Peaches arrives at 8:15am for her surgery day and is greeted by Julie. Before Peaches is admitted, Julie has some paperwork for her owner to complete. This includes a contact number where the veterinarian can reach her owner during the procedure if needed.
After Peaches is admitted, blood is drawn and analyzed to make sure it is safe for her to undergo anesthesia.
Peaches holds still for the insertion of her IV catheter. The catheter is used to deliver the anesthesia and fluids during the procedure.
When the surgery and anesthesia teams are ready, Peaches is anesthetized and a tube is inserted into her windpipe. This delivers the anesthetic gas and allows us to help her breathe. The tube also keeps water and debris released during the cleaning from contaminating the lungs. The technician responsible for the anesthesia will be monitoring Peaches’ heart and lungs carefully for the entire procedure.
The first step is for the doctor to perform a complete oral examination. Each tooth is examined, probed, and recorded in Peaches’ dental chart. Any problem areas are noted at this time.
Next, x-rays (radiographs) are taken of the teeth and roots. Luckily, Peaches’ teeth look good, both the crowns (the part we see) and the roots (everything below the gumline). This isn’t always the case. Some cats and dogs have problems with their roots even though the crowns appear normal. This is why radiographing the teeth is a crucial part of the complete oral health examination. Without x-rays, we can only guess at what is going on underneath the gumline.
Once the examination, charting, and radiographs are done, Peaches’ teeth are ultrasonically scaled above and below the gumline. Finally, the teeth are polished to a sparkly smoothness!
Once the entire procedure is complete, Peaches goes off to recovery where she is monitored carefully by a trained technician until she is fully awake.
By 4:30pm, Peaches is ready to go home. The doctor meets with Peaches’ owner to go over all of today’s results and anything that needs to be done at home. Goodbye Peaches! See you next time!