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A
: Our licensed veterinary technician performs a
complete dental cleaning and evaluation, including
ultrasonic scaling of the teeth, fluoride treatment,
polishing, probing for gingival pockets, and looking for
any abnormalities in size, shape, color, or number of
the teeth.
B
: The patient has an “endotracheal tube” in their
windpipe to help them breathe. They are connected to the
anesthetic machine shown, which provides them with a
carefully controlled balance of oxygen and the
anesthetic gas.
C
: A second assistant is dedicated to helping the
technician monitor the patient’s vital signs. The
headphones she is wearing are part of the blood pressure
monitoring equipment.
D
: The entire mouth is examined and charted. Many
different hand instruments are used as part of the
cleaning and evaluation process.
E
: Our high-powered dental machine allows for ultrasonic
scaling of the teeth, has air and antiseptic flushing
systems, and even a drill which can be used for more
advanced procedures.
F
:
Having the capability to perform dental x-rays enables
us to check for disease underneath the gumline where it
might otherwise be missed. We are one of the few
veterinary hospitals in the area to utilize this
technology.
G
: Intravenous fluids are an extra safety measure to
assist our patients while they are under general
anesthesia. Low blood pressure is the most common
complication associated with anesthesia. IV fluids allow
us to counteract this problem, as well as providing
quick access to a vein for other drugs if an emergency
were to arise.
H
: You can just see the corner of the display screen for
our anesthesia monitoring equipment. With this, we
monitor heart rate, respiratory rate, blood oxygenation,
core body temperature, and an ECG tracing on all of our
anesthetized patients.
I
: The patients recover in a heated cage in our
centralized ICU. Close
proximity means we can keep a close eye on them for the
rest of the day.
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