The Importance of Cleaning Your Pet’s Teeth

Like people your dog can also develop periodontal disease and they too need regular preventive dental maintenance to keep this from occurring. I have owned dogs for many years and have managed to clean their teeth two to three times a year and have avoided the cost of having a veterinarian do it. Cleaning a cat's teeth is a much more difficult task than cleaning dog's teeth as they are usually less compliant. The cost of having a veterinarian clean your dog’s teeth is substantial and there are associated risks to your pet because of the need for sedation. The following article provides tips on how best to maintain your dog’s dental health.

1. Practice the routine. The first step in the process is conditioning your pet to lie in your lap and allow you to touch the inside of his mouth. This is a gradual process of rewarding your pet for letting you touch his mouth, lift his lips, touch the teeth, massage the gums…and it takes time and patience.
For example, the first week you may just have your dog or cat sit in your lap and lift a lip and offer a treat. Once your pet starts to like this game, you up the ante a little and probe in their mouth a little more, always giving plenty of praise and positive reinforcement. It is important to be cautious when working with your pet’s mouth as you can be bitten even if by accident. 

If you have any concern about being bitten, you should not attempt this process. 
Some pets will like this game more than others, and it is important to take your time each day to teach your pet to trust you to touch his teeth. Eventually, you will be able to open your dog’s mouth and brush his teeth on the inside and outside surfaces and in between the teeth.

2. Acquire dental instruments. If you can make it to this stage and your dog or is excellent at being still, then you can buy a set of dental instruments and try scaling tartar and cleaning below the gum line.
It’s not as easy as it looks and if you try it one time, you will have a great appreciation for dental hygienists.
As in most things, if you are highly skilled, you can make it look easy. Before using dental instruments to clean your pets’ teeth, it is advisable to get some formal training first as you can damage the teeth and gums if you are not using them appropriately.

3. Consider anesthesia. The easiest and best way to thoroughly clean and polish your pet’s teeth is with him under anesthesia. Remember that periodontal disease is our number one concern in pets and the only way to effectively evaluate periodontal disease is with dental x-rays, which must be done with the patient under anesthesia. Your pet needs to see your veterinarian once yearly for a comprehensive oral health assessment and treatment.

Ask your vet about these best practices in veterinary dental care when your pet goes in for a cleaning.
•    X-rays of each tooth in the mouth
•    Comprehensive anesthetic monitoring for safety
•    Periodontal probing and charting of teeth in the medical record
•    Proper treatment of deep gingival pockets
•    Nerve blocks and pain meds when extractions are needed
•    Sterilization of dental cleaning tools and drills
•    Fluoride treatment
•    Home care instructions

Your pet’s dental health is one place where you can make a positive impact at home. Over 70% of pets have periodontal disease by the time they are 3 years old, making it one of the biggest problems veterinarians battle. We can say for certain that your pet will suffer from periodontal disease at some point in his life, so why not start early with prevention?

There are multitudes of options for home dental care. Brushing is best, and if you can get in the habit of brushing your pet’s teeth each night, you will make a huge difference in your pet’s health.
If your pet goes to bed each night with clean teeth, he is spending 12 hour per day with clean teeth. Half days added together can become half a lifetime of clean teeth.

Alternatives to Brushing. If brushing is not an option for you, we have rawhide chews with the same enzyme treatment that is in the doggie toothpaste. There are many other treats and chews available.  For a list of chews proven to work, check out the Veterinary Oral Health Council (VOHC)website.

About the Author: Dr. Anthony Dailley is a practicing general dentist in Berkeley California. He has been practicing since 1981 and graduated from San Francisco State University with a degree in Cell & Molecular Biology, and obtained his dental degree from the Pacific School of Dentistry. Dr. Dailley also holds a fellowship position with the International Congress of Oral Implantologist (ICOI). Dr. Dailley has also been a founder in a biotech company called NovaBay Pharmaceuticals and was a member of their board of directors from 1997-2014.

