Why do teeth tarter so quickly after a dental?

RE: Why do teeth tarter so quickly after a dental?

Neil Wheadon — Wed, 08 Jul 2020 10:12:34 GMT

[quote userid="2131" url="~/001/veterinary-clinical/small-animal/dentistry/f/discussions/29195/why-do-teeth-tarter-so-quickly-after-a-dental/224124#224124"]Neil, please don't take this personally.[/quote]

I haven't

Precisely

Sorry

Yes

I didn't know that, which will probably explain.

and now the follow on, how do you treat exposed dentine? Strikes me we should be doing this rather than scaling a lot

Neil

RE: Why do teeth tarter so quickly after a dental?

Evelyn Barbour-Hill — Tue, 07 Jul 2020 16:58:25 GMT

Neil, please don't take this personally.

[quote userid="8958" url="~/001/veterinary-clinical/small-animal/dentistry/f/discussions/29195/why-do-teeth-tarter-so-quickly-after-a-dental"]Is it me or do others notice that once you start to dental a dog, the teeth tarter up so much faster.[/quote]

Well, so it is sometimes said, but do they? It's not my experience, frankly.

Are you thinking "well it took seven years for the calculus to get this thick, now it's thick again after one year"? I don't think that calculus is necessarily laid down in a steady rate through life. The dog, as you see it now, has arrived at a state where calculus is formed readily; doesn't mean it has always had this predisposition.

What exactly do you mean by "start to dental a dog"? ( Regular frequenters of this forum know that I detest and condemn the use of the term "a dental" as if this were some sort of recognised technical procedure, rather than mere slang which could mean almost anything – but I'll leave that aside). I'm guessing you mean a scale and polish.

Well, the object of the exercise is not just to remove calculus and plaque. Obviously, since plaque starts to form again more or less immediately, and calculus is merely a concretion of dead bacteria with mineral deposition. The object is to take whatever steps you can to reduce the formation and maturation of plaque under and at the gum line. So you need to not only remove all plaque, you need to try to eliminate plaque traps by , for instance, a little gum surgery or by strategic extractions. You need to avoid making matters worse by using too crude or too powerful a scaler. Polishing is not vital – certainly is not required over every possible surface – but it can play its part.

Since you've persuaded the owner that dental attention is require, perhaps some periodontitis has already begun – so there may be areas of exposed dentine – they will certainly retain plaque (and hence form calculus in due course, sooner if near to salivary glands) more than enamel.

The big point is that your surgical procedure is merely the starting point of your treatment. It must be followed by "oral hygiene" – an all-embracing term for all sorts of measures.

RE: Why do teeth tarter so quickly after a dental?

Rob Loxley — Sat, 04 Jul 2020 17:31:56 GMT

[quote userid="4331" url="~/001/veterinary-clinical/small-animal/dentistry/f/discussions/29195/why-do-teeth-tarter-so-quickly-after-a-dental/224059#224059"]not polishing at all[/quote]

yet many vet dentists suggest polishing is purely cosmetic?

RE: Why do teeth tarter so quickly after a dental?

Norman Johnston — Sat, 04 Jul 2020 13:57:42 GMT

The usual reply is micro damage to the enamel from scaling. The more power the more damage. Also using polish that is not fine grade or not polishing at all,

My own dog will require another scaling after only 8 months if we don’t brush his teeth. His last scaling was 15 months ago and I’ve brushed his teeth daily since then (due to guilt of giving him repeated GA’s) and his teeth are pristine right now,