"Prevention is our philosophy, our practice, and our passion."
Oral disease is the most prevalent source of pain and infection in companion animals. 93% of pets over the age of 5 years suffer from some form of periodontal disease. Oral pain is present in any infected mouth. Periodontal disease results in bone loss, chronic infection, chronic inflammation, eventual tooth loss, contributes to other systemic diseases. In older pets chronic oral disease can be so debilitating that many owners mistakenly think their pet is just too old to fix. At PCVDOS we know we can help your pet and make a significant difference in their health and relationship with you.
What we have been doing in our profession for oral care has resulted in the continuation of oral disease, pain and tooth loss in our pets. It is not working and it is time for a new approach to an old problem. Any mammal that has teeth and eats is subject to oral disease. Veterinary Medicine is for the prevention and treatment of disease in companion animals. As a profession we have successfully developed prevention programs for general health of our puppies and kittens over the last 150 years which have resulted in longer lives and more rewarding relationships with our pets. At PCVDOS we believe that the cure for the periodontal epidemic in our pets is to put each of our patients on a periodontal prevention/management program that will protect their health, their lives, and most importantly their relationship with their families. Benjamin Franklin said that " An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." Dr Brown's goal is to prevent new cases from arising and to recover and protect the mouths that are currently affected with the disease. Prevention begins with education, oral evaluation, periodontal vaccination, regular professional oral care, and good home care. Prevention is doable and with this plan we could, in our companion animal community, eliminate periodontal disease within 15 years. Prevention is less costly in many ways including financial, pain and suffering, supportive /home care costs, chronic disease, and loss of relationship due to chronic halitosis, pain, and rising medical costs. Ben was right about worth. The average cost of three prevention oral treatments a year for a cat or small dog is ~$285.00/event at PCVDOS. The anesthesia time is ~15 minutes for a total of 45 minutes/year. The additional bonus is no loss of teeth, no home care post op, no medications, no diet change, or chronic inflammation. The average cost of an restoration treatment on a diseased mouth that suffers from chronic periodontal disease is $1100.00/1800.00 per event and that does not include loss of teeth, home care recovery for two weeks, medications, rechecks, oral pain, diet change, and restrictions. The average anesthesia time is 1-2 hours. So as you can see prevention is an ounce of the cost and loss of trying to cure and survive the losses of this disease our pets.
Our oral defense system includes no cost oral consult, oral exam and x-rays under anesthesia, regular professional cleaning, hand scaling and careful polishing of each tooth, oral home care (diet, toys, chews, oral rinses, waterpics, and daily tooth brushing), and if you are a canine patient - the porphyrmonas vaccination. Pfizer has developed a vaccination against periodontal disease for our canine companions. It is a bacterin and is administered like other vaccinations subcutaneously every 6-12 months depending on the susceptibility of the pet to periodontal disease. We have seen this vaccine make a significant difference in completing the oral defense care system that we prescribe for our patients.
It is time to stop the costs and losses associated with this disease in our pet population. It's time to listen to invest for prevention and stop spending for loss. Please call with any questions or concerns. Dr Brown will be happy to help prevent oral disease in your pet.