K9 Health:
Why Ongoing Dental Care Is Essential
For Your Dog’s Health
And Your Wallet
The message that canine health is “A pet can be vaccinated in a matter
paramount to general health is one that of minutes and fl ea preventive
we like to repeat. But that’s just the treatment is relatively easy to
tip of the iceberg when it comes to the administer, but thorough teeth cleaning
importance of ongoing dental care. involves hospitalising the pet for the
day and anesthesia,” said Dr. Carol
Pets’ mouths are biologically similar to McConnell, vice president and chief
humans. While cavities generally do not veterinary medical offi cer for VPI. “This
affect pets to the same degree as humans, drives the cost of teeth cleaning past
pets’ teeth and gums are still susceptible to that of typical preventive procedures and
plaque build-up and bacterial infections. A keeps many pet owners from considering
signifi cant bacterial infection growing under professional cleaning. By increasing the
the gums can damage the structural tissues reimbursement available for teeth cleaning on
(gum and bone) that hold teeth in place. This its new WellCare plan, VPI hopes to lessen
is called periodontal disease, and the pet this fi nancial hesitation and encourage pet
should receive the appropriate treatment from owners to be more proactive about their pet’s
a veterinarian. If a tooth has been cracked dental health.”
or chipped, bacteria may migrate deeper
into the surrounding tissues and cause
infl ammation or an abscess. In some cases,
abscessed teeth require extraction.
In 2007, Veterinary Pet Insurance (a
veterinary pet insurance fi rm) received nearly
13,000 claims, more than any previous year,
for periodontal disease, abscessed teeth, and
root canal therapy. In the same year, VPI
received 7,629 claims for surgical treatment
of periodontal disease, with an average
submitted fee of $361 (£218). In comparison,
VPI received 4,913 claims in 2005 for
surgical treatment of periodontal disease
with an average submitted fee of $298
Dr. Jim Humphries is the News
(£180). Abscessed teeth and root canals also
Director for the Veterinary News
increased in frequency and proved costly in
Network and President of the
2007 with average submitted fees of $244
American Society of Veterinary
(£147) and $766 (£463), respectively.
Journalists. He is also the veterinary
administrator of PetDocsOnCall.com.
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