinary dentistry has evolved into a fully comprehensive, boarded speciality. The American Veterinary Dental College (AVDC) is the clinical specialist organization for veterinary dentists, and held its first exam in 1989!
There are many branches of the dentistry profession that are worthy of exploration.