Your pet’s doctor will examine the teeth at each visit/examination. We urge you to examine the mouth and teeth at least monthly because important things are happening in the mouth this first year. Look for chipped, broken, movable, discolored, extra teeth, missing teeth, unusual gum tissue and for foreign objects stuck between teeth.

The red number 1’s are retained baby teeth. In this picture, see how the permanent teeth, blue number 2’s have been pushed inward and when they fully erupt, they will poke into and damage the roof of the mouth. The green “x” is a baby incisor to be removed.

These numbers are true for most pets:

- 28 baby (deciduous) teeth erupt between 3 and 6 weeks of age.

- 42 permanent teeth arrive between 4 and 7 months by pushing the baby teeth out. (Between 4 and 7 months, you may see baby teeth fall out, or find them on the floor or see some bleeding gums where they have fallen out)

Teething: Teeth pushing through the gums are painful and the pain is reduced by chewing on objects. Rawhide chews and soft toys seldom cause damage. Do not allow real bones, hard plastic chews and cow hooves as they often fracture or break teeth.

Retained Deciduous Teeth:  Occasionally a permanent tooth will erupt beside a baby tooth, and the baby tooth can crowd the permanent tooth into the wrong position resulting in malocclusion or a bad bite.When a baby tooth (deciduous) tooth and the accompanying  adult or permanent tooth can both be seen, the baby tooth should be removed quickly.  You do not want the baby tooth to deflect the permanent tooth into an incorrect position.  Also, when two teeth occupy the space meant for one tooth, food accumulates between them and periodontal disease and discomfort occur. Removing baby teeth typically requires anesthesia so the the baby tooth can be removed completely.

A red #1 baby tooth is pushing the blue #2 permanent tooth forward.

The retained baby tooth has been extracted.

SPECIAL THANKS to Dr. David Robinson, MD, Deborah Robinson and Noelle

Dr. Robinson and Dr. Earley looking at the high detail monitor.

There is a family that we would like to gratefully acknowledge. This family has been extremely helpful to this practice in many ways through the years. They have especially been of great support and assistance in helping us to bring Minimally Invasive Surgery to Western North Carolina and their wonderful pet, Noelle is the first dog to have a Laparoscopic Spay in this area.

Our Dr. Thompson, Dr. Earley and Dr. Duncan attended advanced training in Laparoscopic Surgery because they recognized the advantages in safety, speed of recovery and reduced pain offered by this technology. The equipment is expensive and complex and some of it is not sold to veterinarians and the assistance of an MD is necessary to purchase the more advanced equipment.

Dr. Earley (left) and Dr. Robinson (right) performing surgery on Noelle.

David Robinson, MD, a human surgeon and his wife Deborah are wonderful animal lovers and they volunteered their expertise and services in “getting us started.” Obviously, it was an honor and a privilege to work with and beside a human surgeon for the first surgery at our facility. Our first Laparoscopic Surgery was performed on Noelle, the Robinson’s personal pet.  Noelle really solidified our confidence that this surgery was ideal for pets when she awoke pain free, happy and was so much more active and playful than pets having traditional surgery.

Noelle

The pictures in this blog show that first surgery with Dr. Robinson, Dr. Earley and Noelle.  Again THANK YOU Robinson family for your help bringing this advancement to our patients.

LAPAROSCOPY - Minimally Invasive Surgery is 65% less painful!*

Laparoscopy now for pets too.

Morgan was spayed laparoscopically and also had a laparoscopic gastropexy.

Laparoscopic surgery is the extremely popular minimally invasive surgery for humans. Now pets can benefit from all of the advantages of this technology. Animal Hospital of North Asheville was the first veterinary hospital in Western North Carolina to equip and train for this capability and continues to be the leader since 2007.

How is Laparoscopy different?

Instead of a large entry incision into the abdomen or chest, one or two very small holes (½ inch) allow a high detail, color, magnifying camera with an integral fiber optic light to enter the abdomen, actually allowing better visualization on a large screen than is possible with the naked eye. Tiny details can be visualized. Then, small, highly specialized instruments are able to enter a small second hole and perform the surgery.

What are the advantages?

Our commitment to this technology benefits our patients. Small incisions allow less depth of anesthesia and result in much reduced postoperative pain, less risk of infection and a faster recovery time. A recent study in the American Veterinary Medical Association Journal showed up to 65% less pain* than with the traditional incision spay. Not only do healthy patients having surgery benefit (such as a spay), but many patients are sick and simply need a small liver biopsy for a diagnosis to be made. These patients need the most gentle, fastest and least traumatic surgery because they are ill.

Specialized instruments make laparoscopic surgery possible.

Dr. Duncan (left) and Dr. Earley (right) performing minimally invasive laparoscopic surgery.

We are the first, and currently the only, veterinary hospital in Western NC to have a human technology, the Harmonic Scalpel. This instrument cuts tissue and seals blood vessels with ultrasonic vibrations rather than a knife or a hot instrument. This technology is much faster than clamping and tying off tissues (less time under anesthesia), reduces risk of bleeding and is less traumatic. The Harmonic Scalpel also benefits patients having open surgery procedures such as spleen removal.

Laparoscopic surgeries that we perform:

• Spay: Removal of the ovaries
• Cryptorchid Castration: Removal of testicles retained in the abdomen.
• Biopsy: Liver, pancreas or abdominal mass
• Abdominal Exploratory: Can visualize abdominal disease when X-ray or Ultrasound is not specific.
• Gastropexy: Prevents life threatening condition in large breed, deep chested dogs termed Gastric Dilatation and Volvulus (GDV) or Bloat
  

  This large screen allows for better visualization during laparoscopic surgery.

Why Don’t More Animal Hospitals Offer Laparoscopic Surgery?

Veterinary schools have not been teaching this technology to students. Learning to use the equipment and the procedures requires a time commitment and specialized continuing education. Also, the education and the equipment are expensive. The Harmonic Scalpel is approximately $20,000 and the operating towers (cameras, electronic recorders, detail monitors and the instruments and ports) can cost $20,000 or more. Veterinary units are beginning to be developed, but all of our equipment (two towers and the harmonic scalpel) is human quality. This equipment requires a form of sterilization that is not commonly found in the veterinary field. We are one of the few in Western NC with that capability. We committed to laparoscopic technology eight years ago as part of embracing our mission statement of looking at every experience as though through the eyes of our patients and thinking what would we do differently if we were the patient. We want to do whatever we can to make your pet comfortable and safe.

What About Cost?
At Animal Hospital of North Asheville, our equipment is used to care for the patients of eight veterinarians and because we frequently have referrals from other veterinary clinics, our equipment does not sit idle as it would if we were a smaller hospital. Using the equipment frequently reduces cost per use and allows for state-of-the-art equipment. For example, our ultrasound is a human GE Logic Ultrasound with color flow doppler; our laparoscopic towers are human Stryker equipment; our Harmonic Scalpel is for humans and made by Ethicon; our X-ray is digital but there are three tiers of digital and we have the most detailed, DR with a Cannon Plate at a cost of $100,000.  Because of our size, we can offer this high quality, at about the same price as other facilities with less expensive equipment. Having this quality of equipment available for your pet allows for a more comfortable recovery, an accurate diagnosis and may actually be life-saving.