Animal Wellness of Skaneateles

02/08/2025

Did you know that brushing your pet’s teeth is the number one way to prevent dental disease! Please inquire about tips and tricks on how to perform this easy daily task.

02/02/2025

It's February everyone!! This means it's dental health month! A whole month dedicated to teeth is pretty exciting! Check out this information from the American Veterinary Medical Association.

12/30/2024

09/27/2024

Animal Wellness is expanding!!

We would like to extend a warm welcome to Dr. Janette Cox as she joins our amazing team! She is a native of the Skaneateles area and is excited to return to the community she grew up in. She hopes to make a positive impact on the animals and people she has the opportunity to meet.

07/01/2024

Verizon is experiencing an area-wide outage so phones are down-
we can be reached via email or cell 315-466-3528. Sorry for any inconvenience

06/27/2024

We will be closed Thursday, 7/4 and Friday, 7/5 in observance of Independence Day. Wishing a safe holiday to all!

05/23/2024

Animal Wellness will be closing at 2pm on Friday, May 24 and will reopen on Tuesday, May 28 in observance of Memorial Day.

02/28/2024

Dental x-rays – why bother?

Dental x-rays are a very important component of a full oral evaluation in our pets. There are often problems that have begun unnoticed below the gum line and can be headed off before becoming more serious and painful concerns. Dental x-rays also are needed to properly extract a tooth. If we do not know what is going on below the gum line, the extraction could be much more time consuming and have a greater chance of complication. Check out this x-ray – the circled area shows clear areas around roots on two different teeth. These areas indicate loss of bone around the roots and therefore will lead to chronic pain and infection if these teeth are not extracted.

02/22/2024

Broken teeth….why do they occur and how can they be prevented??

Many dogs love to chew. Chewing hard items including real bones, antlers, hooves, hard plastic nylabones, and basically anything else you cannot indent your thumb nail into can lead to fractured teeth. Once a tooth is fractured, bacteria can travel down into the tip of the tooth root and create an abscessed root. This is painful and requires extraction of the affected tooth. Be sure to test chew toys with a thumb nail before offering them to your pet.

02/15/2024

So you cannot brush your pet’s teeth…What do you do??

First of all, keep trying (unless there are concerns with aggressive behavior). Most pets can be trained to allow tooth brushing to occur if given enough time and patience. If things are still not going well, check out some of the various dental treats and diets available. There are several prescription and over the counter diets that work toward good dental health. When picking items for this purpose, be sure to look for the veterinary oral health council (VOHC) seal of acceptance.

02/08/2024

Brush, Brush, Brush your pet’s teeth!

Plaque is a sticky bacterial film that develops on tooth surfaces. Plaque can be brushed away with a toothbrush and enzymatic toothpaste. However, once plaque hardens into tartar (aka calculus), it cannot be brushed away from the surface of teeth. This hardening process can occur in as little as 1-2 days. Brushing teeth regularly (daily if possible) is the best way to avoid tartar build up, which is the first step towards decay and tooth loss.

Check out this video for brushing tips: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEW0Zjl3wgU