Idiopathic Issues

Although performing dental cleanings in the veterinary hospital is valuable, getting clients on board with home care is every bit as essential. After all, imagine how your teeth would look if you completely skipped brushing and just went to the dental hygienist for yearly cleanings!

The good news is that there are plenty of home care options available, so you can find a product to meet the needs of almost any client. The bad news is that this wide variety of dental products can be overwhelming, making it difficult to choose what is “best” for any given pet. 

As a vet student or new grad, you will probably encounter clients who want to save money and avoid anesthesia by pursuing anesthesia-free dentistry for their pets.

After all, what’s not to love about it? Their pet doesn’t go home groggy, there’s no anesthesia risk, and the cost is a lot lower than a comprehensive dental cleaning. From a client’s perspective, anesthesia-free dentistry looks pretty appealing! 

Anesthesia-free dentistry providers capitalize on this appeal, using a variety of marketing strategies to sell clients on a service that is of limited benefit. While we all know that anesthesia-free dentistry is inferior to comprehensive veterinary dentistry, it’s important to be able to clearly explain your view to your clients, without becoming defensive.

You can’t just tell clients that your dentals are better than anesthesia-free dentistry; you need to be able to educate them on why that’s the case.

Doing so requires attention to facts and details.

If you talk to a group of veterinarians that has been in practice a while, you will likely hear a wide variety of opinions surrounding the use of antibiotics in veterinary dentistry. Some veterinarians rarely use systemic antibiotics, while some veterinarians use them in the majority of their dental procedures. 

As our understanding of veterinary dentistry has gradually expanded over time, trends in antibiotic usage have undergone a number of shifts. 

When should you prescribe systemic antibiotics?

Over the past decade, I feel like I have really heard it all when it comes to objections to dental cleanings for pets.

I have compiled a handful of the most common objections and how to communicate effectively to overcome them…

In your veterinary career, you will probably see many pets in need of dental care. Some clients will follow your recommendations, while others may forego complete dental care in favor of anesthesia-free dentistry.

Your job is to educate clients on the differences between these two options, in the hopes that they will make the best decisions for their pets.