There really isn't much to prepare for. In fact, I tell owners to try not to stress out. I feel like owners sometimes worry more about it, but they just need to come in as a normal exam.

There are definitely chew toy options. There are water additives and other things that you can do at home to brush their teeth if you can't actually brush. As I said, all of those things are going to be useful. I would say those things aren't as good as brushing, but they are still helpful.

Dogs can get cavities. It's not very often that we see that because they don't eat the sugary things that we often eat that help break down that enamel to allow cavities. They can get them, and they can be fixed, though most people opt to just remove that tooth if that's the case.

Brushing their teeth will be far superior to anything you can give them. So yes, if you are able to brush your dog's teeth and you're willing to do that, even if you give them treats, I would still recommend that you brush.

No, human toothpaste is not meant to be swallowed, and most dogs will not spit it out for you, so you definitely always want to use dog toothpaste. Most dog toothpaste is flavored with something they're going to like, such as chicken or beef or something like that, so most of the time, it's not mint. It's going to be a flavor that they really enjoy.

They make specific toothpaste for dogs, and I always recommend using one of those products.

The biggest tip that I have is to start slow. Don't go on day one and think that you'll be able to fully brush your dog's teeth. Start it as a little bit of a game. Let them play with the toothbrush, bite on the toothbrush, put doggy toothpaste on it, and let them lick that off and get used to it. Then start with just a tooth or two and do a little bit each session until your dog is used to it.

Just think of yourself. To take care of your teeth, you brush them a minimum of twice a day. So I would say, to make a difference in your dog, you must brush them daily. That being said, anything is better than nothing, so the more you can brush them, the better off your dog's teeth will be, and the further apart their dental cleanings will be needed. The more you can brush, the better.

That's a good question, and we can't always tell. We do a lot of things to increase the safety of our anesthetic procedures. With a dental cleaning, we do require pre-anesthetic blood work, which checks for infection, blood counts, the functions of the liver and the kidneys, and the pet's electrolytes. It does a lot of things to tell us how safe it is to put them under anesthesia. It doesn't tell us whether or not they might have a reaction. Just like in people, there are complications associated with anesthesia, but they are few and far between.

Depending on what the situation is, if a dog needs a tooth extracted or some other type of procedure, we will send home pain medicine. We don't typically do any kinds of surgical procedures here without appropriate pain medications, so your dog might go home with pain medicine. If the infection in the dog's mouth is really severe, sometimes we'll start antibiotics either at the time of the dental or, in some cases, we'll even start a few days before the dental to help prevent some of that infection from going into his or her bloodstream while we're cleaning their teeth.