Dental & Oral Teleradiology/Telemedicine can be of great assistance when staging dental procedures. A staged approach occurs when on one day diagnostic x-rays are obtained and a thorough cleaning, scaling/polishing, and charting are performed and on another day the dental surgery is completed.
Benefits of this approach include:
1) Providing for two shorter (and much more planned and precise) anesthetic procedures, which is anesthetically safer than a single longer procedure.
2) Receiving a detailed report with findings and treatment recommendations prior to anesthetizing the patient for the second (surgical) stage.
3) Taking the exploratory nature out of the procedural stage allows you to plan your day better instead of getting bogged down in the procedure which can put you behind and throw your entire day off.
4) Approach the procedure with confidence knowing what you will be treating and how (extraction, crown amputation, root planing, leaving alone, etc.) and taking the guessing work out of the equation.
5) Save time, money, and reduce personal and staff stress!
6) Have access to a board certified veterinary dentist in your back pocket for on-going case management.
Ultimately, this collaborative approach creates happier, healthier patients who stay in your practice long term.
If you have any questions about submitting cases for review or need guidance on setting up a staged system, feel free to email me at anipexvet@gmail.com.
Kevin Haggerty, MVB, Dipl. AVDC, Dipl. EVDC
Board Certified Veterinary Dentist and EBVS European Veterinary Specialist in Dentistry
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