World Small Animal Veterinary Association global dental guidelines

Dental, oral and maxillofacial diseases are the most common conditions seen in small animal veterinary practice. They may not only create significant pain but also infection. As such, the World Small Animal Veterinary Association believes that un- and undertreated oral and dental diseases pose a significant animal welfare concern. Dentistry is an area of veterinary medicine, which is still undertaught and thus is subject to many myths and misconceptions. Effective teaching of veterinary dentistry in the veterinary curriculum is the key to progression of the discipline. This will greatly improve the health and welfare for all our patients globally. The guidelines were created to provide veterinarians with the necessary foundations to provide gold standard therapy as well as define realistic minimum standards of care. Using the three-tiered continuing education system of World Small Animal Veterinary Association (based on the World Bank), the guidelines make global equipment and therapeutic recommendations and highlight the anaesthetic and welfare requirements for small animal patients worldwide. This document contains information on common oral and dental disease as well as basic diagnostic procedures and treatments. Sections on anaesthesia and pain management for dental procedures, home dental care, nutritional information and recommendations on the role of the universities in improving veterinary dentistry are also included. A discussion of the deleterious effects of anaesthesia-free dentistry is included, as this procedure is ineffective at best and damaging at worst. Finally, the negative effects of undiagnosed/not treated dental disease are discussed under the scope of animal welfare issue. The guidelines from 2019 have been revised to reflect the advances in diagnosis and treatment. New sections in this revision include sections on trauma, the nurses' role in veterinary dentistry, juvenile pathology, ergonomics and an extended section on radiographic interpretation.