Tooth be told! Partnering with dental specialists

Subscribe to The Vet Blast Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

This week's episode features Amy Thomson, DVM, DAVDC, and host Adam Christman, DVM, MBA, as they delve into how Thomson originally fell in love with veterinary dentistry, the importance of collaborating with dental specialists, emphasizing the need for effective communication between practitioners, and how all of this lead Thomson to open her own mobile clinic.

Below is a partial transcript.

Adam Christman, DVM, MBA: So for general practitioners tuning in, when should they offer their clients a referral to a veterinary dentist or oral surgeon?

Amy Thomson, DVM, DAVDC: I don't feel like there's ever a time that it's like, wrong to, and I can only speak for myself, but I feel very comfortable with my colleagues saying there's nothing—it's been funny, I've been asked before, this owner is really nervous, can we send you if we think it's only going to be a cleaning, and in my mind, I'm like, it's really never just a cleaning, but there's nothing beneath me. I treat the whole mouth and so I never think it's wrong to offer that. But things like fractured teeth, where owners really don't want to extract they want to preserve the function of that too. So like a root canal treatment, that's definitely something that would be referral based.

Most jaw fracture maxillofacial trauma is ideal to refer. Some of it is having a dialogue that, we want to put the pet back together as quickly as possible return function as soon as possible. However, that often is at a higher cost of care. So I just was having a conversation with a DVM yesterday, about even if owners can't afford that, at least we can discuss all the options and then find one. That sounds weird, but like fits the family's budget while still providing care. So those are kind of big cases that are referred, but I would say it's never wrong.