Keeping Canines Clean

Concord Journal
May 27, 2004
By Betsy Levinson

Laura Dietz set out early from her Connecticut home with Hunter, her 11-month chocolate Lab, in tow. Hunter needed treatment for a fractured tooth that he broke when he chewed his way out of his plastic crate some weeks ago.

Her vet referred Dietz to Dr. Laura LeVan, a Concord resident with a practice in veterinary dentistry in Acton.

Dietz adopted Hunter at two months of age from a rescue organization where he landed after starting his life severely neglected. The dog was obviously in pain, but unable to communicate, and seriously mistrustful of humans. He barked loud and long when LeVan entered the treatment room.

It's all in a day's work for LeVan, who offered Hunter a sure, steady hand and a pat down his sleek brown fur. She spoke reassuringly as he relaxed, and soon she was able to pry his mouth open for a look around. There, the discolored tooth and inflamed gum showed her plainly what she suspected when she spoke to Dietz on the phone.

Because of the long car trip from Nyantic, Conn. to Acton, LeVan told Dietz she would diagnose and treat Hunter in the same appointment. Once she examined his mouth, even probing his gums with a sharp instrument, she gave him a sedative in preparation for anesthesia to get X-rays of the tooth.

She said because Hunter is so young, she would perform a root canal to preserve the tooth.

"As much as possible, the owners are with the pets throughout treatment," said Nora Doyle, one of LeVan's three technicians who prepare the treatment room for Hunter. She looks away, avoiding eye contact, and stretches out her arm for Hunter to sniff, before turning toward the dog and speaking softly.

LeVan has practiced vet dentistry in Acton for five years, although she was awarded her veterinary doctor's degree in 1976. She joined a practice caring for pets and farm animals in Shrewsbury, and later in Marlboro. In 1987, LeVan became the first woman president of the Massachusetts Veterinary Medical Association.

She said her interest in pet dentistry came as a resut of a case involving an animal with a suspected tumor.

"I had an appointment with my own dentist, and asked him about treatments for the tumor," she said. "He told me it might be as simple as an inflammation in the gums, which is exactly what it turned out to be. It would be very obvious to me now. That dog ended up living until he was 18 with beautiful white teeth.

After a stint at the Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine, she started Mobile Veterinary Dental Services in 1992 where she would drive to animal hospitals and treat the dental cases from her van. But travel time limited the number of patients she could treat in a day, so in 1999 she opened Veterinary Dental Services in Acton. The treatments are mostly extractions, root canals and cleanings.

"I am able to meet the need for specialized dental care for dogs and cats," said LeVan. "I am also lucky enough to be able to help many zoo, aquarium and police service animals."

LeVan donated dental treatment for Pativ, Concord's police dog, because she said, "you want a police dog for its teeth." She said Pativ was none too willing to be examined.

"You can't examine Pativ awake," she said. The German Shepherd had two of his upper incisors, or small front teeth, fractured close to the gum line, she said. LeVan pulled the teeth.

"I feel I am helping the community by helping the police dog," she said. "This is a place to give back. All animals need dental work."

She particularly enjoys the relationships that develop with owners who are uniformly grateful for the extra TLC she provides to their pets.

"I know that animal is healthier," she said. "It is very, very rewarding."

Dietz said Hunter was given antibiotics to treat the cuts and abrasions he suffered from the broken crate, but the medicine didn't heal up the abscess in his teeth. LeVan assures Dietz that she can take Hunter home the same day. He is led off to the technicians for anesthesia and intubation.

LeVan goes over the list of good and bad toys for dogs.

On the list of acceptable chew toys are the ones made of rubber and edible, crunchy treats. She warns against animal bones, cow hoofs, tennis balls, ice cubes and rocks. She said the abrasive covering of tennis balls wear down the dog's teeth, and hard toys can break the teeth.

"Chew toys should bent, and anything that doesn't, shouldn't be given to your pet," she advised.

And like any good dentist, she offers a lesson in brushing those canine canines.

"You go blindly in a circular motion from back to front," she said, recommending that owners start out with some dog-specific toothpaste on a finger for a few days before graduating to a soft brush.

"Once a day at the same time," she said.