You brush your teeth every day, right? You still need dental cleanings, fillings, maybe even a crown or two someday. Now imagine your dog or cat—no daily brushing, no flossing, no warning signs you can easily see. It’s not a matter of if they’ll get dental disease. It’s when.

At St. Petersburg Animal Hospital & Urgent Care, we’ve seen firsthand how quickly a “normal” mouth turns into a painful one. And it’s not always dramatic at first. Just like we don’t notice our kids growing taller until we look back at old photos, we may not realize when our pet slows down, eats more cautiously, or stops playing as much.

These small changes add up. But dental disease doesn’t always wait for symptoms to show.

Dental Disease Is Inevitable—But Suffering Doesn’t Have to Be

By age three, most dogs and cats already have some form of dental disease. That doesn’t mean you’ve done something wrong—it means you have an opportunity.

When you schedule dental care before symptoms appear, you’re not just preventing bad breath or tartar. You’re protecting your pet from:

  • Chronic pain
  • Tooth infections
  • Jaw fractures
  • Organ damage from circulating bacteria

You’re buying peace of mind.

What Happens When You Wait?

No one really wants to leave their pet at a vet clinic for the day for an anesthetic procedure, and life gives us a million reasons to do it later. Let’s talk about what happens if you put it off:

1. Tooth Root Infections

A small amount of tartar turns into gingivitis, then deeper infection. That bacteria travels down to the root of the tooth. In dogs, we commonly see:

  • Retrobulbar abscesses from infected carnassial teeth (causing swelling and pressure behind the eye)
  • Mandibular fractures from untreated canine tooth infections

These are not rare complications—they’re some of the most common things we treat in pets who haven’t had dental care in years.

2. Chronic Pain That Pets Can’t Express

Dogs and cats often don’t cry or whimper when they’re in pain. They just adjust:

  • Chewing on one side
  • Dropping food
  • Sleeping more
  • Seeming “grumpy” or slower

After a dental cleaning and extractions, we hear this all the time:

“He’s acting five years younger.”
“She’s playing with toys again.”

They weren’t old. They were hurting.

Other Consequences of Untreated Dental Disease

  • Loose or missing teeth from bone loss
  • Pus-filled abscesses that drain into the mouth or under the eye
  • Organ damage when bacteria enter the bloodstream
  • Missed tumors that would’ve been caught during a proper oral exam

These aren’t worst-case scenarios. They’re common, preventable outcomes.

Why Anesthesia Is Non-Negotiable

You can’t clean beneath the gumline—or take X-rays of the roots—without anesthesia. If you can’t see below the surface, you’re missing the majority of the disease.

Picture a tooth: what you see above the gumline is just the tip of the iceberg. The real problems happen in the roots and surrounding bone—where infection silently destroys tissue, causes pain, and sometimes spreads beyond the mouth.

AAHA’s guidelines make it clear: safe, effective dental care requires general anesthesia.

What You Can Do Now to Protect Your Pet

  • Schedule regular dental exams—starting by age one
  • Brush your pet’s teeth daily, or use VOHC-approved products
  • Avoid hard chews, bones, and hooves that can fracture teeth
  • Get a professional cleaning before signs appear

We provide gentle, safe, anesthetized cleanings with full-mouth dental X-rays at every visit. Our in-house lab ensures your pet’s health is thoroughly evaluated before any procedure.

Don’t Wait for a Crisis—Prevent One

Waiting to see “how things go” is a gamble. Will it be a canine abscess? A cracked tooth that causes a jaw fracture? A missed tumor we could’ve caught early?

Or will it be a simple cleaning that relieves pain, protects the organs, and keeps your dog or cat thriving?

We’re not trying to scare you—we just want to be honest. These things happen all the time, but they don’t have to happen to your pet.

Book Your Pet’s Dental Evaluation Today

Schedule your pet’s dental exam at St. Petersburg Animal Hospital & Urgent Care and let’s take care of this before it becomes something more serious.

If you’re unsure, we’ll talk you through what to expect and help you make the best decision for your pet—and for your peace of mind.