Why your practice needs dental radiographySeptember 12, 2019I would like to reiterate my firm admiration for an attainable imaging goal for your practice, namely the use of digital dental radiography.
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Vital pulp therapy in dogs and catsMarch 29, 2019Last month, we discussed the rationale behind and approach to conventional (orthograde) endodontic therapy. Orthograde root canal therapy removes the entire contents of the pulp chamber in the root canal system. Vital pulp therapy is a different kind of endodontic procedure, performed instead on teeth that have had recent pulp exposure. Determining whether it's best to perform vital pulp therapy or orthograde root canal therapy for an individual tooth is a judgment call. Most dentists gravitate toward orthograde root canal therapy whenever possible, since it involves removing the entire contents of the pulp and minimizes the likelihood of possible future pain and infection by not leaving to chance whether remaining pulp maintains its vitality. However, orthograde root canal therapy may not be an option for young teeth, as they lack a closed apex. In the past, it was a rule of thumb that vital pulp therapy be performed within 48 hours of pulp exposure in dogs older than 18 months of age and within two weeks in dogs younger than 18 months of age. However, the sooner vital pulp therapy is performed after pulp exposure, the better the chance of success. Therefore, even when a patient is younger than 18 …
How to improve client compliance for dental proceduresFebruary 11, 2019This month, veterinarians are being encouraged to raise awareness of oral care as a component of general health for animals and increase routine dental checkups.
Dentistry—A discipline in need of changeFebruary 4, 2019I am writing this article as I travel home from Phoenix, after attending a successful Veterinary Dental Forum (VDF). This event is the official annual meeting of the American Veterinary Dental College (AVDC), Academy of Veterinary Dentistry (AVD), and the Foundation for Veterinary Dentistry (FVD). This year, VDF drew its largest crowd yet, partly due to general practitioners that are filling an educational void by attending lectures and wet labs in the various disciplines of dentistry and oral surgery. In this month's column, and in honor of National Pet Dental Health Month, I'd like to discuss a challenge for the veterinary profession, specifically dentistry training at the veterinary school level. It's not a new problem, and it doesn't exist at every school, but its significance is greater today than ever before, due to the changing needs of successful general practices. Decreasing significance The number of didactic teaching hours available within the veterinary curriculum is not getting any larger. In fact, teaching hours dedicated toward a specific topic are becoming more difficult to obtain due to new specialties, expanding knowledge base, and justifiable shifts in curricular focus to feed not only the IQ, but also the EQ. Ask any small-animal …
Confessions of a veterinary dentistJanuary 15, 2019When it comes to preventing progression of periodontal disease, tooth brushing is the least expensive and most effective home-care method to help avoid the need for future extractions.
Idiopathic osteomyelitis/osteonecrosis of the jaw in dogsDecember 13, 2018Osteomyelitis of the maxilla, mandible, or incisive bone, can occur due to severely diseased teeth in an area, but some cases don’t seem to be simply the result of an extension of periodontal or endodontic disease. These cases are often more than just osteomyelitis. Instead, they show evidence of dead bone, often in the form of a sequestrum, a necrotic piece of bone that may want to come out in one large piece during surgical exploration. In the absence of any history of radiation therapy or bisphosphonate administration, these cases are best described as idiopathic osteomyelitis/osteonecrosis. When they enter your exam room, you will smell what’s going on before you are able to see it.
Why less is more when it comes to equine dental careJuly 19, 2017Over the past three decades, care of the horse’s mouth has apparently become a huge concern. When I graduated from veterinary school, care of the horse’s mouth was the concern of an equine veterinarian and part of our overall job of taking care of the horse.
Dog found with teeth growing out of earsJune 29, 2016It’s a sight one doesn’t see every day: A dog with what looked like four ears, and teeth growing out of her head. The dog, now named Esmeralda, was a stray and brought into the Oklahoma City (OKC) Animal Welfare in Oklahoma City, Okla.
