MidnightBlue Chihuahua's of Walkerton,Indiana
Carla Barkman 574-586-7131
Dental Care For Your Chihuahua Puppy and Adult
Chihuahuas are a breed where they have teeth to begin with, so helping them to prevent some of the painful problems, is the best thing you can do for your little one!
All breeds of dogs that have poor oral hygiene, results in periodontal disease which is damage to or inflammation around a dogs tissues of their teeth (gingivitis, periodontal ligament, alveolar bone) results in loss of their teeth not being attached to these tissues.
Periodontal disease reaches the apex of the root, and bacterial infection destroys the tissue inside the tooth Once a bacterial infection happens inside of their tooth, it can cause an abscess involving the bone and soft tissues around the tooth.
Signs of Periodontal Disease
1. Swelling
2. Heat
3. Pus and pain
Diet
What you feed your Chihuahua is very important! Dog foods (dry) that makes your dog to crush the dry food when it eats, helps scrape their teeth to remove plaque and debris from their teeth. However, you have to have the cooperation from your dog, where he is chewing the food and just not swallowing it whole! There are some dry dog foods that are on the market, that helps to promote oral health and example e of that type of food is Eukanuba Dental Defense System.
Anesthesia for Chihuahuas can be harmful to them because of their size. Most Chihuahua do fine under anesthesia but on the other hand, they have had problems with handling the anesthesia or have even died while under or after the surgery was over. Vets can use a milder form of anesthesia on your Chihuahua, so ask them before your Chihuahua goes under. A lot of things have changed from years ago and anesthesia is safer than it was many years ago!
Things That Can Be Done Before, During and After Your Chihuahua Goes Under
1. Your Vet can run pre-anesthetic testing that can uncover problems before your Chihuahua goes under anesthesia. However, this is an added cost to your bill but is a good idea to prevent something from happening to Chihuahua while they have their teeth cleaned.
2. Inhalant gas (Halothane, Isoflurane, Sevoflurane) is a much safer than using injectible agents to achieve an appropriate level of anesthesia. Ask your Vet before your Chihuahua goes under, what would be best for your Chihuahua.
3. Having a tube in the trachea prevents aspiration of fluids or vomit.
4. Monitoring your Chihuahua's breathing, keeping track of their pulse rate and oxygen saturation, blood pressure, respiratory rate, carbon dioxide levels, and electrical rhythm of the heart. (Remember, your Vet could charge for all of these extra precautions. So it is best to know what is included in the teeth cleaning and not assuming that all the precautions are included in the teeth cleaning!) When your Chihuahua are being monitored appropriately it allows veterinarians and technicians to detect trends and initiate therapy to avoid anesthetic problems.
5. Many vets use fluid therapy by intravenous catheter during anesthesia to keep vascular volume and blood pressure, to ensure that your Chihuahua will go home with the same number of viable brain and kidney cells that they had before anesthesia.
6. Many Vets use thermal support such as warmed water blankets or air blankets for dogs during anesthesia, sp up Chihuahua won't become hypothermic, changing the rate at which drugs are metabolized or excreted. Dogs kept warm during anesthesia have a more predictable response to anesthetic agents and recover more quickly
7. Many people would like to solve their Chihuahua oral health issues by giving a chew item or treat, but daily brushing your Chihuahua's teeth remains the best way to remove plaque and slow the accumulation and development of calculus.
8. Looking in your dog’s mouths on a daily basis you will more likely findproblems before they get serious enough to cause lasting problems.
9. Regularly brushing your Chihuahua's teeth, requires commitment on the part of the new Chihuahua owner but will best benefit your dag!
