How To Tell If Your Pet Is In Need Of Urgent Dental Work
If you want to help ensure that your pets stay as healthy as possible, you will need to look for signs that there is a need for urgent dental care. To help you spot dental issues, you will want to review the following signs of pet dental trouble.
Consistent Bad Breath
It may not be a problem if you pet experiences the occasional bout of bad breath because it ate something a little weird. However, if you brush its teeth or provide it with breath neutralizing treats and there is still a problem with foul odors in the mouth day after day, you may have a serious dental issue on your hands, such as periodontal disease. It is best to take your pet to a vet who can properly diagnose and treat any discovered dental problems.
No Longer Eating Like Normal
If you have discovered that your pet is turning away from food or not eating as much as it used to, you will need to find out why. It could simply be that your pet is not feeling well and it will be back to normal eating patterns in a day or so. However, if your pet appears to be feeling just fine and this is a persistent problem that is not getting any better, it could be a dental issue. If your pet has teeth that are hurting it, it may not want to crunch down on the pet food that you are providing it. There could be a broken tooth, an infection, or inflammation of the gums that is making normal eating too painful for your pet.
You Spot Lumps On The Gums
Do not make the mistake of assuming that this is just a normal part of aging for some animals. If you look at the gums of your pet and you notice a lump, no matter how small it may appear to be, you will want to schedule an urgent appointment with your trusted vet. Your skilled vet will examine the lump and run the proper tests to determine whether the lump is nothing more than a buildup of infection or a possible tumor that will need to be removed.
With those three signs of pet dental trouble in mind, it should now be much easier now for you to spot when it is time to call a dog or cat dentist about a possible dental issue that you need to have resolved.
