According to Molar, it is generally accepted that without proper dental care around 70-80% of pet dogs and cats will have some sort of dental disorder by the age of three and certainly by the age of six.
 
452 qualified veterinary nurses who worked in practices employing an average 5 veterinary surgeons and 6 VNs took part in the survey. 

 

According to the survey, over 67% of practices do not have a dental nurse and only 36% of VNs have ever attended a dental training course.
 
More than 76% of veterinary nurses thought it highly important for owners to practice good regular oral hygiene on their pets. However, less than 0.2% of practices are carrying out dentals 20 or more times a week, 53% perform 5 to 10 dentals a week and 34% less than 5 a week.

 

Over 66% of dental checks are carried out by a veterinary surgeon and over 90% of practices do not carry out an x-ray as part of a dental check-up.
 
The majority of practices were charging £100-150 for a basic scale and polish without x-rays for a medium-sized dog and £50-100 for a cat (including VAT).
 
Following a dental check-up on a pet, less than 0.3% offered a free dental check-up in six months or ‘money-off next purchase’ incentive, but 82% provided product leaflets, over 60% dental hygiene foods or product samples and 55% a practice-designed dental info sheet in a post-dental pack for the client. And 60% of practices routinely contacted clients for regular dental check-up reminders.
 
John Leonard of Molar Ltd said: “These results indicate that there is a lot of scope for practices to promote dental care as a preventative measure against possible oral and general health problems later in a pet’s life with the added bonuses of client relationship-building and increased business opportunities”.