Please read the following information carefully to help you to prepare for your pet’s admission to the practice. 

Before your pet’s appointment

• Please arrive promptly at the admit appointment time arranged with reception. 
• Ensure your pet arrives on a secure lead or in an appropriate carrier, as we will use these to safely move them around the clinic during their stay.
• Dogs can be walked as normal on the morning of admission, but please ensure that they are clean and dry on arrival. 
• Cats should be kept inside overnight the night before the procedure and supplied with a litter tray.

If your pet develops vomiting, diarrhoea or becomes unwell before or on the day of the procedure, please contact the practice, as your pet’s procedure may need to be rescheduled. (Unless these symptoms are the reason for the procedure being carried out.)

You are welcome to bring personal belongings such as blankets or toys for your pet’s comfort. We will of course do our best to keep these safe, but please be aware there is a small risk they may be misplaced.

Feeding instructions

If your pet is on regular medication, please check with your veterinary surgeon whether this should be given as usual on the morning of the procedure. 

You may also be asked to bring the medication with you so that it can be administered during your pet’s stay.

-Dogs and cats

• Food must be withheld from 9pm the night before.
• Please make sure that they have had their evening meal, as they won’t be able to eat again until after their procedure.
• Water can be left out for them overnight.

-Young puppies and kittens

• For patients under 14 weeks of age, a tablespoon of wet food may be given on the morning of the procedure to help support healthy glucose levels.
• Water can be left out as normal.

– Rabbits, guinea pigs and ferrets

• These species must not be starved.
• Please continue to feed them as normal right up until admission.
• If possible, bring a small amount of their usual food with them to their admit appointment.

On admission

A nurse or veterinary surgeon will go through the consent form with you. This is your chance to:

• Confirm the planned procedure that will be carried out.
• Discuss any questions or concerns.
• Share any relevant medical or behavioural history.
• Discuss any quotes that have been given.

We will of course make sure you are fully informed and have the opportunity to ask any questions before you leave.

During the day

• We will contact you once the procedure has been completed.
• Food will be offered once your pet is fully awake and safe to eat, unless a vet advises otherwise or you have requested them not to be fed with us.

Discharge and collection

Once your pet is comfortable and ready to go home, we will arrange a time for you to call the clinic and organise your pet’s collection.

A member of the nursing team or one of our veterinary surgeons will go through the aftercare instructions for your pet with you. This will include any medications and change of normal routine following the procedure.

You can make any necessary follow-up appointments with reception at this time, or you’re welcome to contact the practice once you are home to book these appointments.

Payment

Please note that payment is required upon collection of your pet.

If your pet’s procedure is to be covered by insurance, you will need to provide reception with your policy details. 

Our reception team will take any insurance excess payments and contributions you may need to make at this time. If necessary, you will be asked to sign a claim form or initiate your claim online.

If you have any questions or concerns at any stage, please contact the practice. Our team will be happy to help you and answer any questions you may have. 

Coming in for Dental Treatment?  Read on for more information….

Your vet may recommend a COHAT (or ‘dental treatment’) for your pet after examining their mouth and teeth. This information sheet is designed to explain what this treatment includes and the potential procedures involved.

Dental disease is very common in dogs and cats. Most pets with dental problems continue to eat even when uncomfortable and rarely show obvious symptoms, so it is important to get teeth checked regularly and seek treatment in a timely manner. Dental disease not only causes pain, bad breath and potential tooth loss, but also has been linked to infections in the rest of the body such as the heart, liver and kidney.

General Anaesthetic (GA)

It is very important for our patients to be fully anaesthetised before undergoing the COHAT.

This enables us to fully explore the whole mouth safely, especially below the gumline. Under GA, a tube in your pet’s trachea (windpipe) protects the lungs from the fluid that can build up in the mouth during dental treatment. Furthermore, scaling the teeth involves sharp instruments and is uncomfortable, especially under the gumline. Any small head movements in a conscious patient could lead to injury.

