BVDA was established by a group of Veterinary Surgeons who had a particular interest in Veterinary dentistry. The aims of the association are to educate and train Veterinary and Dental Surgeons in animal dentistry and to promote practice, teaching and research of animal dentistry.
Each year the British veterinary dental association holds a scientific meeting where there are papers presented on veterinary dentistry, interactive sessions and state of the art lectures. This also gives the membership a chance to socialise and talk about particular cases.
The association has an active membership that undertakes teaching of dentistry to Veterinary Surgeons, students and nurses. This teaching takes the form of courses and study groups. The membership is also involved with promoting veterinary dentistry. For further information on how to join the BVDA, please click
here. NEW!! The BVDA now offers a series of new and practical post-graduate courses. Format is morning theory followed by a full afternoon of wetlab, hands-on experience. The courses offer excellent value for money as BVDA is a non-profit making organisation. Click here for more details . . .
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Presidents update
As I start my term as president I have a whole lot to look forward to and hope that I will bring some new ideas and initiatives to the association. I became a member of the BVDA many years ago and have since served on the committee for the last 8 years. At the world veterinary dental congress in Vancouver I asked a colleague why we had to travel half way around the world for dental CPD. The reply was, “If you want CPD, do something about it”. I have since served on the committee as BSAVA liason officer and before my new role as president, as the one of the course organisers for the BVDA. One of the primary aims and roles of the BVDA is to promote and teach veterinary dentistry to vets, students and dentists and increase owner awareness of oral hygiene and the multitude of dental problems that affect our pets.
My core beliefs are that no animal should suffer and that every animal should be entitled to an infection-free and pain-free mouth. The next 3 years will be challenging working towards achieving this goal. As a committee we plan on focusing on education primarily over the next year. Our plans are to make the website more informative, to pursue the efforts of the previous committee in the development of dentistry in the new modules for the RCVS certificate program, expand on the undergraduate teaching by increasing teaching time and the universities where BVDA currently teach, and increase the post graduate courses currently run. For BVDA members we will be holding an autumn meeting for the first time this year. An endodontic day is planned for the 7th November where we can review our techniques, hear from our human counterparts and explore new possibilities. If you would like more details then please contact myself or the course organisers.
I would also like to thank all those serving on the committee and thank those companies who help support our goals.
Lisa Milella
2008 BVDA Scientific meeting
Another Scientific Day meeting has been successfully achieved. It is twenty years since the BVDA started and it is amazing to look through old Proceedings for those early meetings and see what was current at that time. Rabbit dentistry and FORLs were occupying much interest, and different treatment regimes were being discussed. Materials were advancing and discussion ensued regarding their respective merits. These topics are still pertinent today but perhaps the approaches have changed and products improved. Equine dentistry has also progressed significantly from just ‘rasping’ or ‘floating’ the teeth to considering using ‘filling’ materials and a better grasp of the damage that can be caused by inappropriate instrumentation. Veterinary Nurses have an increasingly important role in the dentally aware practice and can often be amongst the best informed members of a practice and a wonderful point of contact for client advice and education on dental matters.
This years meeting covered topics such as the use of Computed Tomography for planning surgery for oral neoplasia; odontoclastic resorption; feline gingivostomatitis; canine teeth embedded in the palate and the feasibility, morals and ethics of mandibular surgery. Also covered were equine topics such as managing equine periodontics, and results of a new study on the equine infundibulum.
The interesting thing about the meeting is that it is for practitioners and nurses who have an interest in veterinary dentistry and wish to see an improvement in dental care and oral health. The presentations are mostly given by working veterinarians who therefore have first hand knowledge of their subject. We even had a VN give an interesting paper on the changing role of the VN in dentistry. Altogether, it was a good stimulating meeting.
Delegates came from many countries around the world and most BVDA past presidents were there too, including Sue Penman (McIntyre) our first President. Trade sponsors were supporting us as usual and to them we extend our thanks, as without them the meeting would not be financially viable. These included Accesia SE, Dunlops, Kruuse UK, Molar Ltd, Roots Vet Dental Services, and Hills who not only provided lunch for the delegates but also printed the Proceedings and supplied congress bags. A big thank you to all concerned.
It was however, a slightly sad AGM for me, as it marked my stepping down as president of the BVDA. I have been President for the last six years and felt it was time indeed for a different face and new ideas! During my time we have held the usual annual meetings but we also hosted the European Veterinary Dental Congress, in Cambridge. The BVNA certificate in veterinary dentistry, which I co-tutor, is in its sixth year and going strong. The undergraduate courses are popular and educational and are firmly in our yearly round of activity at the veterinary colleges at Liverpool, Cambridge and Bristol. Our course organisers also run courses for postgraduates on advanced topics. An active association indeed and long may it remain so!
I would like to thank my stalwart committee members who have been there for me and helped move the BVDA along in the right direction. It is always a team effort but the president needs to keep the ball rolling and ensure the cohesiveness!
It has been a wonderful, but busy, six years for me and I would like to welcome Lisa Milella as the new President of the BVDA and wish her and the committee every best wish and success during her term of office.
