Once tartar has formed it is necessary to remove it by professionally scaling and polishing the teeth under anesthesia. The goal of a dental cleaning is to remove the visible tartar, invisible plaque, and the tartar beneath the gum line.
Blood work The first step in a dental cleaning is Pre-Surgical Blood work. At North Memorial Animal Hospital all pets having general anesthesia have a pre surgical 
screen done. The panel checks your pet’s liver and kidney functions, which is important because anesthesia filters though them. The panel for a geriatric pet is much more involved.
Anesthesia
Our surgery suite and dental station are equipped with a SurgiVet vaporizer for isoflurane gas. Isoflurane is one of the safest gas anesthesia used by veterinarians. Your pet will be completely sedated for a dental cleaning. We do everything possible to ensure their safety during the procedure. All pets having dental work done will have an endotracheal tube passed to help them breath. Monitoring equipment is used to measure the heart rate, level of oxygen in the blood, EKG and blood pressure.
Scaling – Scaling the teeth removes the tartar above and below the gum line. We use hand scalers and ultrasonic cleaning equipment very similar to a human dentist. By removing all the tartar from your pet’s teeth a much healthier gum line is possible along with fresher breath. If any extractions were needed they would be performed after the scaling. Any teeth that have root exposure are broken or loose will be removed. These teeth cause pets pain every time they chew. The mouth typically heals very fast and it is much more comfortable to have the teeth removed than a constant pain when eating.
Polishing – By polishing the teeth we can smooth the surface, making them more resistant to plaque and tartar formation.
Flushing – Finally we thoroughly flush your pet’s mouth to remove any dislodged tartar from the teeth and rinse away any bacteria still in the mouth.
Polishing By polishing the teeth we can smooth the surface of the teeth, making them more resistant to plaque and tartar formation.
Flushing Finally we thoroughly flush your pet’s mouth to remove any dislodged tartar from the teeth and rinse away any bacterial still in the mouth.