Puppies and kittens are like children in a sense, that they too are born with "baby teeth" that will fall out and then grow in their "adult teeth".  But sometimes when the adult teeth come in the baby teeth will not fall out.  This is called a deciduous tooth.  If your pet has experienced this, you may have been recommended by a veterinarian to have the baby tooth removed. But why? 

If the baby tooth is left alongside the adult tooth, the two teeth are jammed against each other.  This will allow accumulation of debris and increase the likelihood of periodontal disease.  Periodontal disease can then lead to tooth pain, abscesses, and even loss of both the adult and baby tooth.

In order to prevent issues in the future, the best recommendation is to remove the entire "baby tooth".  This is because it is the root of the deciduous tooth that is causing the problem, not the crown (the visible part of the tooth). Typically we like to removal all deciduous teeth during your pets spay or neuter. This way they are asleep and won't feel anything, and they will be going home on pain medications for the surgery anyway so they will be comfortable at home.  For more information on deciduous baby teeth feel free to call our office at any time at (717) 393-8245

Many of you may have seen our staff members dog Ellie Mae at Happy Tails. Ellie is a redbone coonhound, her breed tends to be large and deep chested. That being said, we'd like to show you that our staff practices what they preach because they believe in the quality of medicine we practice here at Happy Tails.
This month Ellie Mae turned 6 months old. We spayed Ellie this week before she goes into her first heat cycle. BUT what's the point to this story you ask? Ellie Mae also had a Preventative Gastropexy done during her surgery.
Many people may not be aware of what a Preventative Gastropexy is and why it is so important. A Preventative Gastropexy is done to prevent GDV, also referred to as bloat or a twisted stomach in large dogs. GDV in dogs is an emergency and requires surgery to fix. The mortality rate is high, every second counts, and even then a successful outcome is never guaranteed. At Happy Tails we preform Preventative Gastropexies on patients that are at risk.
For more information on GDVS or Preventative Gastropexies call us at anytime. (717) 393-8245 or visit the link below for more information on how a preventative gastropexy is done.