Dentistry

Taking care of your pet’s teeth is one of the most important things you can do to keep them healthy because good dental hygiene can add years to your pet’s life. At Timberline Animal Hospital, we are dedicated to providing the best dental care for your pets. Our hospital features a full dental suite, the latest dental technology, digital dental radiography (xrays), and a medical team trained in advanced dental procedures. We also offer a full year Health Care Package with a dental billed monthly making it financially easier for you to provide your pet with the best dental care possible.

Our Dental Services

Comprehensive Dental Examinations
Digital dental X-Ray
Cleaning (Teeth Scale and Polish)
Closed Root Planing
Oronasal Fistula Repair
Extractions (Minor and Major Oral Surgery)
Local Nerve Blocks

Synthetic Bone Grafting
Treatment of Resorptive Lesions in Cats
Gingival Flaps
Bonded Oral Sealant Applications
Doxirobe gel
Recommendation of Home Care Products
Pet Dental Health Education and Consultation

Pet Dental Health

Studies by the American Veterinary Dental Society report that 80 percent of dogs and 70 percent of cats show signs of oral disease by age three. If left untreated, small dental problems can develop into periodontal disease, can create infection, gum line recession, and lead to tooth loss. Routine dental cleanings and good oral hygiene are just as important for your pet’s dental health as they are for yours!

Some signs of dental problems include:

Comprehensive Dental Examinations

In puppies and kittens, we’ll check for:

As your dogs and cats age we’ll check for:

We will provide you with:

Dental Cleaning (Scale and Polish)

At Timberline Animal Hospital, because all pets are unique, we will conduct a comprehensive dental examination and create a tailored dental cleaning plan for your pet. Dental cleanings are performed under general anesthesia for all adult dogs and cats. For more detail about our dental cleaning procedure visit Dental Cleaning 101.

Digital Dental Radiographs (X-Rays)

You would never have dental surgery or extractions without an x-ray, why would your pet? We offer state-of-the art digital dental radiograph services. Digital dental x-rays aid in evaluating your pet’s oral health and detect impacted roots, tumors, devitalized teeth, infected roots and fractures. X-rays also help our medical team detect abnormalities that cannot be seen through the physical examination alone. They can also confirm the need for tooth extraction when teeth are loose or badly infected.

Advanced Dentistry

In addition to dental cleanings, Timberline Animal Hospital offers advanced dentistry procedures for pets.
For more advanced dental issues, we offer the following dental services for our patients:

Closed root planing: under-the-gum cleaning of the tooth roots
Oronasal fistula repair: When the canine teeth are infected so bad that it destroys the bone at the base of the tooth requiring extraction. Once the tooth is extracted it leaves a hole or fistula between the oral and nasal cavities (an oronasal fistula). To prevent infection this needs to be covered up with a gingival flap.
Extractions (Minor and Major Oral Surgery)
Local nerve blocks: used for pain on tooth extractions
Synthetic bone grafting: to strengthen the jaw after an extraction because the tooth root can make up to 70% of the strength of the jaw
Gingival Flaps: surgical technique to ensure proper closure of the extraction site
Bonded Oral Sealant Applications for chipped and cracked teeth
Doxirobe gel: used for gingival pockets to help save teeth that are at risk of loss due to recessed gum lines
Management of resorptive lesions (FORL’s) in cats

Treatment of Resorptive Lesions in Cats

Tooth resorption affects up to 75% of cats and is one of the most common and painful feline dental diseases. Tooth resorption is a dental condition where the supporting structures of the root become diseased and cause the destruction of the tooth. The entire tooth structure, root, and crown can be affected and it needs to be treated by a veterinarian. A dental assessment is the first step in diagnosing feline tooth resorption and digital dental radiographs are the second step necessary to diagnose the disease.

Signs of Feline Tooth Resorption:

Home Care Products and Education

We offer a full line of dental oral hygiene products to maintain healthy teeth and gums. Timberline Animal Hospital staff can demonstrate how to brush your pet’s teeth and provide you with education on any product that you purchase.

We offer home toothbrushes, toothpastes, and sprays
We also stock Dental Chews
Our hospital and on-line store carry veterinarian recommended food and treats
We DO recommend that you purchase healthy chew toys for dogs such as:
- Flexible “Gummi-bones” by Nylabone (safe for most dogs)
- Rawhide chews
- Kongs
- Greenies (for dogs and cats)
To prevent tooth damage and breakage, we DO NOT recommend that you allow your pet to chew on items that are harder than their teeth:
- Cow hooves, thick pig ears, natural bones, elk horns, or hard Nylabones.
- Ice cubes, sticks, and rocks (yes, many dogs like to chew rocks and swallowing rocks could lead to other problems!)

Annual Preventive Health Care Packages w/Dental (Billed Monthly)

We are committed to providing the best preventive care for your pet. We also understand the financial impact of pet health care costs on you and your family. That is why we have created annual preventive Health Care Packages that you can pay monthly.. For more information please visit our Health Care Packages pages.