Toothy Thomson

Toothy Thomson Board-Certified Veterinary Dentist & Oral Surgeon 👩‍⚕️ This page is FOR YOUR education - 🦷❤️

04/22/2026

ONLY cleaning these teeth. .. is like putting FRESH paint on ROTTEN floor boards!
DO. NOT. DO IT!!
3️⃣ of the four teeth in this dogs caudal mandible required extraction due to END STAGE (>50% attachment loss) Periodontal Disease.
The first molar (309) only got to stay because it was treated with open root planing and Guided Tissue Regeneration (bone graft and membrane).
These teeth DID NOT look concerning on awake examination.
Anesthesia-Free or Awake Dental Cleanings cause far more harm than good.
They give the illusion of healthier teeth because the crowns we can SEE are clean.
BUT it is just that, an illusion!!
And our pets are paying the ultimate price - suffering in silence with painful mouths!
Just don’t. PLEASEEEEEeeee
Follow .thomson for more information.

04/17/2026

WANNA SPEED UP YOUR EXTRACTIONS?!?
Horizontal elevation is one of the simplest ways to increase your efficiency and speed.
HORIZONTAL, unlike vertical, elevation allows you to stretch periodontal ligament (PDL) fibers along TWO roots at the same time.
Also, with the CORRECT placement of a winged elevator, with minimal force from YOU, the rotation of the ‘wings’ will catch the cervical bulge of the crown and place coronal (or OUT of the sulcus) pressure on the PDL fibers. THIS is the opposite of vertical elevation which is rotational, BUT does have overall apical pressure. .. which can lead to a WHOOPSIE or a root going into a nasal cavity of mandibular canal. 😳
🔥HOT TIPS🔥:
1️⃣ start with your smallest winged elevator.
2️⃣ ONLY rotate the winged elevator enough to engage the tooth - too much and you’ll fracture the crown right off!!!
Are you going to try horizontal elevation after watching this?!? ⬇️
Follow .thomson for more extraction tips!
extractiontips petdentistry oralsurgery horizontalelevation toothythomson vetdentist vetmed veterinarydentistry veterinarymedicine veterinaryeducation dentistryeducation physicsnotbruteforce

03/29/2026

Pleaseeeee STOP using the term “dental disease”
This term has long been used interchangeably with Periodontal Disease. However, they are not the same thing.
“Dental disease” implies ONLY the tooth is diseased. .. which makes comments like “we will just wait for the tooth to fall out” or “we cancelled the ‘dental’ because the bad tooth fell out” seem logical.
Also, fractures, cavities, enamel defects etc could all be classified as “dental disease”
Periodontal Disease is the inflammation and destruction of the periodontium: the structure that holds the tooth into the jaw. Gingiva. Alveolar bone. Periodontal ligament. Cementum.
Periodontal Disease is the MOST COMMON disease (close second being obesity) in our companion animals.
We need to make sure owners know about and understand this disease!
Who’s making this change?!? 🙋🏼‍♀️
ownereducation nomenclature dentistryreels vettech vetstudent

03/28/2026

WANNA SPEED UP YOUR EXTRACTIONS?!?
Horizontal Elevation is one of the simplest ways to increase your efficiency and speed.
HORIZONTAL, unlike vertical, elevation allows you to stretch periodontal ligament (PDL) fibers along TWO roots at the same time.
Also, given the placement of the winged elevator, with minimal force from YOU, the clockwise or counterclockwise rotation of the ‘wings’ will catch the cervical bulge of the crown and place coronal (or OUT of the sulcus) pressure on the PDL fibers.
BUT keep in mind: the back side of the winged elevator will push the crown-root segment AGAINST the alveolar bone, so TOO much rotation will led to a fracture.
Are you going to try horizontal elevation after watching this?!? ⬇️
📸 technician & videographer extraordinaire
Follow .thomson for more extraction tips!

03/24/2026

Tooth brushing is THE most effective method of reducing plaque, calculus and periodontal disease.
What worked for Greta and I:
1. Do NOT expect to brush immediately
2. Start by just touching their mouth
3. Reward EVERY positive encounter
4. STICK. WITH. IT.
And remember my 🔥 tips for 🪥 brushing:
1️⃣ HIGH quality REWARD = FOOD
Unlike us, cavities are incredibly rare in dogs, and unreported in cats.
So make sure to have some super yummy treats ready .
2️⃣ Focus on the OUTSIDE surfaces!
WHY? Because the tooth brush in their mouth, on their tongue is very unpleasant and is why most pets hate brushing.
Instead gentle hold their mouth close and slide the brush in between the teeth and cheek.
*once you master this you can try brushing the inside*
DO YOU BRUSH YOUR PET’S TEETH?!? ⬇️
petoralhealth veterinarydentistry petparents

