Have you been recommended a staged dental procedure for your pet?

Our Vet Abi has answered the most frequently asked questions from clients about staged dentistry.

Firstly, what is staged dental?

A staged dental is where we split your pet’s dental procedure into two halves.

The first stage is where we clean all the teeth, perform x-rays to look for disease below the gum line, we chart each tooth individually to assess its health and remove any teeth that are causing immediate pain, for example wobbly or infected teeth. We will then wake your pet up and you will have a consultation with the vet to discuss what we found in the first stage and what we propose to do at the second stage.

At the second stage, we remove any remaining diseased teeth which may not be causing pain currently but could go on to cause pain in the near future.

What are the benefits of staged dentistry?

We feel there are a lot of benefits for both yourself and your pet. For your pet, it means that they have two shorter anaesthetics which is safer than one long anaesthetic, because we tend to see anaesthetic complications later on in longer procedures. For you, it means we can give you a much more accurate idea of the levels of dental disease that we are dealing with and therefore much more accurate estimates for the second stage dental. We also have the opportunity to discuss with you in the consultation any teeth that may be borderline so you can have a really clear idea on what we need to do next for your pet.

Who are staged dentals most suited for?

The answer to this question is usually older animals for a couple of different reasons. Firstly, they tend to have more complex dental disease which is easier to manage over a staged procedure and secondly, older patients do not always cope as well with long anaesthetics, so again having two shorter anaesthetics is much safer for them.

Will my pet be in pain between the two procedures?

The answer to this is a definite no. We always provide pain relief after dentals and any painful teeth will be removed at the stage one procedure.

How much will a dental procedure cost?

This a question we get asked a lot and is very hard to predict. This is because until we clean and x-ray the teeth, we cannot fully assess the extent of the dental disease present, but typically, dental procedures cost several hundred pounds as these are long and complex procedures. A really good way of managing the cost of dental procedures is by joining our Healthy Pet Club. Our Healthy Pet Club memberships help clients to save money on their pet’s vital preventative health care needs and provide significant discounts and fixed prices on dental work with an additional 10% discount if any extractions are required. It has many other benefits such as annual vaccinations, vet prescribed flea and worming treatment, six monthly health checks with a veterinary nurse and 10% discount off all vet bills, plus more discounts and benefits. Our Reception team are happy to answer any questions you may have about the Healthy Pet Club.

How can I book in for staged dentistry?

Just give our friendly Reception team a call on 01908 611637 to book an appointment with a vet. The vet will check your pet over and look at the teeth and we can get the procedures booked in from there.

We hope this has answered the most frequently asked questions about staged dentistry however please just get in touch if you have any further queries.