10 Questions You Should Ask Your Veterinarian BEFORE A Dental Cleaning

  • Do you take a full set of digital dental x-rays on EVERY patient to evaluate EACH tooth for disease and infection below the gumline? This is an extremely important diagnostic tool as up to 80% of the surface of the tooth is below the gingiva (gumline).
  • Is a dental probing instrument used to evaluate the sub-gingival space of each tooth and to measure periodontal pocket depth? Is information obtained from x-rays and via probe recorded in the patient’s chart?
  • Do your veterinarians and technicians attend continuing education (CE) courses to expand their knowledge of your current dental techniques and keep up with the newest advances and technology in veterinary dentistry?
  • Does your facility have both a high and low speed drill to accommodate for all needs presented with complex dental cases?
  • Do your veterinarians use localized nerve blocks to attenuate dental pain during extractions and use bone grafting material to facilitate bone regeneration after complete extractions?
  • Do you place an IV catheter in EVERY patient to ensure a quick access to the cardiovascular system in the event of an emergency and provide adequate fluid therapy during the procedure? Proper hydration is essential for a quick and safe recovery from anesthesia!
  • What monitoring equipment is used during the anesthetic procedure? Pulse-oximetry (oxygen saturation of the blood), blood pressure monitoring, ECG monitoring (to evaluate cardiac activity), core body temperature are some of the answers you should hear!
  • Do you monitor ETCO2 changes (capnography)? This is often overlooked but extremely important parameter that determines how well a patient is breathing and exchanging gases within the lungs!
  • Is a log created with documentation of anesthetic monitoring results every 5 minutes throughout the procedure? Is this recorded in the patient’s chart for further reference for any other anesthetic procedure? Is a trained surgical technician taking these recordings?
  • Do you as the client leave the hospital after your pet’s procedure with a detailed outline (including pictures) of what was done in your pet’s mouth? Does the price of the cleaning include a recheck exam by the veterinarian in two weeks?

Questions You Should Ask Your Veterinarian BEFORE Anesthesia

  • Does the veterinarian perform a pre-anesthetic exam prior to administering any medications?
  • Do you tailor an anesthetic protocol to every specific patient or do you simply use a formula to determine how much medication to administer based on weight?
  • Do you place an IV catheter in EVERY patient to ensure quick access to the cardiovascular system in the event of an emergency and provide adequate fluid therapy during the procedure? Proper hydration is essential for a quick and safe recovery from anesthesia.
  • What monitoring equipment is used during the anesthetic procedure? Pulse-oximetry (oxygen saturation of the blood), blood pressure monitoring, ECG monitoring (to evaluate cardiac activity), core body temperature are some of the answers you should hear!
  • Do you monitor ETCO2 changes (capnography)? This is often overlooked but extremely important parameter that determines how well a patient is breathing and exchanging gases within the lungs!
  • Is a log created with documentation of anesthetic monitoring results every 5 minutes throughout the procedure? Is this recorded in the patient’s chart for further reference for any other anesthetic procedure? Is a trained surgical technician taking these recordings?
  • Is the patient ALWAYS monitored by someone other than the veterinarian throughout the entire procedure until the patient is extubated? (endotracheal tube removed)
  • Are multiple surgeries performed with the same surgical instruments creating a potential for cross-contamination and decreased sterility?
  • Are individually wrapped suture and surgical gloves used for EVERY procedure?
  • Are there follow up calls to check on the patient in the days after surgery to ensure adequate outpatient recovery?