Dental Surgery for Dog With A Heart Murmur
Tilly is a 9 year old maltese cross dog who presented with shocking teeth, including:
- Periodontal disease
- Plaque
- Tartar
Tilly also and a moderate grade heart murmur.
The aim of the Veterinary anaesthetic Dental procedure is to result in pain free infection free mouth. We do not necessarily try to save every tooth. Cardiac patients are especially susceptible to dental disease – with periodontal bacteria – lodging in the heart attaching to the leaky valves.
Why risk an anaesthetic to do a dental procedure ?
The answer is that bacterial from marked dental disease will intermittently lodge in the heart – especially the leaky valves that are causing the murmur. They also reach other body filters like the liver and kidney.
How safe is a dental anaesthetic?
There is a dedicated dog dental anaesthetic nurse whose sole responsibility is to closely monitor the dog dental patient. We continuously monitor:
1. Blood oxygenation level – monitored continuously during the dog dental procedure using a pulse-oximeter machine
2. Respiratory rate – measured on an apalert for duration of the dental anaesthetic and manually checked by the nurse
3. Heart rate – continuously measured and recorded on the veterinary dental chart and manually checked by the nurse
4. Blood pressure – measured every minute using the pulse-oximeter machine
5. Mucous membrane colour – checked periodically by the dental anaesthetic nurse
6. Temperature – checked periodically by the dental anaesthetic nurse
7. Anaesthetic depth – eyes, breaths and heart are monitored closely by the dog dental nurse
The vet was able to perform one surgical tooth extraction as well as a comprehensive dental clean, scale and polish while Tilly was being safely monitored under general anaesthetic.
Tilly’s quality of life will improve.
