VN October 2020

Vetnuus |Oktober 2020 28 Veterinary Dentistry and Maxillofacial Surgery Referrals Veterinary Dentistry and Maxillofacial Clinic, Private Bag X04, Onderstepoort, 0110 Veterinary Dentistry and Maxillofacial Clinic, Onderstepoort Veterinary Academic Hospital, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, Old Soutpan Road (M35), Onderstepoort, South Africa Tel: +27 (0)12 529 8276 , Fax: +27 (0) 12 529 8479, e-mail: sadent@mweb.co.za, website: www.vetdentsa.co.za , Facebook: Vetdent SA Many of you have struggled to remove teeth from dogs and cats. There are several reasons for this which may include one or more of the following: • Poor instrumentation • Poor technique • Ankylosed teeth • Fractured teeth • Brittle teeth • Small teeth • Large teeth • Abnormal teeth These can all play a role and therefore as veterinarian you should be pro-active to try and minimise the amount of time you struggle with this. The gold standard is to do full mouth radiographs on every new patient you work with. This will enable you to diagnose several of the reasons mentioned above, such as abnormal teeth, ankylosed teeth, and fractured teeth. Poor technique and equipment should be addressed at one of the many wetlabs presented across the country. How effective is crown amputation really? Dental COLUMN Prof Gerhard Steenkamp