Professional dental cleaning in dogs: clinical routines among Swedish veterinarians and veterinary nurses
Journal article, 2020

Background: Dental disease is very common in dogs and veterinary professional dental cleaning and examination, together with daily dental home care, is the foundation for good dental health. To our knowledge, no previous study has investigated professional dental cleaning routines in small animal veterinary practice. A validated questionnaire survey was distributed to all veterinarians and veterinary nurses with registered e-mail addresses in the Swedish national registry (veterinarians; n = 3657, veterinary nurses; n = 1650). Response rates were 32% for veterinarians (V) and 38% for veterinary nurses (VN). Results: In total, 73% (V)/96% (VN) of respondents reported that professional dental cleaning was performed at their work place under general anesthesia, and 27% (V)/18% (VN) that dental cleaning was performed under sedation. Of the respondents, 43% (V)/96% (VN) considered regular dental cleaning under general anesthesia fairly or very important, and 49% (V)/47% (VN) stated that it was sometimes important for good dental health in dogs. A majority of respondents, 84% (V)/97% (VN), reported that dental extractions were performed at their clinic, and 72% (V)/90% (VN) had access to dental radiography equipment. Conclusion: A majority of Swedish veterinarians and veterinary nurses perform professional dental cleaning under general anesthesia with access to dental radiography equipment, in accordance with national and international recommendations. However, a considerable proportion of professional dental cleanings were performed under sedation only, and extractions performed without access to dental radiography equipment were common, suggesting several areas of improvement in the routines in Swedish veterinary clinics and hospitals. Our results clearly indicate the need for improved educational efforts to increase the awareness among veterinary health professionals regarding guidelines and official recommendations in canine dental care.

Questionnaire

Veterinary dentistry

Periodontal disease

Recommendation

Survey

Author

Karolina Brunius Enlund

Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU)

AniCura Albano Animal Hospital

Michaela Karlsson

Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU)

Carl Brunius

Chalmers, Biology and Biological Engineering, Food and Nutrition Science

Ragnvi Hagman

Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU)

Odd Viking Höglund

Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU)

Pia Gustås

Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU)

Jeanette Hanson

Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU)

Ann Pettersson

Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU)

Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica

0044-605X (ISSN) 1751-0147 (eISSN)

Vol. 62 1 61

Subject Categories

Clinical Medicine

Health Sciences

DOI

10.1186/s13028-020-00559-7

PubMed

33176852

More information

Latest update

11/26/2020