Low-Cost Dental Cleaning Clinic

Licking County Humane Society offers Low-Cost Dental Cleaning Clinics to help prevent painful mouths and to extend longevity to our community’s pets!

Our Dental Clinics are held once or twice a week at LCHS, 825 Thornwood Dr. Heath, OH 43056.

Once you’ve submitted an interest form, we will contact you as soon as there is availability to schedule your pet.

There is a lot of interest in these clinics, so it may be some time until you hear back from us to schedule. 

Availability is based on type (dog/cat), size and the pets we currently have at the shelter. Once a clinic is full, registration begins for the following clinic. We appreciate your patience.

*Our clinic is unequipped to perform surgery on dogs over 60 pounds.*

Please note there is a $25 LCHS veterinarian exam fee per animal for all appointments in addition to the Clinic prices.

Senior pets (8+ years) will require a wellness bloodwork panel to be completed prior to surgery.

No Refunds

• Any appointment, once made and paid for, CANNOT be changed or refunded.
  • If the owner cancels, is a “no show” or cannot catch the animal, etc, your fees WILL NOT BE REFUNDED.

Pre-Surgery

• All dogs/cats MUST be up to date on rabies vaccinations. If your dog/cat is current, you must leave proof of current rabies vaccination with your pet. Tags will not be accepted. Otherwise, your dog/cat will receive the vaccine at a cost of $15.00.

• Cats must be in sturdy clean carriers (no cardboard). If there are multiple cats, each must be in a separate carrier.

• Dogs must be on leashes. No aggressive dogs will be seen.

Services will be completed at The Licking County Humane Society – 825 Thornwood Dr. Heath, OH 43056 (Animal Wellness door)

Frequently Asked Questions about Dental Cleaning:

How do I know if my dog needs a dental cleaning?

• Ideally, dogs should receive yearly dental cleanings (just as we receive dental cleaning every 6 months!). This helps prevent any dental pain or extractions being needed. However, dogs with malodorous/foul breath and dogs with heavy dental tartar are most in need of dental cleanings.  See chart below to help evaluate the degree of dental disease your dog has:

• Dogs with dental disease of grade 3 and above are likely to require extractions

Can dog and cat dentals be done without anesthesia?

• Absolutely not. A full dental cleaning involves scaling the teeth, checking gingival pocket depth, extracting any teeth too diseased to be saved and then polishing the remaining teeth. Unlike humans, we cannot explain to our dogs and cats to sit still while scary and potentially painful procedures are done in their mouths. The only safe and humane way to do a dental cleaning on animals is with general anesthesia.

What if I don’t want any of my pet’s teeth extracted?

• During a cleaning, a veterinarian will determine if any teeth need removed. These teeth are diseased and painful and leaving these teeth in would be a disservice to your pet. As such, any teeth found absolutely necessary to be extracted, if able to safely do so, will be extracted.

What are dental x-rays?

• Dental x-rays in animal medicine are the same as in human dentistry. Dental x-rays are needed to determine if there is any disease at the root of the tooth that is not apparent on the surface and also to verify that no part of a tooth is remaining after extractions. Especially in toy breed dogs with severe dental disease, pre-op dental x-rays can show if the jaw is already broken from advanced dental disease.

What are the limitations to doing a dental at LCHS?

• Here we provide the same anesthetic medications, monitoring, and dental tools as at a full-service veterinarian. However, we do not have dental x-rays.  Therefore, there is a possibility deeper disease could be missed or that if retained tooth roots exist, we will not be aware and unable to extract them. If extractions are performed at time of dental, we will recommend following up with your primary veterinarian for further care and to verify no additional underlying disease is present.

What if there are any extractions that cannot be done on the day of the dental cleaning?

• Sometimes, especially in cases of severe dental disease with bone loss in the jaw, extracting certain teeth can potentially cause the jaw to fracture during the procedure. If we have any concern about this during the cleaning, we will leave these teeth in place, clean the disease present, and refer you to a full-service veterinarian for extraction with pre and post op dental x-rays.

Veterinary Exam Fee (Required for ALL pets) $25

Fractious Animal Fee (extra time to handle) $25

Physical Exam Fee $15 (appointment with technician to verify level of dental disease prior to surgery if pet has not been seen recently at wellness clinic)

Dental Pricing:

• Dogs and cats 5-15 lbs $175**
• Dogs 16-30lbs $200**
• Dogs 31-60lbs $225**
• LCHS is unequipped to perform surgery on dogs over 60lbs.

** Price includes everything for a simple dental cleaning. Price does not include additional items like bloodwork, medications to go home (if needed), and time taken for extractions (if needed).

Additional fees and services:

• Bloodwork $75  (required for all animals 8+ years of age)
• Pain medication $10 (only necessary in animals that require dental extractions)
• Antibiotic injection at time of surgery $10 (only necessary for animals with severe dental disease and will be determined by the veterinarian)
• Extractions $15 per every additional 15 minutes (only diseased and unsalvageable teeth will be extracted and will be determined by the veterinarian)
  • Not all extractions necessary may be able to be performed at the time of dental cleaning.  If more advanced dental care is necessary (beyond what we can provide), we will refer your pet to your full-service veterinarian.

Cat Vaccines

• Rabies (required) $15

• FVRCP $15

Other

• Microchip $15

• Toe Nail Trim $complimentary

Dog Vaccines

• Rabies (required) $15

• DA2PP $15

• DA2PP+L $18

• Bordatella $15

** Some fees may vary depending on difficulty of restraint, age, and weight