Dental radiology is a core skill in SA veterinary practice. The visible part of the tooth (crown) is only around 30% of the total length. The root, comprising 70% of the total, is invisible to a gross examination. Most of the common dental conditions in practice, specifically periodontal or endodontic disease, require diagnostic radiographs to diagnose, prognose and establish a treatment plan. Periodontal disease is one of tooth attachment loss whereas endodontic disease is one of toxin leakage through the root apex. In addition, Feline Tooth Resorption lesions (Feline TR) require radiographs to differentiate those teeth that need conventional extraction from those that need crown amputation. Missing teeth are common and need to proven to be so radiographically. A tooth is not missing until the radiographs says so. Teeth not visible can be impacted or embedded in the jaw. In most cases these are painful and need surgical attention. This webinar is designed to show participants how and why dental radiographs are so important to the veterinarian performing routine dentistry in a practice setting. What lies beneath? You will soon find out!

The mouth is grossly contaminated, and dental procedures are one of the most common indications for invasive procedures (dental scaling or oral surgery such as extraction of teeth). Just on this basis, it would seem appropriate to treat dental procedure patient with an antibiotic. In fact, an antibiotic is not indicated in most dental patients, because the procedure removes the area of infection, and oral tissues heal very rapidly. There are indications for use of an antibiotic, based on the severity of the oral disease undergoing treatment, the type of procedure, and presence of coexisting systemic abnormalities such as cardiac or renal disease. This webinar will describe how to decide which patients need or do not need an antibiotic at the time of the dental procedure. For patients in which administration of an antibiotic is indicated, other decisions needing to be made include which antibiotic to use, timing of the start of the antibiotic treatment and duration of the antibiotic treatment.

The webinar will allow participants to easily understand the roentgen signs of periodontal disease, endodontic disease, missing teeth, feline and canine tooth resorption, and oral masses. The undisputable clinical value of intraoral radiology will be understood.