Colin J K Baxter
BVM&S MRCVS
Nantwich Veterinary Hospital
Nantwich
Cheshire
CW5 5SF
Stand back and see where we are with veterinary dentistry at present
By Colin J K Baxter BVM&S MRCVS, President BVDA
Nantwich Veterinary Hospital, Crewe Road End, Nantwich, Cheshire CW5 5SF
It is nearly twenty years since the founding of the British Veterinary Dental Association and it is interesting to stand back and see where we are with veterinary dentistry at present. BSAVA Congress has not long finished and it is pleasing to note that veterinary dentistry was, once more, and rightly so, a major feature in the programme, as well as the BVDA’s Scientific Day just prior to Congress. There are international speakers who feel the BSAVA and BVDA are worthwhile platforms to promote their work and influence practitioners. We have come a long way since the early days when a client brought in their pet dog or cat complaining of bad breath and we conceded that it needed a dental. Worse still was that it was often done at the end of surgery and almost as an after-thought! Now we are advised that several dentals should be performed every day to be representative of the number of problems we will see in a normal working day. There are huge numbers of pets out there in desperate need of dental attention and homecare advice. Not only are there dogs and cats with dental problems but rabbits, rats, guinea-pigs and chinchillas.
The usual statistic bandied about is that periodontal disease affects somewhere in the region of 70 – 85% of dogs and cats over the age of three. If that was any other condition it would be regarded as a major health scare and disaster. It would be in the national press and headline news. Everyone would be crying out for something to be done to relieve the problem and vet clinics would be bursting at the seams dealing with the dental crisis. So why is this not happening? Unfortunately, veterinary dentistry is not seen as a glamorous aspect of veterinary work. However don’t be mistaken, it can be a wonderfully satisfying aspect of daily veterinary life. If done properly. If the technique is efficient and the veterinarian takes care and pride in the end result then with practise it can be performed swiftly and effectively. The satisfaction of a job well done and the clients appreciation of the importance of the whole experience is no less than with most other veterinary procedures.
Veterinary students in Liverpool, Cambridge and Bristol have the benefit of BVDA sponsored, and tutored, courses in vet dentistry. Set over a few days usually the students get lectures as well as practicals covering aspects of routine dental procedures and radiography. The other schools have guest lecturers giving the students a flavour of veterinary dentistry. This is usually well received and must be beneficial to the profession in the long term.
The BVNA being also aware of the importance of dentistry run a certificate course in veterinary dentistry. Over four modules the VNs receive lectures, tutoring and practicals through which the standard of dental care offered by the practice via the VN can be elevated to a very professional caring level indeed.
Veterinary Nurse dental clinics should offer a good, sound, range of dental advice. This will include post-dental prophylaxis advice, the most appropriate diet to help prevent dental disease and also advice about tooth brushing and general oral health. Daily tooth brushing is still regarded as the gold standard to which we should all aspire for our pets. Thus dental disease should be approached by practices as a joint enterprise involving the veterinary clinician as well as the Vet Nurse and the client. A multifactorial approach, a team effort, with helpful leaflets and posters to reinforce the message.
The amount of advice out there that is available is stunning through practices websites, monthly awareness schemes and practice newsletters. Not to mention the active marketing by feed companies to promote their wonderful strides in improving the general health of our pets mouths. Not just foods either, there are companies out there with products to help reduce halitosis, keep calculus at bay and generally help improve the oral health of our beloved pets. The Veterinary Oral Health Council gives its seal of approval to products which pass stringent tests proving that what they claim on the label is actually what that product really does. Whether it is an aid to plaque removal or prevents calculus formation, or just a product to improve the pets breath, if it has the VOHC seal of approval then it will do what it claims to do! A worthwhile endorsement and one to which the BVDA also subscribes.
There is still an enormous amount of work to do and we should advise our pet owning clients about the benefits of their pets having a healthy mouth. Gingivitis causes a lot of discomfort in the mouth and can alter the temperament of the pet. Cats suffering from Gingivitis Stomatitis Syndrome can become fiends! With correct dental intervention this can be alleviated and the cat becomes a friendly pet once again. A fractured tooth with pulp exposure will be sensitive and painful. This is no different from our own mouths so why ignore it in pets? Dogs and cats do not express pain as readily as humans as it reduces their standing within their peer hierarchy so it is up to us to recognise, through sometimes subtle changes, that the animal is in pain. Extraction of the affected tooth can be done or in some cases an endodontic procedure can be performed. This means that the pulp is removed and the tooth is restored so that it looks and functions as it did before the initial insult.
It is well recognised that gingivitis and periodontitis allow bacteria to become systemic. This bacteraemia may allow bacteria to settle on heart valves, perhaps already compromised, and aggravate hepatic and renal function and cause a chronic depression of the general health of the pet. It is a wonderful thing even after so many years hearing from a client whose dog has just had a dental when they say it has become like a puppy again. Don’t tell me on that basis alone it is not worth just looking that little bit harder and that little bit more often in pets mouths and acting positively to get that animals oral health improved!
By Colin J K Baxter BVM&S MRCVS
Nantwich Veterinary Hospital
Crewe Road End
Nantwich
Cheshire
CW5 5SF
President BVDA
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