February is National Pet Dental Month!

Scroll Down to learn more about our Dental Month Specials and Discounts

 

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Advanced Dental Procedures at Arroyo

With the addition of Dr. Kornfeld, a residency-trained Veterinary Dentist, we are able to offer more than just a dental cleaning.  With his advanced training, Dr. Kornfeld has helped so many of our patients preserve their most critical teeth in the mouth instead of dental extractions. We have been routinely performing procedures like root canal treatments, open root planning, and biopolymers over the last year. Dr. Kornfeld is available with his services on Wednesdays and alternate Saturdays.

For most of us, a visit to the dentist is scary. We tend to extrapolate the same feelings for dental exam visits for our furry friends. Unfortunately, this fear may lead to undiagnosed dental disease for your loving pet. Dogs have a 7 times faster rate of plaque formation than humans. By 3 years of age, 75% of dogs and 80% of cats may have dental disease.

At Arroyo Veterinary Clinic, we offer routine periodontal therapy, which includes cleaning, polishing, and teeth x-rays. We also provide advanced treatments like composite restorations to treat chipped teeth, root canals to salvage non-vital teeth, and bone augmentation to treat bone loss from advanced periodontal therapy. All these therapies may help us to avoid advanced dental disease requiring the only treatment option, the dreaded teeth extractions.

Call us now to get more information on our dentistry services. 510-278-8440.

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From Eye Discharge to Dental Disease: A Surprising Case of a Hidden Infection

01/26/2023, Arroyo Team

At Arroyo Veterinary Clinic, we recently treated a dog who came in for persistent eye discharge that did not improve with topical antibiotic medications.

Initial eye diagnostics, including fluorescein staining and ocular pressure measurements, were completely normal—meaning there was no sign of corneal ulcers, foreign bodies, or primary ocular disease. However, the discharge persisted, prompting us to investigate further.

What we found may surprise you!

 

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Physical Examination & Oral Findings

During a thorough oral examination, we discovered a fractured upper premolar tooth

with an exposed root canal.

 

This type of injury is not only painful but also serves as a direct gateway for

bacterial infection into the deeper tissues.

 

 

Given the tooth’s location just below the eye, we suspected that an

untreated infection here could be racking behind the eye,

mimicking the condition as a primary oculat issue.

 

 

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Dental X-rays Reveal Bone Loss

To further evaluate the tooth, we performed dental radiographs, which showed significant bone loss around the affected tooth, and confirmed the presence of a retrobulbar abscess—a deep-seated infection located behind the eye. This type of infection often originates from severe dental disease, particularly when bacteria from an infected tooth spread into the surrounding tissues.

 

The blue line in the image below represents the normal gum line,

while the red marking highlights the area of severe bone loss caused by chronic infection.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Diagnosis of a Retrobulbar Abscess

In this case, the abscess caused swelling behind the eye, which led to pus drainage from the eye as the infection attempted to escape. The dental X-ray confirmed an infected pulp and a periapical abscess (infection at the tooth root)

 

Given the severity of the infection and the development of a retrobulbar abscess, we extracted the infected tooth to remove the source of infection. The pet was placed on systemic antibiotics and pain management to aid healing.

 

 

The outcome? The pet recovered beautifully! The eye discharge completely resolved, the swelling subsided, and the dog was back to normal within days.

 

 

 

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Why Regular Dental Care Matters

This case is a powerful reminder of how dental disease can affect the entire body—what seemed like an eye issue was actually caused by a severe tooth infection!

💡 Untreated dental disease can lead to:
✅ Chronic pain
✅ Tooth loss
✅ Severe infections that can spread to the sinuses, eyes, or even major organs

That’s why early detection and treatment are so important!

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February is Pet Dental Health Month! 🦷🐾

To help more pets receive the dental care they need, we are offering:

✅ $1 Dental Exams
✅ Up to $250 OFF on Dental Procedures

📅 Book your pet’s dental check-up today!
📞 Call us at 510-278-8440 to schedule an appointment.

Let’s keep those tails wagging and those smiles healthy! 🐶💖

#PetDentalHealthMonth #RetrobulbarAbscess #PetOralCare #HealthyPetsHappyPets #VeterinaryDentistry #PetHealth

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The Tale of a Painful Mouth

10/01/2024, Arroyo Team

We recently helped a 12-year-old terrier pet to get his smile back. The pet parent brought him in for a dental exam after noticing. Bad breath. Upon careful dental exam, a big area of gum loss with puss was observed between the back pre-molar and molar teeth of his upper jaw. The owner was shocked to see the extent of periodontal disease because his pet would not allow the owner to check his mouth because of a painful mouth.

Periodontal therapy with bone augmentation was recommended to salvage these very important teeth. While under anesthesia, dental x-rays were performed to determine the extent of dental disease. Significant bone loss was observed on the x-ray image. (Red arrows). The cause of bone loss was determined to be periodontal disease, which is caused by inflammation and infection around the root surface underneath the gum surface.

It was determined, it’s best to “save” these teeth with a bone augmentation procedure. The first step was to open a window by cutting and raising a gum flap (blue arrow) to expose the diseased root.

A magnified image clearly shows dark pigmentation around the root, determined to be the source of infection (green circle).

Open root cleaning to completely remove the infection was performed. After removing the infection, a bio-glass material was applied (yellow box). The highly porous form of this material provides scaffolding for the in-growth of blood vessels and bone-building cells, eventually regenerating the bone.

Finally, the gum flap was brought down, and the “window ” was closed with sutures to cover the bone augmentation site. In most cases, completely new bone is formed within 4-6 months. With this, our senior patient and his owner lived happily ever after with no oral pain or bad breath!!!

If your pet has early or advanced dental disease, schedule a dental consultation immediately. Contact our office to see Dr. Kornfeld, our residency-trained veterinary specialist.

Call 510-278-8440