To stage or not to stage - that is the question!?!My answer is almost always NO. Do not stage. WHY?1️⃣ that means ✌🏻 ind...
03/19/2026

To stage or not to stage - that is the question!?!
My answer is almost always NO.
Do not stage.
WHY?
1️⃣ that means ✌🏻 inductions and recoveries.
- these are the highest risk portions of general anesthesia
- this also means added cost to the owners OR the clinic for repeating these steps
2️⃣ if stage ☝🏻 is for diagnostics without cleaning, your diagnostics may not be fully accurate OR if it does include cleaning, it WILL need to be repeated by the time the pet returns.
3️⃣ it can often be challenging to have owners commit to a single procedure, returning for a second sometimes does not always happen.
Things to consider:
I use PHYSICS not brute force and perform surgery daily, so the length of my procedures are shorter and I rarely experience operator fatigue.
The times I HAVE elected to stage procedures have been when weighing the time to complete the surgery with how the patient was doing and expect to do under general anesthesia.
What are your thoughts of staged procedures?

03/18/2026

Let’s talk ASYMMETRICAL CALCULUS! ⬇️
This is the OBJECTIVE sign of oral pain as seen in this video.
And there is only☝🏻 reason for this calculus pattern: the pet is selectively eating on ONE side.
AND the ONLY reason for a pet to choose to eat on ONLY ONE side . .. . PAIN on the other side.
Most owners do not watch their pets eat, so while they know they ARE eating they are unlikely to know if they are eating on BOTH sides or only ☝🏻.
IF you find asymmetrical calculus make sure you SHOW the owner and then make a plan to TREAT the pain!
*if it’s not obvious, plan a COHAT to find it*
veterinarydentistry vetstudent dentistryeducation onlineveterinarydentistry

03/15/2026

STOP talking owners out of tooth brushing!
At the risk of sounding like a ✨motivational speaker✨
IF you talk to owners as if they “can’t” brush their pet’s teeth. .. they WON’T
NOTHING is as good as tooth brushing. .. no diet, no treat, no gel, no water additive. .. NOTHING.
IF there was. .. YOUR dentist would be talking about it.
AND with the right tips tooth brushing is not only well-tolerated, it can be fun and something your pet enjoys.
So PLEASEEEEeee stop talking our to tooth brushing.
Sincerely, concern 🦷❤️
badadvice veterinaryeducation

03/06/2026

Chewing ≠ toothbrushing!!
It’s important we all know and discuss this.
ALSO, chewing on objects HARDER than the enamel and dentin leads to FRACTURED TEETH!
While chewing behaviour CAN reduce plaque, it is important that we are not risking damage to our pet’s teeth.
I recommend the “thumb nail” test for all chews: if you cannot indent the object with your thumbnail it is too hard!!
Please SHARE with your fellow pet parents!

Let’s break down radiographs findings of tooth resorption 🦷 🐈‍⬛ First patient: normal mandibular canines. and Second pat...
02/22/2026

Let’s break down radiographs findings of tooth resorption 🦷 🐈‍⬛
First patient: normal mandibular canines.
and
Second patient: Type 2/Stage 4c Tooth Resorption
Images 1-3 are Patient 1 and highlight the normal PDL space, pulp tissue and dentin.
Images 4-6 are Patient 2 and show the complete loss of tooth/dentin radiodensity that has been replaced my bone. Also highlighted is resorption just apical to the alveolar margin.
The final image is a comparison of Patient 1 & 2.

“I don’t want to disfigure my dog”. .. This is something I often hear when presenting surgical options to pet parents fo...
02/09/2025

“I don’t want to disfigure my dog”. ..
This is something I often hear when presenting surgical options to pet parents for their pet’s oral tumours.
I KNOW the idea of a maxillectomy (or mandibulectomy) can sound very intimidating and maybe even ‘disfiguring’, however I am here to tell you - and SHOW you - that these surgeries can often go UNNOTICED!
I admit I am very biased being this handsome fella’s surgeon. .. but I think he looks quite dapper post-maxillectomy.
And it’s not “just” cosmesis. .. dogs (and even cats) can function very well even with part of their jaw missing.
The BEST part?!? This was a locally aggressive, but non-malignant tumour! ✌🏻 cancer!
Have you had experience with a pet or patient that has had oral oncological surgery? What was your experience??

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Toronto, ON

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https://obivet.com/

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