University of Melbourne Veterinary Hospital offers free dental checks for pets
Press release
31 July 2009
As part of Dental Health Month, pet owners are being offered free dental checks for their pets for the month of August in the General Practice at the University of Melbourne's Veterinary Hospital based in Werribee.
It is important to look after your pets teeth from the first day they arrive home and pet owners should have their pets teeth checked on an annual basis to ensure they stay healthy.
Dr Leonie Richards, Head of General Practice at the University of Melbourne's Veterinary Hospital says: "Like people, pets develop conditions such as gingivitis (inflamed gums) and periodontitis (loosening of teeth) which can be very painful, but are easily missed by owners due to the ability of animals to mask pain".
"Annual dental health checks are a preventative measure and an ideal opportunity for owners to find out if their pet has existing problems that have gone unnoticed. Dental checks ensure that bacteria and poisons from dental infections do not spread to the heart, liver and kidneys through the blood stream and conditions such as diabetes have difficulty being controlled if a pet has dental disease."
Around 80% of adult animals have some degree of dental disease and this becomes more severe with age. Small animals tend to be more severely affected because they can mask pain very well and these problems are often not picked up until they are taken for a check up. Symptoms of dental disease can include bad breath, not wanting to eat and changed eating habits.
"As well as ensuring their pet has annual check-ups, owners are advised to prevent future problems through good oral home-care: daily tooth brushing with flavoured pet toothpaste and a dentally-friendly diet", says Dr Richards.
Free pet dental checks for dogs and cats are available by appointment in the General Practice throughout August. Please contact the University of Melbourne's Veterinary Clinic and Hospital located at 250 Princes Highway, Werribee on 9731 2000.
For further information please contact Hinalei Johnston, Marketing Manager, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Melbourne, Tel: 8344 7844 or email: h.johnston@unimelb.edu.au