Veterinary Medicine - October 2007 - (Page G5)

THE ORAL ATP VISIT Every annual Oral Assessment, Treatment, and Prevention (Oral ATP) visit should include the following three parts: Treatment The veterinarian performs a tooth-bytooth exam under anesthesia with dental radiographs. The veterinarian, or a staff member, then cleans and polishes the teeth. The veterinarian creates a treatment plan based on exam findings and reviews it with the client. After client approval, the veterinarian performs the therapy, and then the patient is released. Assessment The client is apprised about the Oral ATP process. The veterinarian performs a general physical examination and obtains an oral history, including previous professional dental care, diet (including dental treats), and home care. The veterinarian performs an external head examination, focusing on painful or swollen areas. The veterinarian then pulls up the patient’s lips, exposing the underlying gingiva. If the patient allows, a brief examination of the caudal pharynx is also conducted. Scherk: Having clients match their dog’s mouth to a photo can be quite convincing. The clients are also learning about potential problems, and we’re acknowledging and addressing their fears. Boone: After you make your recommendations to clients, step back, stop talking, and allow time for them to determine how they want to proceed. They may want to do it but need time to process it. Scherk: Use an open-ended rather than a closed-ended question. Rather than, “Would you like to schedule this?” instead say, “When should we schedule this?” Bellows: If they don’t agree to the procedure, you can ask, “Is it the money?” If it is, then you can explain how CareCredit, a company that provides convenient payment options, allows them to spread out the payments (www. carecredit.com). This has made the biggest difference in the way we practice dentistry. Most clients want the best dental care for their pet but many can’t afford it all at once. Prevention The veterinarian provides the client with prevention instructions during the follow-up appointment. In further follow-ups, the veterinarian monitors the pet’s healing progress as well as the client’s prevention efforts. amount coming in every six months to a year as opposed to waiting for years. Home care Hurley: What do you suggest clients do between visits? Scherk: Ideally, they should mechanically disrupt plaque in more than one way. In my feline practice, I could probably count on two hands the number of clients who brush their cat’s teeth. I don’t brush my cats’ teeth. I would rather work with other modalities, such as dental chews and dental diets and am prepared to perform hygiene regularly. I think you have a better chance of training dogs to accept having their teeth cleaned than cats. Bellows: I recommend feline clients dip a cotton-tipped applicator in water-based tuna juice and use it as a toothbrush every day. It seems to work well. In dogs, I encourage clients to brush their pet’s teeth, but practically nobody does it. I found DentAcetic wipes (DermaPet) that contain cinnamon and sodium hexametaphosphate to be more effective. I don’t recommend rubber finger toothbrushes because you really need to get underneath the gingiva to remove plaque, and rubber bristles don’t do that. Diets with mechanical action, chemical action, or both, such as IVD diets (Royal Canin), Hill’s Prescription Diet t/d (Hill’s Pet Nutrition), or Eukanuba Dental Defense (Iams) are helpful. Rawhide chews impregnated with chlorhexidi- Hall: I also tell clients that, depending on the severity, their pet may never have a normal mouth or a normal set of teeth. We can make the mouth as healthy as it can be, and from there, we are in a maintenance stage. We should help them understand that they can finance their pet’s dental care through the years paying a smaller 5 http://www.carecredit.com http://www.carecredit.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Veterinary Medicine - October 2007

Veterinary Medicine - October 2007 Contents Leading Off The Veterinary Medicine Interview: Dr. Kevin Fitzgerald Toxicology Brief Idea Exchange Animal Sheltering in the United States: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow The Euthanasia Problem Offer Basic Behavior Counseling for Every Pet at Every Visit Promote and Perform Early Spaying and Neutering Assist Owners in Selecting the Best Pets for their Lifestyles Champion Animal Welfare in Your Community CE Form Product Review Advertiser Index Marketplace/Classifieds Mind Over Miller

Veterinary Medicine - October 2007

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