43% of Pregnant Women Skip Dental Checkups

When a woman is pregnant, the baby’s health and the ob-gyn always come first. But that often means other appointments are overlooked. In fact, one recent study by Cigna found that 43% of women don’t go for dental checkups while they’re expecting, even though 76% of them admit to problems such as bleeding gums and toothaches.

Hormonal changes during pregnancy will often worsen oral issues such as gingivitis and more serious gum disease. While 63% of women before pregnancy say their oral health is very good or excellent, that number drops to 55% during pregnancy.

 “Dental checkups are so important that most dental benefit plans cover preventative care visits every 6 months with no or low out-of-pocket costs. Some dental benefit plans even have special maternity programs with additional services like extra cleanings or discounts on oral health prescriptions,” said Dr. Miles Hall, Cigna’s chief clinical dental director.

Expecting and new mothers who took advantage of dental maternity programs through their benefits plan had better oral health habits than those who did not participate or did not have a program available to them. These improvements in dental hygiene habits may be why 74% of women who are participating or who have participated in a dental benefit plan maternity program rate their oral health as very good or excellent compared to 55% of pregnant women overall, Cigna says.

Despite the links between oral health and overall wellness, many medical professionals fail to discuss dental care with their patients. While 97% of women saw their general doctor or obstetrician during pregnancy as frequently as directed, only 44% said oral health was mentioned during those visits.

And while only 43% of new mothers have had a dental checkup since giving birth, that rises to 63% for women whose doctors discussed oral health during maternity visits. Postpartum dental visits also are key since dental hygiene habits may slip once the baby arrives, as 36% of new mothers say they brush and floss less frequently than before the baby was born mainly due to a lack of time.

The baby’s oral health should be minded as well. Half of new mothers clean their baby’s gums daily, but that increases to 65% for mothers whose pediatricians discussed the baby’s oral health. Good dental hygiene habits with infants cn prevent conditions such as nursing nursing bottle caries or decay.


About the Author: Dr. Anthony Dailley is a practicing general dentist in Berkeley California. He has been practicing since 1981 and graduated from San Francisco State University with a degree in Cell & Molecular Biology, and obtained his dental degree from the Pacific School of Dentistry. Dr. Dailley also holds a fellowship position with the International Congress of Oral Implantologist (ICOI). Dr. Dailley has also been a founder in a biotech company called NovaBay Pharmaceuticals and was a member of their board of directors from 1997-2014. 

Dailley Dental Care Has New Team Member

We are very pleased to announce the addition of Dr. Deborah Chau to our dental team. Dr. Chau grew up in the Bay Area and after receiving her bachelor's degree from the University of the Pacific in Stockton California she attended the University of the Pacific School of Dentistry in San Francisco, which happens to be the same university Dr. Dailley attended and taught at. After graduating from dental school with honors Dr. Chau completed a General Practice Residency program at the University of Minnesota where she obtained extensive training in the care of medically complex and special needs patients. Dr. Dailley has taken great effort to find the right candidate who will be able to uphold the high quality of service that patients in his practice have grown to expect. Dr. Chau possesses the highest qualifications and is extremely well skilled in all phases of dentistry.

One of our goals is to make it as easy as possible for our patients to obtain their dental care by providing early morning and evening hour appointments. This tradition will continue but we will be able to provide even more convenient appointment times for our patients with the addition of Dr. Chau.  Dr. Chau will have office hours on Friday and Saturdays, which in the past have not been available for our patients. We hope this makes it easier for our patients, their families, and their friends to have their dental needs cared for without having to take time off work or school.

Treating Gum Disease to Reduce Prostate Symptoms

You might be asking yourself, how in the world can prostate problems be related to gum disease?
Well according to a study conducted at Case Western Reserve School of Dentistry and the Departments of Urology and Pathology at University Hospitals Case Medical Center, symptoms of prostate inflammation, or what is referred to as prostatitis, were reduced by treating the patients’ gum disease. Studies like the Case Western study have clearly shown that gum disease not only affects the mouth but it is a system-wide condition that can cause inflammation in various parts of the body.

