Animal Dentistry

Author: Anaswara TR, Anagha PC, Akshay Jose

Final Year Students, Department of Public Health Dentistry, Royal Dental College, Chalissery, Kerala. Guided by: Dr. Anzil K S Ali, Dr. Rajani E R

Veterinary Dentistry is the field of Veterinary Sciences which is acquiring more importance. As the tooth structure and supporting structures of tooth is similar in humans and vets, so a dentist may venture into the field of Veterinary Dentistry. Scope of Dentistry has increased from scaling and extractions to more complex procedures, so a veterinarian cannot do justice as a dentist can do. Today Veterinary Dentistry can be counted as a challenging field indentistry as performing procedures on pets can be challenging considering the differences and similarities between humans and vets, probable risk factors, difficulty in handling vets, need to complete procedures in single sitting to avoid multiple anesthesia procedures, differences in drug dosage and monitoring, adequate precautions to be taken keeping in mind the possible zoonotic, viral and bacterial infections. Further, it is well known to us that the pets are commonly kept by rich people and they are generally ready to spend any amount on them. So, it may be considered as a worthwhile alternative of general dentistry