ARE YOU INTO DENTISTRY?

by Jan Bellows, D.V.M.

Diplomate, American Veterinary Dental College

Diplomate, American Board of Veterinary Practitioners

"My last veterinarian didn't believe in dentistry" Believe in dentistry?

Its not a matter of belief, its a fact that veterinary dental care provides

significant benefits for our companion animal patients. Sounds odd that some

practitioners just aren't into dentistry for their patients. They may clean

and polish teeth periodically, but pay little or no attention to individual

tooth problems. Why are there believers and non believers when it comes to

dentistry? Why are some practitioners into it and others not?

Two years ago I was barely computer literate. We had our office computerized,

but I knew little about personal computers. The words DOS, AUTOEXEC.BAT, and

CONFIG.SYS were part of a foreign language as far as I was concerned.

Inorder to be more efficient I needed to learn. My education came though an

evening computer course on windows and word processing. I then purchased a

laptop and was on my way.

Animal dentistry in many ways is similar. Due to the void in most veterinary

schools, endodontics, periodontics, orthodontics, intraoral radiology are for

most practitioners, foreign concepts. Dentistry is scary to some, since many

fear what they do not understand. So what do you need? Desire, education

(the software), and the proper equipment (the hardware).

Education is available for the asking. Tackling dentistry as one large

subject may be overwhelming. Split it up into bite sized pieces (endodontics,

periodontics, orthodontics, oral medicine, oral surgery, radiology and

crowns) in order to make the education process less intimidating. There are

texts, videos, and interactive computer programs available. The American

Society of Veterinary Dental Technicians ( 800-613-3647) is dedicated to

teaching veterinary technicians how to recognize pathology and how to perform

a complete prophy. They certify veterinary dental technicians after passing a

700 question open book test. Our office offers hands on Sunday wet labs on

intraoral radiology, endodontics and extraction techniques (next one

scheduled for January 28, 1996 call 954-432-1111). During the education

process questions often arise. Feel free to call on us for answers.

Equipment is also easy to obtain. The essentials include high ,low speed

drills, and a air/water syringe. Such equipment does not need to be

expensive. Getting into dentistry can cost as little as $1500.00 or as much

as $10,000 for all the bells and whistles. The return on your investment

will be virtually immediate with increased patient service. Not having the

proper equipment does however creates a dilemma. When presented with cat

suffering from a feline erosive oral lesion, you need high speed drill

capability to properly care for your patient. Equipment can usually be

purchased on time payments which help.

Desire is the key to unlock the mysteries of dentistry. Better patient care

should be reason enough for any practitioner to want to improve dental

skills. Our client's pets do not need to loose their teeth at six years of

age because dentistry may have not been emphasized when younger. With a

enough desire to learn and equip yourself, dentistry becomes fun and

relatively easy.

Once again, making the analogy between computers and dentistry, my latest

adventure occured surfing on the internet. Just as in dentistry, it was a

scary uncharted territory for many. I avoided the World Wide Web. I was not

into the net. Then two months ago my desire peaked--it was time to dive in.

With a little education (thanks to my wife Allie) and some new software, I am

an active participant. As with dentistry there is a wonderment of new and fun

things to persue.

Getting into dentistry is a challenge. For most practitioners dentistry means

simply cleaning teeth. It can be much more. Start by evaluating each tooth as

an individual unit. If what you see doesn't appear normal ask yourself what

would it take to fix. Present your findings and suggestions to the pet's

owner. Once the client recognizes your dental expertise they will be

appreciative that you care so for their pet's total health care

Education, equipment, and desire are the keys--now its up to you.