The Case Western study showed there was a very high correlation between men who had prostatitis and those with moderate to severe gum disease. Following a 4-8 week period of gum treatment for a group of men who had moderate periodontal disease and concurring prostatitis, the study showed that 77% of theses men also experienced a decrease in inflammation of their prostate glands and decreased PSA scores without any treatment being directed towards the prostate condition itself.

Prostatitis is just one of many systemic diseases such as cardiovascular disease,  diabetes, and kidney disease, that have shown a clear connection with periodontal disease. For these reasons and for the prevention of gum disease itself we always recommend regular dental visits along with twice a day flossing and brushing.



About the author: Dr. Anthony Dailley is a practicing general dentist in Berkeley California. He has been practicing since 1981 and graduated from San Francisco State University with a degree in Cell & Molecular Biology, and obtained his dental degree from the Pacific School of Dentistry. Dr. Dailley also holds a fellowship position with the International Congress of Oral Implantologist (ICOI). Dr. Dailley has also been a founder in a biotech company called NovaBay Pharmaceuticals and was a member of their board of directors from 1997 -2014.

The Risks of Smoking & Your Dental Implants

If you smoke, you are opening your mouth to all kinds of different dangerous oral conditions. And, if you are pursuing treatment with dental implants, your treatment may actually fail because of your habit.

One of the worst possible habits you could have for your teeth is smoking. Not only does smoking have many negative cosmetic effects on your teeth, such as severe tooth discoloration and bad breath, but it can also lead to much more serious problems, which include gum disease, tooth decay, and oral cancer. And, if you are a smoker who is trying to replace any missing teeth with dental implants, your habit could actually prevent your treatment from being a success. Today, Anthony Dailley DDS is blogging from Berkeley, CA to talk about how smoking can affect your dental implant treatment.

Protect Your Dental Implants by Giving Up Smoking

Smoking can actually affect your dental implants ability to heal. During the procedure, an implant fixture is placed in the empty space left behind by your missing tooth. While healing, a process called osseointegration occurs, which works to integrate your implant with the bone in your jaw. This process, however, can be stopped or hindered by inflammation of the tissues around the implant fixture, causing the implant to fail. This is called peri-implantitis and, while it can occur in any dental implant patient, it tends to occur much more frequently in patients who smoke.

It is also much more difficult for dental implants to heal and integrate with the bone in smokers because smoking can slow the circulation of blood in your body, making it much more difficult for your body to naturally heal itself. It is also possible for the nicotine inside of cigarettes to damage the tissues that make up your jaw, teeth, gums, and facial muscles. This damage can result in even more missing teeth for our patients who smoke, further exacerbating their condition. Not only that, but smoking can even increase the rate at which your jawbone deteriorates, which comes with its own threat of missing teeth.

Not only can jawbone deterioration result in even more missing teeth, but it can also have many negative effects on your facial structure. This occurs because our jawbone and teeth play a large part in determining our facial appearance. When your jawbone deteriorates, you are losing the support your face needs to maintain its shape. One symptom of this is that your cheeks may begin to appear hollow, giving your face a “sunken appearance”. It is also common for the skin around your jawline to prematurely wrinkle. As a result of these effects, patients suffering from jawbone deterioration tend to be described as appearing aged or unhealthy.

As you can see, it is very important that you give up smoking before moving forward with your dental implant treatment. While this treatment can be a success for patients who smoke, the rate of failure is simply much higher. For this reason, we highly recommend people who smoke to consider finally putting an end to their smoking days. If you would like to learn more about dental implants and what makes a good candidate for treatment with them, we encourage you to contact us and schedule a free, no-obligation consultation with Dr. Anthony Dailley, today.

About the author: Dr. Anthony Dailley is a practicing general dentist in Berkeley California. He has been practicing since 1981 and graduated from San Francisco State University with a degree in Cell & Molecular Biology, and obtained his dental degree from the Pacific School of Dentistry. Dr. Dailley also holds a fellowship position with the International Congress of Oral Implantologist (ICOI). Dr. Dailley has also been a founder in a biotech company called NovaBay Pharmaceuticals and was a member of their board of directors from 1997 -2014.