We will have new days and hours of operation as of January 2024. We will offer extended hours Monday through Friday from 7:30 am-5:00 pm. Our doctors will provide care full-time each day that we are open for improved access.</marquee >

Pet Dentistry

Monte Vista Animal Hospital is proud to provide excellent dental care to our patients.

Pet Dentistry

Pet Dentistry

We recommend that each patient have their teeth checked at least once per year to identify any issues, such as broken teeth, infections, and periodontal disease. Bacterial infections in the mouth seed the entire body with bacteria and can cause infections in the heart, kidneys, and other organs. Regular dental cleanings and at-home care are vital to the health of our pets.

We offer comprehensive dental cleanings during which your pet will receive a full-mouth dental examination from the doctor. Their teeth will be cleaned, polished, and charted in the medical record. We perform full-mouth x-rays with every dental cleaning to identify any disease or issues that may be present below the gum line and, therefore, not visible by looking in the mouth.

We do not perform dental cleanings without general anesthesia, and this is for the safety of your pet. Pets do not know to hold still during a cleaning, so without anesthesia, there is a very high risk of injuring their gums and mouth. To properly clean every tooth below the gumline where the most damaging tartar hides, we use an ultrasonic scaler machine with water like your dental hygienist uses on you. Each tooth is checked for any remaining plaque that is taken care of by hand scaling. The teeth are then polished and rinsed. An anesthetized patient’s airway is protected from all of this water and bacterial debris by their endotracheal tube, which is impossible to do in an awake patient. For all of these reasons and more, we do not recommend “anesthesia-free” cleanings.

All of our doctors are well-trained in oral surgery, including extractions, to provide your pet with the best care possible. If our doctors find any dental issues during the cleaning and exam, they will call you to discuss their findings and plan before proceeding with any advanced treatments. It is of the utmost importance that we have a reliable way to get ahold of you during your pet’s procedure.

If your pet does require tooth extractions, their comfort is essential to us! The doctor will provide local numbing before any extractions, and we will give anti-inflammatory and pain medications before sending them home. They will also be sent home with additional medications for pain and inflammation. On occasion, the doctor will prescribe an antibiotic after an extraction; However, in most cases, antibiotics are not indicated.

Following extractions, the mouth’s healing time is 10-14 days, and soft food feeding for 10-14 days. During this time, they should not chew on anything hard either. This postoperative routine allows ample time for the extraction sites to heal and prevent any complications. We will book a follow-up appointment five days following any oral surgery to ensure your pet is healing well. Book follow up appointments within 10 days. If you have any questions or concerns before this appointment, please do not hesitate to call us at 775-870-1800 or contact us by clicking here.

We do everything in our power, including recommending daily tooth brushing for our patients to ensure their teeth stay healthy. Dental disease is excruciating, and even when our pets do not outwardly show pain, we can be sure they are experiencing it if their mouth is unhealthy. Our clients will often come in for a recheck after dental extraction, and they are so happy because their pet is more content and more energetic!

All of our veterinary services

If you have any questions or concerns about our services we offer, please feel free to contact us. To schedule an appointment, click here.