Animal dentistry experts from San Diego returned to Best Friends Animal Society’s sanctuary in rural southern Utah to perform dental procedures on dogs and cats over the Thanksgiving weekend.
This was the second visit to Best Friends by a group of veterinarians led by board-certified veterinary dental specialist Dr. Brook A. Niemiec, DVM, of Southern California Veterinary Dental Specialties & Oral Surgery. During their visit, the team extracted 326 teeth, performed 24 root canals, did a partial mandibulectomy, and removed two dentigerous cysts on the 51 animals they treated.
“Our mission is to help Best Friends Animal Society by reducing the number of animals on their dental needs list,” Dr. Brook A. Niemiec said.
According to Dr. Susan Konecny, Best Friends Animal Society’s medical director, the Best Friends Animal Society sanctuary is the largest companion animal sanctuary in the nation with about 1,700 animals on any given day.
“In this season of thankfulness and giving, we want to express our sincere appreciation to Dr. Neimeic and the group of dental experts that provided state-of-the-art dental care to the Best Friend’s residents in need of it,” Konecny said. “Often animals arriving at the sanctuary have had no previous dental care and as a result have significant oral problems. … With the highly specialized procedures, technical expertise and equipment that were offered, this group of specialty veterinarians improved the quality of life for these patients, making them more adoptable and helping to educate our veterinary team on the newest procedures available in dentistry.”
Dr. Katie Kangas, DVM, CVA, of Integrative Veterinary Services, called their visit over the holiday weekend “an incredibly special way to spend Thanksgiving.”
“We feel privileged to be able to make a difference, to make them happier and healthier and more comfortable, and hopefully more adoptable,” Kangas said.
Niemiec said oral disease is the number one health problem in dogs and cats.
“Unfortunately they don’t show obvious outward signs; however, it is often a serious issue by the time it is detected,” Niemiec said. “Dental problems can also hamper a homeless pet’s ability to get adopted. … So if a family wants to take a dog home that is in the sanctuary and he may be really cute but has a big dental bill in his future, they may take the dog next to him.”
For this second visit, two European veterinarians joined the team. Dr. Rachel Perry of the United Kingdom and Dr. Camilla Heinze from Denmark who practices in Sweden are being mentored by Niemiec to gain greater skill in animal dentistry. They said they were excited to be part of this visit to Best Friends to help the sanctuary animals.
In addition to helping the dogs and cats at Best Friends Animal Society’s sanctuary as well as local shelter animals in southern California, Southern California Veterinary Dental Specialties & Oral Surgery has started a “Pet’s Tooth Fairy Fund” to help pets whose owners cannot afford advanced dental treatment. For more information, please email Info@scvds.com.
Best Friends Animal Society is the only national animal welfare organization dedicated exclusively to ending the killing of dogs and cats in America’s shelters. A leader in the no-kill movement, Best Friends runs the nation’s largest no-kill sanctuary for companion animals, adoption centers, and spay and neuter facilities in Los Angeles and Salt Lake City as well as lifesaving programs in partnership with more than 1,300 rescue groups and shelters across the country. Since its founding in 1984, Best Friends Animal Society has helped reduce the number of animals killed in American shelters from 17 million per year to an estimated 4 million. By continuing to build effective initiatives that reduce the number of animals entering shelters and increase the number who find homes, Best Friends Animal Society and its nationwide network of members and partners are working to “Save Them All.”
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