Performing any dental treatment with the patient awake is not appropriate – please see the RCVS statement on anaesthesia free dental treatment for more information: https://www.rcvs.org.uk/sites/default/files/2026-02/anaesthesia-free-dental-procedures.pdf

Full Dental Assessment and Charting

Once asleep, we will begin examining your pet’s mouth. We will check around the gums, under the tongue and back of the mouth for any abnormal areas then make a start on the teeth. Dogs have 42 teeth and cats have 30 (with some breed differences). All teeth are cleaned and the area around each tooth is then probed to assess the health of each tooth and gum. Our findings are plotted onto a chart so that we can keep a record and plan any extractions.

Dental Radiographs (X-rays)

To allow us to assess the roots of the teeth, and the bone surrounding them, radiographs can then be taken. This step helps with the decision-making process of whether a tooth needs to be extracted and helps to plan any surgical extractions required. Radiographs can pick up important, otherwise unseen, information on more than 75% of diseased teeth.

Radiographs are especially important for cats to assess the teeth for any resorptive lesions. This is a painful disease process that can affect the root (and/or crown) of the teeth and can only be detected by radiographs in up to 30% of cats.

Taking radiographs after any tooth extractions also enables confirmation of complete root extraction, especially in the event of a root fracture.

Dental Nerve Blocks

These are performed prior to any tooth extractions to provide pain relief to your pet during the extraction and into the post-operative period. This usually allows us to use a lower level of anaesthetic agent and keeps the anaesthetic smoother and safer for your pet. The placement of nerve blocks can have some complications relating to the injection, including nerve damage, ocular (eye) injury, spreading of infection or decreased sensation to other areas. Rest assured that we take every precaution to avoid these complications and the benefits we see from the local anaesthetic outweighs the rare occurrence of these complications.

Tooth Extractions

If any extractions are necessary, these will usually be done immediately while your pet is still under the anaesthetic. Reasons for tooth extraction include severe periodontal disease (inflammation/infection in the gum and tissues surrounding the teeth), any pulp exposure (the soft sensitive part inside the tooth), root infection, tooth resorption, tooth decay or more complex oral inflammatory conditions.

Extracting teeth can be a very complex process, especially for teeth which have multiple or very large roots. Multi-rooted teeth (premolars and molars) need to be sectioned and each root extracted individually, and usually some alveolar (jaw) bone needs to be burred away to allow access to these roots as they can be very long (especially with the canine ‘fang’ teeth). Sometimes even the smaller teeth can be challenging to extract if there is significant disease affecting the root.

As with any treatment, there are potential complications associated with performing dental extractions. These can include fractured/retained tooth roots, displacement of root tips, haemorrhage, trauma to the gum, trauma to adjacent teeth, jaw fracture, infection, wound breakdown, vascular and nerve damage, oronasal fistulas, ocular (eye) damage, tongue damage and lip entrapment. Every care is taken to avoid any such complications, careful planning and radiographs can significantly reduce the risk of these, but whilst they are rare complications, they are still a risk.

Teeth are only extracted if really necessary. Unfortunately, since dental disease often builds up over years, it is common for pets to need quite a few extractions during the COHAT. We understand this can lead to quite a large bill, if you are worried about being able to afford full treatment, please speak with your vet. We are able to prioritise the worst teeth to be extracted and cap the procedure to an agreed amount. Ultimately, your pet may then require treatment in the future, but we are happy to work within your means rather than perform all the treatment at once. Ultimately, removing some of the painful teeth and reducing the overall bacterial load in the mouth, will still help your pet feel better, even if it is not completely ‘fixed’ in the one procedure. If very extensive work is required, your vet may advise ‘staging’ the treatment and performing a second procedure at a later date to complete the work. This avoids your pet being under GA for too long which can increase the anaesthetic risk substantially.

After the Procedure

Your pet will likely be sent home with a course of pain killers. Every pet’s pain threshold is different, so if you feel your pet is still uncomfortable, please do contact us at the practice. It is important to remember that we are usually removing diseased teeth, so while the procedure may cause a temporary increase in pain associated with this, in the long term owners often see an overall improvement in demeanour and quality of life once their pet’s mouth is healed and more comfortable. You will be given more information on dental care after the procedure.