Taking the Bite Out of Tooth Extraction
The old string around the tooth trick won’t work with your veterinary patients. But here are some tips to help you slam the door on your fears of tooth extraction.
Let’s be honest, extracting teeth does not send too many veterinarians in general practice leaping for joy. However, these practical tips from a presentation on dental extractions at CVC Virginia Beach by Matthew Lemmons, DVM, DAVDC, a veterinary dentist at MedVet Indianapolis, may take away some of your trepidation when excavating the oral cavity.
An oral overview
The indications for dental extraction are:
- Periodontal disease
- Fractured teeth
- Tooth resorption
- Treatment of malocclusion
Although the oral epithelium is very forgiving compared with other tissues, Dr. Lemmon says to go into a dental extraction with the following goals in mind:
- Remove all dental tissue, including all of the tooth root.
- Cause as little trauma as possible.
- Be sure to be easy with soft tissue handling.
- Oppose soft tissue tension-free so it heals quickly.
