Animates has always offered an oral health program and as with many other aspects of veterinary medicine, dental healthcare is progressing. To provide our patients with the best care, we no longer talk in terms of a ‘scale and polish’. Instead, we offer staged dentistry. Stage 1 dentistry is a comprehensive oral health assessment to examine and diagnose what needs to be done to keep your pet’s mouth healthy as well as professional cleaning above and below the gum line.
Stage 1 is an all-inclusive fixed price procedure comprising a pre-anaesthetic blood test, intravenous fluids, daytime hospitalisation, general anaesthesia, comprehensive oral health assessment and charting, full mouth diagnostic xrays, professional cleaning and one post-operative assessment with a veterinary nurse. This stage is a diagnostic stage.
If any pathology is identified at the Stage 1 dentistry, a treatment plan will be formulated, estimated and communicated to the you at discharge with a view to book a subsequent Stage 2 procedure for extractions. This will be scheduled within 2 months of the Stage 1 procedure.
If your pet needs only 1 or 2 band A or band B teeth (see later for more details on banding) extractions these are likely be carried out during Stage 1 rather than re-booking for a second procedure. Band C extractions usually require a surgical extraction technique, take longer and are best carried out in a planned stage 2 procedure.
Why is the procedure split into two stages?
The main reason for this is to prevent your pet from being under anaesthesia for an excessively long period of time. The charting, descale, and full mouth x-rays (i.e., Stage 1) can take up to one hour alone. Extended anaesthetics can lead to low blood pressure (hypotension) as well as a drop in body temperature (hypothermia), both of which can be harmful to your pet’s anaesthetic safety and recovery.
It also allows for proper planning of the required oral surgery. Dental extractions can be difficult and long procedures and unexpected pathologies may be identified during examination and dental x-rays. Performing Stage 2 on a separate day after the descaling process also provides a cleaner environment, reducing infection risk.
Two planned, shorter procedures increase the chances of a smoother and timelier recoveries at both stages.
Is this going to cost me more?
No, we have structured our dentistry fees so that the price paid is the same as it would have been if charged under one sitting. However, the staging process allows us to properly estimate the costs for what is needed. Historically, dental estimates varied widely due to the fact we cannot anticipate how many teeth need extracting until they are fully assessed and probed under general anaesthesia, with the additional guidance of dental x-rays. This would result in a significantly larger bill to pay at the time of discharge than the original estimate, which we don’t feel is fair.
The staging process will avoid this, so that the price estimated for the extractions is as close as possible to the final price that you are charged. This is also why stage 2 is best done within 2 months of stage 1 – any longer and for some pets, further pathologies could start to develop which would impact on what needs to be done in the second procedure