Dentistry Suite

Dental surgery for pets

Poor oral health in pets is at epidemic proportions in Australia with just two per cent of pet owners ensuring their pets receive regular preventative dental treatment. The result of this apparent blind spot, in even the most caring and responsible pet parents, is that vet clinics are often seeing animals for oral health treatment only when they’re suffering from severe issues requiring surgical intervention.

That’s one reason why, at Alpine Animal Doctors, we have added a dedicated dental surgery to our hospital facilities, fully equipped to handle even the most difficult and complex dental work. Our dental surgery can cope with everything from a simple clean to major gum surgery.

Hospital opening hours

  • Monday: 8.30 to 5.30
  • Tuesday 8.30 to 5.30
  • Wednesday: 9 to 1
  • Thursday: 8.30 to 5.30
  • Friday: 8.30 to 5.30
  • Saturday: 9 to 1
  • Sunday: Closed

7047 Great Alpine Road,
Porepunkah, VIC 3740

Current and prospective clients are always welcome to inspect the hospital facilities at Alpine Animal Doctors. Clinic tours are strictly by appointment and can only be conducted when sterile areas (e.g., operating theatres) are not in use.

To make an appointment please call…

5756 2444

Inside our pet dentistry facility

Dental health care for animals presents a range of challenges for the veterinary surgeon. Even for a simple procedure like a scale, clean and polish pets won’t sit calmly and allow us to fossick around in their mouths. Which means most animal dental care must be carried out under a general anaesthetic.

Another challenge is that inside the mouth of any dog or cat resides a veritable multitude of bacteria, some of it extremely virulent. Even with all the anti-viral and -bacterial filters we deploy in our main operating theatre the risk that oral bacteria from dental treatment could subsequently infect another animal who may be undergoing major surgery is simply too great to contemplate.

Our solution was to add a custom-built dental surgery/theatre isolated from our primary surgical suite and the rest of the hospital to contain the possibility of infection or cross-contamination.

The Dentistry Suite is smaller but contains very similar technology to our main Surgical Suite. It’s equipped with its own dedicated anaesthesia and monitoring equipment, and utilises similar HEPA and bacterial filters. Apart from that, and the specialised dental x-ray equipment we use in the Radiology Suite, our dental tools are very similar to those you see whenever you visit your own dentist — drills, cleaning and extraction tools.

The majority of our dental work is still preventative scaling, cleaning and polishing. That’s the way we like it because it means all of our patients have healthy teeth and gums … and fresh breath.

Unfortunately vets are seeing all too many pets with more serious issues — severe dental plaque, tartar build-up, and gingivitis. When oral health problems reach this stage they require major intervention to prevent damage to the animal’s heart and kidneys. This is when oral health care for your pet can get expensive. It’s little different to your own teeth and gums. Neglect them long enough and, eventually, you’re going to be looking at serious — and costly — remedial work. Or, dentures or implants.

And yet, so many of these problems can be eliminated or at least dramatically reduced by a simple, regular veterinary dental check and an inexpensive tooth clean.

Find all of our veterinary services here...

Treating a dog in the dental surgery at Alpine Animal Doctors

TOUR OUR HOSPITAL FACILITIES

Use the links below to visit each of our hospital departments and discover the extensive range of clinical and surgical facilities you'll find at Alpine Animal Doctors.

Diagnostic Tools

Pathology Lab

Radiology Suite

Surgical Suite

Dentistry Suite

ICU & Recovery Wards

VETERINARY SERVICES

Our state-of-the-art hospital technology allows us to offer our clients an extensive range of services for all animals. Click here to discover our full range of veterinary services.

E&OE. The information provided in the articles on this site is intended as a guide to assist readers to become better informed about health issues that may affect their pets and livestock. They are not a substitute for appropriate veterinary advice and treatment. They should not be used for diagnosis or treatment of any individual animal and no person should place reliance on information derived from them, where such reliance may result in loss, damage or injury. Always consult a qualified veterinarian to obtain advice.

Although Alpine Animal Doctors make every effort to ensure that the information contained in our articles is accurate and up-to-date we can accept no responsibility for errors or omissions that may occur.