Hospital Specials

FEBRUARY IS DENTAL HEALTH MONTH

Does your best friend have bad breath? Despite what many pet owners may believe, “dog breath” is not just a nuisance – it’s a sign of an unhealthy mouth. Bad breath is caused by bacteria. Over time, bacteria leads to plaque and tartar buildup on your pet’s teeth. The result is bad breath, reddened gums, and other common signs of dental disease. As dental disease progresses, other signs can include drooling, discomfort while chewing, and loose or missing teeth. Even if you’re using treats and chews to help control tartar, these are frequently not enough to keep dental disease in check. Ask us about the best ways to control plaque and help protect your pet from dental disease.

Dental hygiene is an important part of your pet's health, because dental disease can be associated with other serious health problems such as heart disease, kidney disease, abscesses and pain. But how do you know if your pet has a healthy mouth? Let us examine your pet’s teeth and gums to help determine if there are any dental issues you should know about. After a brief visual examination, we may recommend a more detailed examination (which requires sedation), a dental cleaning, or options for at-home dental care.

Even if you think your pet’s teeth and gums are fine, we can offer expert advice to help you keep them that way! Dental health shouldn’t be taken for granted. Fortunately, many dental problems can be managed through at-home care and by bringing your pet to us for regular dental checkups and teeth cleanings.

We want your pet to live a long, healthy life, and we understand that maintaining a healthy mouth is part of that. Your pet’s health is important to us, so let us help you with this commitment. Call today to discuss your pet’s dental care needs and how we can help!

Worried about how your pets will eat after several tooth extractions?
Mr. Monkey (who has 4 teeth left) and Chispa (who has 0 teeth left) are here to show you how it's done!

Mr. Monkey (a.k.a. Dr. Noack's best buddy) graciously agreed to let us share his story and recent periodontal treatment!

Wellness Packages

CBC: A Complete Blood Count helps to evaluate your pet's red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets. Abnormalities in these cell types can help us diagnose conditions such as infection, anemia/bleeding, autoimmune diseases, and certain types of cancers.
CHEM: A Chemistry measures your pet's liver vales, kidney values, proteins, electrolytes, blood sugar and much more. Some of the diseases that a Chemistry panel helps us evaluate include: Diabetes Mellitus, Kidney disease, Liver disease, Gallbladder disease, Adrenal gland disease, Electrolyte abnormalities, and Intestinal diseases.
URINALYSIS: A urinalysis assesses your pet's urine for white blood cells, red blood cells, bacteria, concentration, Ph, bilirubin, protein, crystals and glucose. These tests help us diagnose urinary tract infections, kidney problems, Diabetes Mellitus, and crystals that could form stones or cause life threatening urinary blockages.
Spec CPL/FPL: This test evaluates your pet's pancreas (an important organ for digestion). Signs of pancreatitis can include vomiting, inappetence and diarrhea.
FECAL/GIARDIA: A Fecal/Giardia test checks your pet's feces for intestinal parasites such as roundworms, hookworms, whipworms and giardia. This testing is particularly important because many of these parasites are contagious to humans.
T4: Thyroid testing evaluates your pets for hypothyroidism (not enough thyroid hormone- more common in dogs) and hyperthyroidism (too much thyroid hormone-more common in cats). This test may also help us diagnose thyroid cancer.
HEARTWORM TEST: This is a blood test for a protein released by adult female heartworms.
FELINE TRIPLE TEST: The feline triple test includes FELV (feline leukemia), FIV (feline immunodeficiency virus) and heartworm antibody test.