Why are antibiotics and pain medications sometimes prescribed for dog dental procedures?

We administer antibiotics in a situation where we have an immunocompromised dog or one that has some sort of an orthopedic implant. There was some thought years ago that dogs that have heart disease might benefit from antibiotics, but that's fallen out of favor. Pretty much every dog that undergoes a dental procedure, even just a cleaning, will get at least a single dose of anti-inflammatory pain medication just because we are going up under the gum line to remove tartar and poking around in there. We want them to be comfortable. Certainly, if we have a dog that's receiving any sort of an extraction, we want to have adequate pain control onboard for a minimum of five to seven days afterward.

Again, dental disease is an infection. And if the infection is bad enough, we want to try to get it under control before getting into the procedure. It helps the mouth heal better. Even after the disease is dealt with, there still may be some infection in the bone surrounding the tooth. We've got to get rid of that as well, hence sending the antibiotics home with you.

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.

Pain medications are prescribed to ensure your dog's comfort following any extractions or surgical procedures in the mouth. Antibiotics are less commonly prescribed, but they may be necessary if there is significant infection present or if an extensive surgical procedure increases the risk of bacteria causing problems. Antibiotics help prevent complications in these cases.