Beneath the Surface: How Routine Dental X-rays and Cleanings Improve Pet Health and Your Bottom Line
In the busy life of a veterinary practice, we know it can be easy to place dental health on the back burner.
After all, pets coming in for vaccinations, surgical procedures, or more obvious pain management often seem more urgent.
Prioritizing dental health through regular teeth cleaning and routine dental X-rays can benefit your patients' well-being and your practice’s financial health.
Let’s talk about why this is a worthwhile investment and why these procedures are essential to our standard of care.
The foundation of good health starts with routine dental cleanings.
Periodontal disease is among the most common health issues in dogs and cats, affecting around 80% of pets over the age of three.
Yet pet owners often underestimate the impact it can have.
Poor dental hygiene doesn’t just affect the mouth, it affects the entire body, leading to issues such as:
Chronic pain
Behavioral change
Weight loss
Systemic infections
Regular cleanings under anesthesia and using a well-equipped dental cleaning station allow us to remove tartar and plaque before they cause these more significant health issues.
They also allow us to discuss pet dental care with clients, which helps improve long-term compliance with at-home care.
Regular cleanings can extend pets’ lives and improve their overall quality of life.
After seeing their pet healthier and more comfortable, our clients often feel reinforced trust in our recommendations and the value of our services.
By encouraging routine dental care, our patients can experience benefits like:
Pain-free eating and play
Prevention of systemic disease
Fresher breath
Enhanced energy and comfort
Lower risk of dental complications
Dental X-rays are an underestimated diagnostic tool and offer an indispensable view of dental health.
Around 60% of dental disease is hidden below the gumline, making it impossible to assess a pet’s oral health without imaging fully.
A tooth may look healthy on the outside, but dental X-rays often reveal hidden problems like:
Root abscesses
Bone loss
Retained roots or resorptive lesions
When we skip these X-rays, we risk missing pain-causing issues that erode the pet's health and comfort over time.
If we avoid routine dental X-rays due to time, cost, or anesthesia concerns, our patients are the ones who ultimately suffer.
Undetected dental disease can progress until it’s obvious enough to require a more aggressive intervention, such as multiple extractions or management of a full-blown abscess.
At that point, the patient has already experienced unnecessary pain and discomfort, and the client faces a larger treatment bill than if the issue had been caught early.
Without early intervention, periodontal disease can lead to chronic infections that eventually spread to other organs, adding further complications to the pet’s health.
For older pets, untreated dental disease may contribute to a shortened lifespan.
Investing in dental health and digital imaging is an opportunity to enhance the health of your practice.
Clients who understand the long-term benefits of preventive dental care and regular checkups will likely invest in these services.
This is especially true when they recognize the care your practice offers—thanks in part to digital imaging technology.
In many cases, veterinary practices that establish clear dental protocols, including routine X-rays, report increased client retention and an expanded service portfolio.
When clients see the advanced diagnostics and appreciate that you’re doing everything possible to prevent disease, they tend to return and spread positive word-of-mouth referrals!
If your practice is ready to integrate or expand digital dental imaging, here are a few tips to ease the transition:
Demonstrate the Importance: educate clients by using examples of cases where X-rays uncovered unseen issues. This helps to give a real-world understanding of what’s at stake.
Offer Dental Packages: Consider bundling dental cleaning and x-ray services for a comprehensive approach. This encourages pet owners to embrace both as part of a complete care package.
Train Your Team: Ensure your entire staff knows the value of digital X-rays and dental cleanings to discuss these services with clients confidently.
Incorporating regular dental care isn’t just about filling appointment slots. It’s about providing your patients with the highest level of care and adding a consistent revenue stream that reflects the value you bring to patient care.
