Dog & Cat Dentistry — Cleaning, Dental Disease & Extractions, Coweta, OK | Oak Grove Veterinary Hospital
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Dog & cat dentistry · Coweta, Oklahoma

Dental Care for Dogs & Cats

A healthy mouth is not a luxury — it is comfort, appetite and years. At Oak Grove, dental care for your dog or cat is led by Dr. Holland and Dr. Cogswell, with a full exam, a real cleaning above and below the gumline, and a home plan you can actually keep.

Fear Free handling Senior-safe anesthesia In-house lab & imaging
A golden retriever having its teeth examined during a dental visit at Oak Grove Veterinary Hospital
Healthy mouth,
happier pet.

The most common disease we see is in the mouth.

By age three, most dogs and most cats already show signs of periodontal disease — plaque and tartar working under the gumline where you can’t see it. Pets are stoics: they keep eating through sore gums, loose teeth and low-grade infection, so a mouth problem rarely announces itself until it is advanced.

Left alone, dental disease is not just bad breath. Bacteria from an infected mouth enter the bloodstream and strain the heart, kidneys and liver, and the daily pain quietly takes the fun out of eating, chewing and playing. The good news: it is one of the most fixable problems in veterinary medicine.

By age 3Most dogs and cats already show dental disease.
Every examTeeth and gums are checked at every wellness visit.
Two doctorsDr. Holland and Dr. Cogswell lead small-animal dental care.

Signs your pet needs a dental visit.

Any one of these earns an oral exam. Together, they mean don’t wait.

Bad breath that isn’t normal

A healthy mouth doesn’t clear a room. Breath that keeps getting worse usually means bacteria and infection under the gumline — not just “dog breath.”

InfectionGum disease

Tartar you can see

Yellow-brown buildup on the teeth, especially the big back teeth, is plaque that has hardened into tartar — and what’s under the gumline matters more than what’s on the surface.

PlaqueTartar

Red, swollen or bleeding gums

Gingivitis is the early, reversible stage of dental disease. Gums that bleed when your pet chews are asking for help while the problem is still simple.

GingivitisEarly disease

Eating differently

Dropping kibble, chewing on one side, pawing at the mouth, or walking away from a bowl they used to empty — eating is where mouth pain shows up first.

PainAppetite

Loose, broken or missing teeth

A broken tooth exposes the nerve; a loose tooth is usually a tooth with deep disease under it. Both hurt, and both are fixable.

ExtractionsFractures
A cat having its teeth and gums gently examined at Oak Grove Veterinary Hospital

Cats: tooth resorption

Many adult cats develop tooth resorption — painful lesions that eat into the tooth itself, often hidden under the gumline. Cats hide it well; an exam and X-rays find what eyes can’t.

CatsTooth resorption

The dental visit

A cleaning at Oak Grove, step by step.

A real dental cleaning happens under anesthesia — it is the only way to examine every tooth, X-ray below the gumline, and clean where disease actually lives. Here is what the day looks like.

1 · Before: exam & lab work

Your pet gets a full exam and pre-anesthetic bloodwork, so the plan fits their age and health before anything starts.

2 · Anesthesia, monitored

Gentle Fear Free handling going in, and dedicated monitoring — heart, breathing, temperature — the whole time they’re under.

3 · Full oral exam & charting

Every tooth is probed and charted — pockets, mobility, gum recession — so the mouth is mapped, not just glanced at.

4 · X-rays below the gumline

Most of the tooth lives under the gum. Digital imaging shows roots, abscesses and bone loss that no surface look can find.

5 · Scaling & polishing

Ultrasonic scaling removes plaque and tartar above and below the gumline, then every tooth is polished smooth so plaque has less to grip.

6 · Extractions when needed

A tooth that can’t be saved comes out — in-house, at the same visit — with pain control before, during and after.

7 · Home with a plan

Most pets go home the same day, a little groggy and a lot more comfortable — with a home-care plan and a recheck schedule.

Puppies, kittens & small breeds

Start young, stay ahead.

Retained baby teeth, crowded mouths in small breeds, and first cleanings are all easier handled early — ask us to check teeth at any puppy or kitten visit.

Call 918-486-VETS

Senior pets: age is not a reason to live with a sore mouth.

The pet most likely to have serious dental disease is the older pet — and the pet owners worry most about putting under anesthesia. We understand both sides of that. Dr. Holland is a certified senior care specialist: senior dental patients get pre-anesthetic lab work, an anesthesia plan built around their health, and monitoring from induction to recovery.

Weighed honestly, the bigger risk for most seniors is the untreated mouth — daily pain and a steady stream of bacteria. If your older dog or cat has been “too old for a dental,” let us do the workup and show you the real picture before you decide.

Home care between visits.

A cleaning resets the mouth. What you do at home decides how long it stays reset.

Brushing — the gold standard

A few times a week with a pet toothbrush and enzymatic toothpaste beats everything else. Start slow, keep it positive, and we’ll show you how at your visit.

Daily bestStart slow

Dental diets & chews

Look for the VOHC Accepted seal — the Veterinary Oral Health Council only awards it to products proven to reduce plaque or tartar.

VOHC sealProven products

Wipes, rinses & water additives

For pets who won’t tolerate a brush, wipes and oral rinses still move the needle — something beats nothing, and we’ll match the option to your pet.

Brush-free options

What to skip: anesthesia-free “cleanings”

Scraping the visible tartar off an awake pet makes teeth look better while disease keeps working under the gumline, unexamined and uncleaned. It’s cosmetic — and it can delay the care that matters.

Know the difference

How often & payment

Yearly eyes on the mouth. Easy ways to pay.

Teeth are checked at every annual wellness exam; how often a full cleaning is needed depends on the mouth, the breed and the age — small breeds and seniors often run on a shorter schedule. And paying is straightforward: we have access to CareCredit, we work with the major pet medical plans, and we take Visa, Mastercard and Discover, with touchless and remote pay.

Ways to pay at Oak Grove CareCredit · Major medical plans · Visa · Mastercard · Discover · Touchless & remote pay

New to Oak Grove? Start with your first visit — and if it’s a horse’s teeth you’re thinking about, see equine dentistry.

Plan your visit

We’re easy to reach.

918-486-VETS
Find us

12949 South State Highway 51
Coweta, Oklahoma 74429

Weekdays

Monday–Friday · 8:00 AM–5:30 PM

Weekend

Saturday · 8:00 AM–12:00 PM
Sunday · Closed

Emergency

After-hours emergency (small animal): Animal Emergency Center of Tulsa, 4055 S 102nd E Ave, Tulsa, OK — open 24 hours a day. Call (918) 665-0508

Oak Grove Veterinary Hospital roadside sign on Highway 51 in Coweta
Call 918-486-VETS